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Winning wheels
YOUNGSTOWN
An excited 11-year-old Jayden Brown went from two wheels to three as he raced around Paul C. Bunn Elementary’s gymnasium on his new hand-crank bike.
“It’s truly a blessing and truly remarkable for him to enjoy being a kid,” said a teary-eyed Charitter Brown about her son. “This is just another example of him never letting his disability stop him.”
Jayden was born with spina bifida, a birth defect in which an infant’s spinal cord doesn’t properly develop. He uses special leg braces and a walker to walk, as well as a wheelchair to get around.
He shares a love for sports with his twin brother, Jordan, who attends Harding Elementary. Jordan plays football, and Jayden is both his cheerleader and manager for the team.
Sports, however, aren’t easy for Jayden as he has paralysis in the lower half of his body.
But Wednesday morning, Jayden received a different kind of device to do what most 11-year-olds enjoy doing: riding a bike.
Frank Bell, Jayden’s school physical therapist, took his efforts a step further, and was instrumental in the purchase and donation of an Amtryke, an adapted bicycle, for Jayden.
“It is difficult for Jayden to find activities for him to exercise,” Bell said. “We thought this might be a great opportunity for him,”
Paul C. Bunn Principal William Baun said the bike will give Jayden the chance to even the playing field in races they challenge one another to.
“We always have challenges and he always wants to race me in the hallway and [I] always win,” he said. “Now Jayden is going to have a fighting chance.”
Educational assistant Fred Ervin said it’s difficult to not smile from ear to ear about Jayden’s new device.
“It’s awesome and great and so is my man Jayden,” he said.
Bell mirrored Ervin’s sentiment.
“Jayden is just a great kid and we are proud of everything he does,” Bell said.
Bell found the bike through Operation Search and Help funded by the Hine Memorial Fund, which provided financial assistance to make procuring the bicycle possible.
“It’s pretty cool,” said Jayden as he covered every inch of the gym in his new wheels.