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Wheelchair bike 'helluva way to get somewhere'


10/25/06
By Loni Ingraham

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Lee Roberts, 87 and a resident of Edenwald retirement home, gets a ride on the Duet wheelchair bike from activity department assistant Tony DeLuca.
Lee Roberts, 87, recalls he laughed and laughed.

"It was a 100 percent enjoyable experience," he said.

Roberts, who served in the Navy during World War II and in the Marines during the Korean War, was talking about his ride on the Duet wheelchair bike in October.

Roberts, who spent most of his life in Hampden, hasn't been able to walk without a walker since a traffic accident four years ago.

"She didn't see me, and I didn't see her, but she had the bigger car so she wiped me out," he said.

Roberts now lives at the Edenwald retirement home in Baltimore County, and he had an especially good time when therapy assistant Tony DeLuca propelled him up and down the pavement on the therapeutic bicycle Oct. 10.

"I was just riding, and he was doing all the work," Roberts said. "It was a helluva of a way to get somewhere."

Edenwald acquired the tandem wheelchair bike in late spring after clinical studies showed it helps to decrease depression in older people living in a senior facility, according to Karen Baranauskas, director of recreation therapy at the retirement home at 800 Southerly Drive in Towson.

Manufactured in Germany and distributed in the United States by Frank Mobility Systems, the $4,200 bike is a rugged wheelchair that attaches to half of a bicycle, which is pedaled by a therapist or aide.

Acting as the front wheel of the bike is the detachable wheelchair in which the patient is secured. A harness and a safety helmet assure the patient's safety.

The staff determines which residents might benefit from the therapy and obtains permission from the residents family and doctor.

About eight residents of Edenwald have taken advantage of the program so far, Baranauskas said.

"The reaction has been positive," she said.

The construction work on Edenwald's new, 12-story residential tower has somewhat limited the bicycle's range, she said. Since the device is collapsible, the long-term goal is to be able to pack it up and take it to a park.

She herself has pedaled the bike, she said.

"We're all getting exercise out of it -- it's very easy to maneuver," Baranauskas said.

The residents really enjoy the experience. They smile or crack jokes or look at the birds and the trees and they notice their surroundings and the progress of the construction, she said. One woman said she felt so healthy when she was on the bike.

"The best part of it is they are getting outside in the sunshine and fresh air," she said. "It gives them a sense of freedom and independence. Most want to go longer, farther.

E-mail Loni Ingraham at Loni Ingraham@patuxent.com