Corbin Cross rode a bike on his own for the first time in second grade.
He put his feet on the pedals, got strapped in and propelled himself forward. Corbin finally felt, firsthand, the exhilaration he’d witnessed many times in the faces of his sister and friends. He didn’t have to ask his mom for help for have friends wait on him.
Corbin was born with physical mobility limitations that forces him to rely heavily on a wheelchair. He can walk from one end of a room to the other without help, but longer distances require him to use a wheelchair.
A Christmas Wish
“He wanted a bike so bad for Christmas,” said Corbin’s mother Ricci Cross.
“He had written a letter to Santa for his own bike,” said Kelly Curry, physical therapist at the school Corbin attends. They knew, however, that because of his medical history he would need an adapted bike to ride independently.
“We’ve raised Corbin without letting him see his disability too much,” said Cross. “We have to gently guide him in a way so he doesn’t see his limitations. He’s now starting to see the the limits in the world— to see that he couldn’t ride his sister’s old bike was devastating.”
“For a kid who has to grow up watching everybody else play, it’s just hard,” Curry said. “So that’s when his mother asked me to help them find a bike that he could ride in the neighborhood with his sister.”
Working with AMBUCS
Curry mobilized their plan by getting in touch with a physical therapist from the Edmond AMBUCS chapter. AMBUCS is a national non-profit organization of volunteers that raise money and donate time to increase mobility for people with disabilities.
One of their major tasks is providing AmTrykes therapeutic tricycles, customized and specially built recreational vehicles that accommodate the physical needs of individuals with disabilities. Curry and Cross worked with AMBUCS to navigate through paperwork, follow ups, measurements and evaluations. Finally, at the end of spring, Corbin’s AmTryke was ready.
“The weekend before he got the bike, he was talking about how he can’t wait to ask Santa for a bike again,” said Cross.
Freedom to Ride
Corbin received his bike, complete with a mini license plate with his name on it, at an awards assembly at the end of the 2016 school year.
“There was no greater reward than to see his face light up when they called his name to come up and take the bike,” said Curry. “It gave him recreational freedom and mobility. It changes relationships.”
These days, Corbin can be seen riding around the neighborhood with his sister and friends.
“There are no words to describe the joy,” said Cross. “It’s his freedom. There’s a picture of us on a walk in the neighborhood. That day on the bike he was screaming ‘I’m flying! I’m flying!’ It’s just a relief for him to feel normal and to be normal.”