Devices offer disabled more mobility

YORK, Neb. — Peyton Hoffman was grinning before the Carebike was even moving.

Peyton, 11, and his brother Parker, 10, both like speed, said their parents, Chad and Julie Hoffman. But each boy uses a wheelchair as a result of a genetic neurotransmitter disorder. Until now, walking speed was about the fastest they could go when outside.

But while reading Exceptional Parent magazine, Julie Hoffman spotted an article that described a bicycle modified with a platform for wheelchairs. Cycling could be a family activity.

The Hoffmans turned to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Nebraska, and volunteer wish granter Ric Horton was able to act swiftly. On Feb. 27, Carebike inventor Rob Holl delivered a matched set to the family at Holthus Field House on the York College campus.

Holl, based in Florida, developed the Carebike to facilitate healthy exercise with his daughter Megan.

When Megan reached her early 20s, the family reluctantly placed her in a group home. Holl said a well-meaning social worker told him the move would allow his own life to become “larger.”

Holl said: “So I was out praying and walking and looking for my larger life” when he saw a German-made wheelchair bike in the park. Holl realized at once how he could stay close with Megan and help other families “out of that confined place.”

On Holl's Carebike, the front wheel fork of a 21-speed bike is retrofitted with an anodized aluminum platform that can accommodate most wheelchairs. With bike wheels on both sides and a flip-down ramp on the front, a wheelchair can be backed onto the platform and secured. A caregiver pedals the bike and steers. Disc brakes give the bike extra stopping power.

During a test ride, Peyton's grin grew wider as his dad zoomed about. Parker relaxed and closed his eyes into the rush of air. Back at their starting point, Chad Hoffman said to Holl: “They're awesome.”

For more information, visit www.carebikes.com.

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