Adyn’s Ramp

Ten years ago, Lucy Martin was a high school member of our church youth group, and for two years running spent more hours completing service projects than anyone else. Her energy and vitality inspired many of us to do great things. Now Lucy is in medical school, and she and her husband, Brian, are parents to Adyn, a stunning two year old with Muscular Dystrophy, who has just obtained her first wheelchair. Their house had crooked cement steps to the driveway, making it difficult to move Adyn’s chair to the yard or the car. Jack Esslinger, in conversation with Dave Martin about building a ramp, thought it would be fitting to ask our current youth group to give this gift back to Lucy.

On Palm Sunday, we took four kids (Leah Dobbelaer, Maggie Burkett, Gabriel Rainwater and Daniel Rainwater) to Lucy and Brian’s house in Athens, Ohio, to build the ramp. It looked daunting – those crooked steps had to be covered by a LEVEL wooden ramp. The optical illusion gave us the sense we were building a fun house! Dave Martin was there all day with us, supervising and getting down on hands and knees with power tools. Brian brought out whatever supplies or tools we needed, and Joy and Lucy provided us with a well-appreciated lunch spread. Adyn had all the smiles to inspire us.

As soon as the last board was in place, Adyn was waiting at the bottom of the ramp in her chair (purple, which she picked out), practically revving her engine, saying "Go up!" We cheered her on as she motored up the ramp, all smiles, then "Go down!" as she turned around and did it again.

Until about two weeks ago, Adyn had been carried everywhere she went, at the will of another. With her new wheelchair, she can make more of her own decisions about where she goes simply by pointing her joystick, and like every other two year old, can get into new kinds of trouble all on her own. This mobility means that she can become all of who she is, not always depending on someone else to define her world. And our FBC kids helped make that world even bigger!

This is what love is – and how the love you give comes back around.

Julie Reiswig

March 2007: Commemorating the Ohio soldiers lost thus far in the war in Iraq, on the fourth anniversary of its beginning.

Nicaragua Mission Trip: March 2007
Rancho Ebenezer, Niquinohoma, Nicaragua

Pictures coming soon!!!