Two Colorado teens inspire the world with posts about life in a wheelchair
Craig Hospital specializes in the rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord and brain injuries. A lot of the specialized care and equipment that these injuries require is not covered by insurance, so Craig relies on donations to provide therapeutic recreation.
"I couldn't stop smiling the first time I got on a bike," said Mason Branstrator, a hand cyclist.
Branstrator and his friend, Alexander Cano, are biking together for the first time. They feel the wind on their faces, and the exhilaration of speed. It's a freedom they thought they'd lost.
"Being confined to the wheelchair, it's so hard to find those times when you just feel alive and in your body and free and that's what the bike gives us," Branstrator explained.
Both of these young men had T12 spinal injuries, and they're learning to live in new ways.
"The bikes have been instrumental to our rehabilitation process. Honestly, for example, me, this year, I've lost 80 pounds just from riding around on the bike," Cano added.
Now Cano and Branstrator are teaming up to inspire others through social media. They're making videos about how they live now.
"I really feel like it's my duty to make these videos because I got an incredible education from Craig Hospital, and not everybody who has our injury gets that kind of education, " Branstrator said.
"One of our biggest goals here is to show patients and their families that their quality of life can continue to improve and that we're able to get them back out there," said Danielle Scroggs, a recreation therapist with the Teen Rehabilitation at Craig (TRAC) program.
Scroggs introduced Cano and Branstrator, and both have agreed to become peer mentors to other young people facing spinal injuries. But like them, new patients will need donated dollars to help them access the recreation therapy and equipment they need to feel better.
"When it comes to our equipment and recreation therapy services, neither of those are covered by insurance," Scroggs confirmed.
Donations and fundraising at events like Pedal 4 Possible helped to pay for the hand bikes that Branstrator and Cano love so much and the therapy that taught them how to use them. Now they're hoping to share that knowledge in videos they hope will make a difference in someone else's life.
"Although I'm in a chair, I'm in a chair for a reason, and that reason is to inspire the world," Cano said.
LINK: For registration and information for Pedal 4 Possible
Pedal 4 Possible is at the High Plains Raceway for the first time this year. It's going to be held on Saturday, October 14, 2023 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
