BARRY’S BAY – The community is banding together to help Chadd Stoppa get a new bike. Life certainly has not been easy for Chadd and his family. He was born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus. When he was three years old, he was diagnosed with type one diabetes. This has required many trips to doctors locally and at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and also physiotherapist visits. “He faces many challenges every day, and he still manages to share his contagious smile and laugh with everyone that he meets,” his mom Anita Jessup said. “He is one of the most determined, motivated and inspirational people that I know. He is the boy with the 20-pound backpack; it is usually filled with mini sticks and balls and gloves so no one is left out at recess.” Chadd is an active child, and is involved in the community’s sledge hockey team, a local team his mother founded. When Anita first found out about a hand-powered tricycle from Chadd’s physiotherapist at the Community Care Access Centre in Pembroke, she knew Chadd had to try one out. The company, Motion Specialities, brought a trial bike to St. John Bosco School, where Chadd is a Grade 5 student. “He fell in love with it,” Anita said. “It allowed him to move around freely and easily. Fortunately, this adaptive equipment exists; unfortunately these types of bikes are very expensive.” The bike costs around $2,200. To read the full story, pick up a copy of the June 20 paper.