Girl with Down syndrome gets custom adaptive bike donated by non-profit and Philadelphia Flyers organizations
VOORHEES, N.J. - Hope Miller walked her precious little girl Rebekah before a crowd to get her first bike. Rebekah, 6, has Down Syndrome and this custom adaptive bike will allow her to ride like any other kid.
"I'm excited. This never happened to us before. It just brings joy to me," said Hope. Rebekah took a test drive around the room at the Vorhees Skate Zone inside the Philadelphia Flyers Training Facility.
The Flyers Alumni recently started a program called Every Child Deserves a Bike. The Philadelphia Warriors Veterans Hockey Club fundraised and donated to cover the cost of the bike.
"She needs to walk. She's not walking right now because she was born at 1lbs, 10oz, so she's got a lot of hurdles to go through," said Hope.
Rebekah was entered into a drawing by the non-profit organization Help Hope Live to get the bike. They help families facing a medical and or financial crisis.
"Bikes really help kids develop their muscles and they're custom built to the children's strengths," said Executive Director Kelly Green.
Now Rebekah whose mom describes her as always happy has another reason to smile.
"To watch a child, eyes wide open and to have that feeling like we all did when got our first bike. But for them it's so much different. It's physical therapy but it is exciting, and they get to be like everybody else," said Green.
The bikes cost between $5,000 and $7,000.
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