So Many Miles, So Many Smiles

Last week our family was incredibly blessed on a rainy, dreary day. A giant package arrived at our house that made me literally squeal with excitement when I saw it. Teddy's very own running chair had arrived, after being approved late last fall. We had requested this through his case worker who approved it after her due diligence. We were super excited to partner with myTEAM Triumph (MTT) to order Teddy's chair because we've used these race chairs for several years through them, so we knew what works for Teddy.

Captain Teddy in his new wheels! And, yes, we ran down the street in the pouring rain.

We were able to get a chair that fits him wonderfully now but also fits me, which means that he can push me. Just kidding. It means that he can grow with this chair, with a few simple adjustments like switching the seat pads. It has a foot basket to help contain his feet and wheel guards to make him work just a bit harder to get to the wheels.

It also has some pretty sweet wheel covers that highlight Teddy's diagnosis with the CDG symbol, his name and the MTT logo. He'll do his part as a MTT ambassador wherever we go.

This chair means so much to our family because it gives us more freedom to enjoy the outdoors together. This allows me to return the chair to MTT that I had borrowed during quarantine, which enabled us to go on several runs while AJ biked along side us. This also adapts to pull behind a bike, which means that Dave can pull Teddy. (See, I push for running, so he can pull him for biking.)

Just this weekend alone, we logged 12 miles over the course of two bike rides. Of course, one of those bike rides was to look for the missing bolt we lost on our first adventure with the chair. I'll blame that on my 8-year-old crew member who doesn't quite tighten the bolts well enough for trails ... and my 6-year-old passenger who intentionally was trying to unscrew the bolt.

Pretty sweet ride for Teddy, and it pulls nicely, except with the gusty winds we had both days. 

We're so grateful for this chair. It will help us share so many miles and smiles together as a family. AJ and I were joking that now we could train for a family triathlon in a few years when AJ is strong enough to pull Teddy for the biking. I'll do the running, and Dave can pull Teddy in a boat for the swim. I was pretty happy with my plan to get Teddy a whip to make them go faster until AJ pointed out that whips still swing backward, so I'm not safe from Teddy trying to make me go faster either.