Care granted: Gabriel uses personal experience after spinal cord injury to help others
Gabriel Grant was an 18-year-old high school graduate looking forward to going to Grand Rapids Community College to play golf as a walk on. But when a tire blew on the car he was riding in, Gabriel’s life took a different path. Gabriel broke his neck and became a quadriplegic in the 2009 crash. After […]
Mary Free Bed handcyclist Matthew Chaffee to compete in Boston Marathon
When Matthew Chaffee was introduced to the world of adaptive sports, it changed the way he views his disability. “I learned to be more independent,” said Matthew, who was paralyzed in a 2014 motorcycle crash. “I’ve met people with all types of disabilities, and everyone has their own way of doing things. The more I […]
Paralympians lead charge in River Bank Run handcycle, wheelchair divisions
Two Paralympians are among the elite athletes to compete in the 41st annual River Bank Run on Saturday in downtown Grand Rapids. Aaron Pike and Tom Davis will hit speeds of more than 18 mph, making the wheelchair and handcycle divisions two of the event’s most exciting races. Davis, who represented Team USA in the […]
Wheelchair & Adaptive Sports motivates 10-year-old Ginessa to compete
Ginessa Aguirre is a spunky 10-year-old with a long brown ponytail who likes making slime, watching YouTube and cuddling with her cat, Smokey. She also likes cooking and baking with her mom, Nora. But what Ginessa likes most is playing basketball. “I like to steal the ball,” she said. See? Spunky. Ginessa plays for the […]
Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation gives $10,000 to Mary Free Bed
Grant adds bike to fleet, creates state’s only off-road adaptive handcycle program GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital has received a $10,000 Quality of Life grant from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation to help people with disabilities go places that, until now, have been inaccessible. The grant was used to purchase […]
Bikes for the Rest of Us draws dozens of participants, volunteers
More than 75 children and adults with physical disabilities were introduced to adaptive bicycling during Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital’s annual Bikes for the Rest of Us event on Saturday. Each participant was paired with a therapist to determine the necessary adaptations that will enable them to pedal alongside their able-bodied friends. “This event helps […]
Grand Rapids Sled Wings capture national championship
Grand Rapids, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Sled Wings clinched its first sled hockey national championship during the 2017 USA Hockey Disabled Festival April 6-9 in San Jose, Calif. The Sled Wings defeated the Colorado Warrior Avalanche, 5-2, in the title game. The Sled Wings, a team of Michigan athletes with physical disabilities, are sponsored […]
New Adaptive Cheerleading Team breaks barriers, builds friendships
The Mary Free Bed All Stars Adaptive Cheerleading team boasts enthusiasm and spirit to spare. The newest team organized by Wheelchair & Adaptive Sports is made up of enthusiastic young athletes with physical or cognitive impairments that prevent participation in able-bodied cheer. “A cheerleading team was a missing piece of our program, and it has […]
Fun, fitness reign at Junior Wheelchair Sports Camp
Charles McDonald first attended Mary Free Bed Jr. Wheelchair Sports Camp in 2002 as a camper. This year, he served as an instructor. More than 50 campers with disabilities participated in the July 25-29 camp at Grand Valley State University in Allendale. The free event offers kids of all ability levels and ages the opportunity […]
Adaptive snowboarding gets Raphael back on the slopes
Raphael Correa, a patient of Mary Free Bed’s Orthotics & Prosthetics program, recently met a new, post-accident goal – snowboarding at Timber Ridge Ski Area in Gobles, Mich. After he spent a month in a wheelchair Correa got his walking leg in November 2014 and has been working and training ever since. Raphael’s goal is to get back to […]
Wheelchair & Adaptive Sports Program named as beneficiary of Sports Legacy Fund
The Mary Free Bed Wheelchair & Adaptive Sports Program (WAS) has been named as the beneficiary of the National Association of Sports Commissions’ (NASC) Sports Legacy Fund in 2016. WAS has previously worked with the West Michigan Sports Commission (WMSC), a member of NASC. Grand Rapids will host the 24th NASC Sports Event Symposium April 3-7, 2016. […]
Kids enjoy success, teamwork at Mary Free Bed Junior Wheelchair Sports Camp
Campers, parents, staff and volunteers on Friday afternoon celebrated the conclusion to another successful Mary Free Bed Jr. Wheelchair Sports Camp. The free annual weeklong event, hosted at Grand Valley State University, offers kids of all ability levels and ages the opportunity to participate in 10 adaptive sports, ranging from kayaking and disc golf, to sled […]
Sled Wings’ Robert Thrailkill named to U.S. National Developmental sled hockey team
Forward Robert Thrailkill Jr. from the Grand Rapids Sled Wings adult sled hockey team has been named to the 2015-16 U.S. National Developmental Sled Hockey Team. This marks the third consecutive year the 24-year-old Thrailkill has been selected for the squad. Moreover, this is the sixth time in the last 7 years that a member […]
2015 Midwest Wheelchair Tennis Championships recap
Guest blog by Erin Fouty, Tournament Director of the 2015 Midwest Wheelchair Championships, and Alicia Hass, Coordinator, Mary Free Bed Wheelchair & Adaptive Sports The beautiful facilities at MVP-Crahen were once again host to the Midwest Wheelchair Tennis Championships held July 10-12, 2015. Nearly 80 athletes from around the world traveled to Grand Rapids, Mich., to participate in all […]
MFB’s Jocelyn Dettloff feels the ‘need for speed’ at Berlin Raceway
Jocelyn Dettloff, Annual Fund Director for the Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation, isn’t one to shy away from a high-adrenaline adventure. When Jocelyn — who in 1997 was paralyzed in a sand sledding accident in Namibia, Africa — was recently given the chance to drive a race car on the Berlin Raceway, she embraced the […]
Taking on tennis after a 20-year break
As a teenager, Steve Draft-Peppin played wheelchair tennis at Riverview Athletic Club in Grand Rapids. And he was pretty good, finishing at or near the top in his singles and doubles divisions in 1992. But a few years later, Steve left wheelchair tennis behind in favor of other pursuits. Then there was college and career […]
2015 Fifth Third River Bank Run wrap-up [Photos & Video]
Congratulations to everyone who rolled, ran or walked through a very rainy — but exciting! — Fifth Third River Bank Run on Saturday, May 9, in downtown Grand Rapids. Below is a wrap-up of Mary Free Bed’s 2015 River Bank Run experience, including photos, video and news coverage. Thank you to our handcycle and wheelchair […]
Junior Wheelchair Sports Camp Gives Opportunities to Kids
From the Grand Rapids Press – Sunday, September 14, 2014