AMBUCS donates tricycle

Jocelyn China has always made a habit of defying expectations - rather startling for a little girl who just turned 3 last month.

Her mother, Shannon Rogers, wasn't sure two years ago if her daughter would ever walk.

But Jocelyn did learn to walk, despite severe joint issues that prevent her bending her knees. She dances, too, charming guests at a Hitchcock Healthcare fundraising dinner in August.

Earlier this week, Jocelyn climbed on a modified tricycle and, using her hands and arms on pedals at handlebar level, rode around the rehabilitation facility before venturing outside as Rogers and staffers applauded her efforts.

Jocelyn had been practicing on a tricycle owned by Hitchcock, and Rogers readily admitted she cried when she saw her daughter ride for the first time.

It's not clear, however, if Jocelyn understands yet that she now has a bike of her own, thanks to the AMBUCS organization in Aiken.

Chuck Foster has spent seven years as a volunteer with AMBUCS, an organization dedicated to providing independence and mobility for people with disabilities. The Aiken chapter is now the only one in South Carolina. Foster now has a multistate regional involvement and also serves on the national Board of Directors. He constructs the bikes and tricycles himself.

"When you see the look on the kids' faces when they ride the bikes, that's what does it," Foster said. "This is our fourth generation bike, and it's made with more standardized bike parts. That keeps the cost down and means we can give away more bikes."

Rogers and her mother, Janet Deason, said Jocelyn has been determined from the outset. Now that her daughter had demonstrated her capabilities, Rogers will get a bike for Jocelyn's twin brother, Jailen, as late birthday presents. Soon they'll be riding around the neighborhood together.

Physical therapist Kathy Cothran has worked with Jocelyn at Hitchcock for most of her life. She described Jocelyn as determined, stubborn and willful.

"You do find that in some of the kids we see here," Cothran said. "It really helps them be able to do better. Jocelyn has always been like that."

The therapist related the story of Jocelyn's efforts in learning to walk. Once she was crossing a room toward her dad, Arthur China, when she fell down halfway across. Most kids would crawl the rest of the way. Instead, Jocelyn crawled back to her starting point and then made the full walk to her dad successfully. Cothran relishes those stories about the kids she serves.

"I love to see them develop new skills, like seeing them walk for the first time," she said. And riding a tricycle, too.

Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.