Young boy's face shines after receiving gift of an adapted bike

The Steinbach Community Foundation (SCF) held its AGM on Wednesday at the Eastman Education Centre in Steinbach.

There were about two dozen people present, including 6-year-old Henry Manza from Blumenort and his mom.

When it came time for the presentation of the SCF 2023 Grants, it was announced that $4,078 was going to Children’s Rehabilitation Foundation, which was going straight to the purchase of an adapted bike.

All eyes were on young Henry and his mom, as the flaming-red bike, with the black-high-back seat and handle-bars rolled into the room.

6 year-old Henry Manza surprised by his new bike.

Henry could hardly stand still and immediately asked to be placed on the bike, which mom Heidi obliged. Though the fit was perfect, getting his body to work the pedals and steering was a bit more difficult, but that didn’t discourage Henry, as he kept honking the bike horn with a big smile.

Mia Dunn, from the Children's Rehabilitation Foundation, presented the bike to Henry. She explains what their foundation does.

“It seeks to improve the lives of children with disabilities and one of the programs we support is adaptive equipment. We have a huge waiting list and never enough funds to support every child, whether it's an adapted bike or an iPad.”

She notes that Henry had been on the waiting list for quite a while as they were looking for funds to purchase the bike. She reached out to the Steinbach Community Foundation. “And they were fully on board and we're just so grateful and thankful to the foundation for their support.”

Henry was born with Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenital Amyoplasia, so this bike will help improve his cardiovascular strength, balance, and coordination, and bring fun into his life as he’ll be able to better interact with his family and friends.

Heidi, Henry’s mom, says they made the request through the Children's Rehabilitation Foundation and received encouragement from a couple of his physiotherapists and occupational therapists at Ste. Anne Immersion School. After the bike was given, she expressed her gratitude.

“So we were very, very excited to be able to be gifted this fantastic gift and the opportunity to have this gift for Henry, to be able to normalize his everyday life and his routine and to be able to have him participate in daily life. What’s normal for every day children can now be normal and fun for him and also therapy for him as well, and not just him, but for me as well. To be able for us, as a family to be able to bond and do these things together.”

Henry’s mom tries to muster the words to say “Thank you”.

“I would say it is definitely overwhelming, but in a good way, and I am so incredibly grateful. I mean my tears should say a lot right now. But this gift goes above and beyond the amount of love that I see in Henry's eyes. All of you know this is for Henry, but it's also for me, it's such a fantastic gift. To see the happiness on his face and to be able to be gifted this with the funds that I am unable to provide for him financially, is such a great gift. It goes such a long way and I can't thank them enough. I love you all, thank you so much.”

Heidi explains Henry’s condition.

“So it's called Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita. We call it MC for short. It's a form of muscular dystrophy that he suffers from. The good thing about this condition is that it can't get any worse. It can only get better as time goes on. So, we do lots and lots of physio and occupational therapy. Henry's been through 7 surgeries so far, he'll have to go through more, but that's OK. We know that each little bit will make it better and better. So yeah, it's just what we do. And to me, it's not a chore. It's not a problem, it's not an issue. It's something that you surprisingly become very adaptable to, and it becomes just a part of your life. And I love doing it. Being his mother has been the best thing in my life. It's been an absolute blessing and a joy.”

SCF Fund Development Chair, Troy Warkentin noted that giving the bike was probably his best grant presentation ever, and seeing Henry’s smile touched him and everyone in the room.

After the AGM portion of the evening, SCF announced their General Community Fund Grants for 2023, which included besides the grant to the Children's Rehabilitation Foundation Inc., $5,000 went to STARS Air Ambulance for their training program.

Total Freedom Addictions Recovery Centre received $677.82 for renovations they are doing to their current facility.

The Pat Porter Active Living Centre received $14,419.18 which will go towards new flooring on their main auditorium stage.

@steinbach_online Henry was gifted this adaptable bike! #feelings #imnotcryingyouare #AMC #arthrogryposis #arthrogryposisawareness ♬ Good Vibes (Instrumental)