Meet cute little 4 y.o. Piper from Kalorama VIC.  With her identical twin sister Ruby, you could be looking in a mirror.  Quite literally in fact as the girls are “mirror image” twins (Piper is right handed – Ruby left, Piper has amblyopia in her right eye – Ruby has it in her right.  It’s even the same for their personalities and likes & dislikes!)

The biggest difference between them though is that at 2 years of age Piper was diagnosed with cerebral palsy – spastic diplegia.

It’s very hard for Piper to be mobile – she uses AFOs (ankle foot orthotics) and a special Walker to get around, but tires easily and has lots of ‘spectacular but graceful falls!’ according to her mum Stef.

When we met Piper in Dec 2011, over the past year, Piper had become increasingly aware that she was less mobile than her peers. This was especially true when she saw her sister and cousins whizzing around on their bikes.

Then Piper’s world was turned upside down when she was given the opportunity to try a specially adapted bike.  She had so much fun she couldn’t stop smiling and didn’t want to get off.  Mum Stef said she’d been talking ever since about how clever she was to ride ‘all on her own’!

Her physio recommended that this type of bike would be of significant benefit to Piper’s ongoing physical health (not to mention the wonderful joy it would bring!), as would a Second Skin / lateral body splint suit – which would greatly support her core stability and have a significant impact on her ability to access both her home and kinder environments – enabling her to participate in a greater range of play experiences.

Piper’s Appeal raised the $3,491 needed to fund her special bike and Second Skin suit in just 15 days. Go Piper!