Debra McDonald has always loved the outdoors.
The Salmon Arm resident worked for about 20 years in the forestry industry and is passionate about being outside in the wilderness.
But the progressive onset of Multiple Sclerosis has increasingly reduced her mobility, and in turn, her opportunities to get outside and off the beaten path.
She’s now reliant on a wheelchair to get around. First diagnosed with the disease in her twenties, she says it had a huge impact on her lifestyle.
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“It changes everything.”
But McDonald is excited about the opportunities afforded her by an innovative vehicle called a Trailrider.
The vehicle is part rickshaw and part wheelbarrow. It allows people with disabilities to access trails they couldn’t otherwise.
“It means freedom,” said McDonald.
The contraptions have been around since the 1980’s, but there are none in Salmon Arm, something McDonald is campaigning to change.
She’s entered an online contest, sponsored by Aviva Insurance, proposing the company fund three of the vehicles at a cost of roughly $7,000 each.
The Trailriders would belong to the community and be utilized by people with disabilities throughout the Shuswap and North Okanagan.
Anyone interested in voting in the contest can do so at Aviva’s website. The company will announce their winners in January.
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