Ruby is 11 years old and lives in St Helens with her parents Bernie and Graham, and younger brother Harry. She has cerebral palsy and her condition affects all her limbs and she has difficulty coordinating her movements. Ruby is also non-verbal and uses a communication device along with facial expressions and gestures. She is a full-time wheelchair user and requires help with all her care, feeding, dressing, washing and everyday activities.
Ruby has always enjoyed the outdoors but the family always struggled to go out cycling together due to her disabilities. Her parents began researching and testing specialist bikes for Ruby and found them to be expensive and unaffordable. They then read a story about how we had helped somebody similar to Ruby, and decided to apply for a grant through our Enable Fund to help with the cost of their preferred specialist bike – the Van Raam Opair wheelchair bike, costing £8,500.
We received the application from Ruby’s parents and supported them through all stages of the process, providing regular updates as the application progressed. The family contributed £500 towards the cost and we provided the remaining £8,000.
The brand new bike was delivered in October 2022 and it immediately transformed the family’s life. It has opened up a whole new world for them to explore all together and Ruby now enjoys all the benefits and experiences of cycling from the safety and comfort of her bike.