Pedro’s Story

Little Pedro is thrilled to try out his new wheels!

Pedro has spina bifida and attended his first wheelchair clinic in 2015 when he was two years old. Pedro arrived early in the morning, but it took all day to complete his wheelchair because he required a very special customized back cushion and other modifications. By late afternoon he was the only child left and while he had been in and out of his chair for fittings, he had not propelled it yet.

Excitement mounted as we anticipated seeing a two-year-old experience the freedom of independent mobility for the very first time. At last, Pedro was able to sit in his wheelchair, and with encouragement from everyone began to move on his own! That year we had a team member who was an adult wheelchair rider himself. Pedro’s eyes lit up as he began to follow Ed and then play “bumper cars” with him!

That was Pedro’s first wheelchair, but like all young kids he grew and by 2019 he had outgrown his chair. He returned for another - his mother saying that there was no other place that would provide the ultralight frame that he used and needed. He was a bright-eyed, energetic 6-year-old by then. And we saw the same active boy again in 2023, as a ten-year-old with aspirations to attend university and become a lawyer! Once again his chair took most of the day, in fact, he had to return for a second day to complete the fitting. As he zoomed around in his spiffy new chair, Pedro thanked everyone involved. Seeing him grow, develop, and have dreams of the future from age two to ten has been an adventure!