roshni
09-14-2006, 12:20 PM
With an infectious smile on his face and the determination of a true adventurer, Nicholas Zichella of Howell entered the Howell Elks Lodge 2515 building on Ramtown-Greenville Road with speed.
Maneuvering his hand-operated black wheelchair, the 9-year-old executed a number of quick turns as the Elks members prepared to present him with two much-needed gifts: a portable wheelchair ramp and a Dell notebook computer.
Nicholas was diagnosed at 4 years old with Duchenne muscular dystrophy,
a degenerative muscular disorder that begins in the legs and pelvis.
"It's aggressive now," said his mother, Evelyne Zichella. "We've reached the point where (the disease) is progressing rapidly. Eventually, it will affect every muscle in his body."
In the past year, Zichella said her son went from participating in gym class to having difficulty walking a 4-foot distance, a challenge that makes it hard for him to maintain independence in the family's three-level home.
"We're striving for independence," she said. "A simple task is not as it would be for other children. Nicholas can't do buttons; he doesn't know what it's like to tie his own shoe."
With the goal of helping to foster his independence, members of the Elks' Handicapped Children's Committee Sept. 1 presented Nicholas and his family with his computer and a portable ramp.
"We knew he was going back to school and needed a better way to communicate with his teachers," said Tim Hogan of Howell, committee chairman.
The computer will contain course work from the Taunton Elementary School classes, therefore freeing him of the need to carry textbooks. And the ramp replaces a heavier model now owned by the family, Hogan said.
"Because his physical well-being has gone down, and he is now 100 percent wheelchair bound, we wanted to provide the family with a more portable ramp," Hogan said. "This ramp folds up into three pieces and weighs only 40 pounds. It's 7-feet long and holds up to 700 pounds. It will allow (the family) to use his automotive wheelchair."
Nicholas, who has two wheelchairs and one scooter, said in a few weeks he will receive a "brand-new red wheelchair." The chair will replace a hand-me-down that didn't quite fit and therefore was hardly used. Instead, Nicholas said, he uses the manual wheelchair or his blue scooter.
Link to full story: http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060914/REPORTER04/609140344/-1/WEATHER0501
Maneuvering his hand-operated black wheelchair, the 9-year-old executed a number of quick turns as the Elks members prepared to present him with two much-needed gifts: a portable wheelchair ramp and a Dell notebook computer.
Nicholas was diagnosed at 4 years old with Duchenne muscular dystrophy,
a degenerative muscular disorder that begins in the legs and pelvis.
"It's aggressive now," said his mother, Evelyne Zichella. "We've reached the point where (the disease) is progressing rapidly. Eventually, it will affect every muscle in his body."
In the past year, Zichella said her son went from participating in gym class to having difficulty walking a 4-foot distance, a challenge that makes it hard for him to maintain independence in the family's three-level home.
"We're striving for independence," she said. "A simple task is not as it would be for other children. Nicholas can't do buttons; he doesn't know what it's like to tie his own shoe."
With the goal of helping to foster his independence, members of the Elks' Handicapped Children's Committee Sept. 1 presented Nicholas and his family with his computer and a portable ramp.
"We knew he was going back to school and needed a better way to communicate with his teachers," said Tim Hogan of Howell, committee chairman.
The computer will contain course work from the Taunton Elementary School classes, therefore freeing him of the need to carry textbooks. And the ramp replaces a heavier model now owned by the family, Hogan said.
"Because his physical well-being has gone down, and he is now 100 percent wheelchair bound, we wanted to provide the family with a more portable ramp," Hogan said. "This ramp folds up into three pieces and weighs only 40 pounds. It's 7-feet long and holds up to 700 pounds. It will allow (the family) to use his automotive wheelchair."
Nicholas, who has two wheelchairs and one scooter, said in a few weeks he will receive a "brand-new red wheelchair." The chair will replace a hand-me-down that didn't quite fit and therefore was hardly used. Instead, Nicholas said, he uses the manual wheelchair or his blue scooter.
Link to full story: http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060914/REPORTER04/609140344/-1/WEATHER0501