AmTryke Recipient: Makenna Douglas
• April 12, 2017
amtryke recipients people weve helpedOur Lubbock Monterey AMBUCS club recently provided an AmTryke to Makenna Douglas from Marlin, Texas – about half way between Dallas and Austin, While we usually supply bikes just in our West Texas region, we occasionally are able to help someone on the AMBUCS National Wish List – a list of potential AmTryke recipients from all over the country who do not have an AMBUCS club in their immediate area.
Due to our distance away from these Wish List AmTryke recipients, they generally can’t JOIN US at our weekly luncheon, but we are always blessed when we can hear from them about how they are utilizing their new bikes; and a couple of weeks ago Gary McDonald (our club’s Ambility Chairman) shared the letter below, along with the picture of Makenna (and her twin sister) that he had received from her mother Melissa Douglas.
Good Afternoon
First of all, I would like to apologize that it has taken me this long to respond to your generous gift of an AmTryke for our daughter, Makenna. I cannot begin to express the gratitude that we all feel. Makenna was born with spastic, quadriplegic cerebral palsy. She has been in therapy since she was 5 months old, accomplishing major feats during her therapy.
She is now a 7-year old and is cognitively and intellectually at or above her age level, which is an absolute blessing. She has a typiocally developing twin sister who does not have any special needs, whom Makenna has watched enjoy playing outside and riding her bike. I can tell you that we have tried purchasing several store brands of bikes that we thought would allow Makenna to have the freedom of riding a bike as well. We soon discovered these were all unsuccessful.
We heard about the AmTryke program through her physical therapist, and immediately knew this was what we needed for her. We first checked the price to see if this was something we could purchase, but having a special needs kiddo put quite a restraint on family finances, and we knew this wasn’t going to be possible. So we put our name down on the list and waited, and were told that we could expect a year to a year and a half wait.
You can imagine our surprise when we heard that she was awarded one so quickly. Makenna absolutely loves it! Her confidence has soared, she can play with her siblings outside, and this also serves as a form of physical therapy for her at home. Your gift has truly been a blessing for our family! We are so thankful for giving hearts like yours.
Sincerely,
Melissa Douglas
If you’d like to help us get more kids off the Wish List, then JOIN US at one of our regular Monday luncheons and check out how to become a part of our mission.
Lubbock Monterey AMBUCS
P.O. Box 53591
Lubbock, Texas, 79453
