Idaho kids receive off-road wheelchairs that help them explore Boise trails
The Boise branch of a nonprofit dedicated to helping people with disabilities donated special wheelchairs to three Idaho children on Saturday, opening up opportunities for them recreate outdoors.
The Challenged Athletes Foundation gifted Jaxon Palmer, 5; Zella Egan, 5; and Clara Longoria, 8, with GRIT Junior wheelchairs, all-terrain chairs meant to allow users to travel on trails, beaches and more. Clara is from Boise, while Jaxon and Zella are from Twin Falls. Both Jaxon and Clara have spina bifida, and Zella has cerebral palsy.
“It’s a huge deal for us to get this chair,” said Zella’s mom, Sara Egan. “After her diagnosis, we decided as a family that we would do everything we could to let her enjoy the things that we enjoy.”
The Challenged Athletes Foundation presented the kids with the GRIT Junior chairs at Camel’s Back Park on Saturday morning, where the families explored nearby trails in the Foothills.
Several other Idahoans affiliated with the foundation were in attendance, including 4-year-old Teddy Wallace. Teddy was the world’s first GRIT Junior wheelchair user and regularly uses it on trails around Boise.
