A Susanville girl, who in October was diagnosed with Acute Flaccid Myelitis, a neurologic illness which left her paralyzed from the waist down, has been given the gift of mobility by a Sacramento based organization called NorCal Trykers. The group gave Abigayle Dunn, who prior to her illness was always a very active girl, a custom AmTryke ‘hand trike’ to help her regain the mobility she lost to paralysis.
According to her father, Bill Dunn, Abigayle is excited to go riding with her neighbors and family, especially at the Bizz Johnson and local parks.
“I’m super excited to get a little bit more freedom and to go more places with my trike,” said Abby, “and instead of me catching up with my family, they’ll need to catch up to me!”
Ten children from across northern California, diagnosed with multiple disabilities, received their own customized trikes at a ceremony in Woodland on June 10th. The trikes, a gift from the NorCal Trykers, will enable the children, many for the first time, to experience personal freedom and mobility.
Each trike, manufactured by AmTryke at a cost of around $1,000, is customized for each child’s unique disability.
NorCal Trykers is a nonprofit organization formed by physical and occupational therapists working in the Sacramento and Yolo County areas, and it is funded entirely by outside donations.
Gill Williams, who Abigayle met at the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital last fall, is the group’s founder and president.
“Each day we work with disabled children who dream of participating in activities like other children their age,” said Williams. “The NorCal Trykers’ mission is to provide custom trikes, at no cost, to help facilitate these dreams.”
She continued, “it is our hope that as donations grow we will be able to distribute hundreds of trikes to children in need in Northern California.”
To find out more about this amazing organization you can follow this link to NorCal Trykers on Facebook.
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