As a toddler, Jackson “Jax” Poole was diagnosed with Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Epilepsy, and an unnamed and unknown genetic disorder: his second chromosome is inverted. When reflecting on that time, his parents shared that “we didn’t know what fear was until he started having seizures […] every month we were calling the ambulance.” After much trial and error with medications, his epilepsy is now under control and his parents describe him as a happy, patient 12-year-old boy.
Like many Vancouver Island families, the Poole’s love to be outside. Jax gets around with a wheelchair or supported walker, and though he has an awesome attachment for his wheelchair that allows them to hike on different terrains, bike riding is his favourite activity. Through his physiotherapist, he’s been able to borrow an adaptive bike/trike to use at home and at school. She noted that “the benefits of the trike have been immense. He pedals on his own which keeps his leg muscles strong and the range of motion around his knees and ankles more flexible.” Now that he’s reached the size for an adult bike, she referred him to our Family Assistance Program for a Discovery Adventure Series Trike.
In his mother’s words, “having his very own trike, in his favourite color, orange, that will fit him through adulthood is the most amazing thing ever!” Now Jax and his family can get out for bike rides daily, for the rest of his life.
