Project Wheels rolls out first donation

LYNN – For Patrick Cogan, it?s all about paying it forward.Earlier this month, Project Wheels, a foundation he and his family started to help people who have Friedreich?s ataxia, donated $5,000 to help the Duggan family of Lynn make the bathroom in their home handicap-accessible.Cogan, 29, was diagnosed with Friedreich?s ataxia in his early 20s after being misdiagnosed as a child. FA, as it is called, is a degenerative neuromuscular disorder often described as “an evil cousin” of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerois or “Lou Gehrig?s disease”).In the fall/winter of 2012, a fundraiser was held to help raise money for a wheelchair van for Cogan and to build a ramp on his mother?s home. The effort netted about $40,000 and planted a seed that grew into Project Wheels.Nancy Duggan was diagnosed with FA in her 20s. Her two sisters also have the disease, which is genetic. Duggan, who probably spent half of her adult life in a cold hockey rink watching her sons Ryan and Mike play hockey, got by with a walker back then, but she finds herself relying more on a wheelchair these days.?I?m a fighter,” Duggan said. “I keep going and going, but I?m using a wheelchair more ? the minute you give up, that?s it.”Duggan said she?s been stubborn when it comes to making accommodations for her disability, but now having a handicap-accessible bathroom, it?s a matter of safety.Duggan said she and her husband, Gary, were overwhelmed by Project Wheels? generosity.?When she (Patrick Cogan?s mother, Helen Cogan) told me they were going to give us $5,000, my heart melted,” Duggan said.The Duggans, who also have a daughter, Danielle, a student at North Shore Community College, are currently getting prices on the bathroom project. The work will entail a total gut job in order to accommodate a wheelchair and allow for a roll-in shower.?They?re an amazing family,” Patrick Cogan said. “Our goal is to help individuals like myself with FA become either more independent or reclaim their independence. It?s such an overwhelming disease.”Patrick Cogan said this was the foundation?s first time presenting a check.?I don?t think I was prepared for how emotional it was. It was such a feeling,” he said.Helen Cogan, who founded Project Wheels with Patrick Cogan, said she wishes they could raise millions to help all those who need help.?People were so generous (at Patrick?s fundraiser). It was overwhelming. They saw the struggles we went through to try and get help,” she said. “We want to pay it forward.”Patrick Cogan is one of a set of triplets that includes his sister, Rosemary, and brother, Matt. They also have a younger brother, Sean. Shortly after Cogan was diagnosed with FA, their father, Robert, died of oral cancer.Although confined to a wheelchair, Patrick Cogan puts few physical limitations on himself. He is currently training for three triathlons that will take place over the course of the summer. He requires specialized equipment, including a recumbent tricycle and a racing wheelchair, and he does the swim portion on his back tethered to a guide, but he gets it done.The donation to help the Duggans was the foundation?s first. Project Wheels has another fundraiser planned for Saturday, May 3 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus in Lynn. There will be music and raffles. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online by going to Projectwheels.org. The money raised will be used to help another person who is dealing with FA.