Charity works for Lynn girl, family

LYNN – A Lynn girl is the proud new owner of a specialized $1,585 tricycle, thanks to a loan through Easter Seals.Kriss Woodbury said she was thrilled when she found out her special needs daughter Hannah, 8, would be able to get the unique tricycle so that she could enjoy the outdoors and feel the warm sunshine on her face.”She doesn’t have the strength to pedal on her own, so this bike is double-pedaled and I can pedal for her,” she said. “But when she’s able, she can pedal herself. It’s definitely a bright spot in her day to go out on the bike.”Woodbury said Hannah suffers from a series of disabilities and doesn’t have the strength, coordination, or eyesight to ride a regular tricycle.Because of her ailments, Woodbury figured the two- person tricycle would give Hannah’s legs some much-needed exercise and get her out into the sunshine.”We’ve been out on the bike a lot, and people always stop us and say, wow, where did you get that bike?” she said. “It’s definitely caused a lot of commotion.”As a single working mother, Woodbury said she never would have been able to afford the specialized bike on her own, which is equipped with a seatbelt for Hannah and straps to keep her feet in place.So, she turned to the Massachusetts Assistive Technology Loan Program, which is operated by Easter Seals that offers low-cost loans to people with disabilities or to their families so they can buy devices that will increase their independence.”I’m so grateful to Leo Tonevski, the loan program coordinator for helping me through the process,” she said. “Leo was just super and he went out of his way to help me.”Woodbury said Hannah got to choose the tricycle’s color and picked her favorite – yellow- and loves going for rides on the flat road along the beach by her home.”The tricycle has made a huge difference in Hannah’s life, and without it, she would have been cooped up in the house and bored out of her mind and very frustrated,” she said. “I just wish that I put a motor on the bike, because pedaling uphill is so difficult!”The loan program is funded through state and federal grants to the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission. Easter Seals handles the loan distribution in partnership with Sovereign Bank.