Zach

Hello, my name is Zach Hastings, and I just got the coolest gift ever: the gift of freedom. I was born with Spina Bifida, a disability that left me with extremely limited mobility, forcing me to rely on a wheelchair or crutches whenever I need to go anywhere. The problem here is that my crutches wear me out pretty fast and prevent me from carrying anything. My wheelchair keeps me from going to a lot of small or tight places and forces me to rely on others to reach things and open doors.  When I had to pick between the two, it was mostly picking between the lesser of two evils. Either way, if I wanted to hang with my friends or family or something like that, I was basically a huge hindrance to them.

Thankfully, in the summer of 2007, I was found by an organization called the ES Riders whose sole purpose is to help people like me with their mobility issues by donating Segways to people in need. Simply saying that I have a Segway is pretty cool in itself, but the coolest part is what the Segway really means to me. Because of it, I no longer cause problems to anyone that I am traveling with (at least not mobility-wise).  I can reach anything I need, open my own doors, I don’t have to stop every five minutes to rest, and I can finally be my own person. All of these things are usually taken for granted, but from someone who hasn’t been able to do these things for myself for a good 16 years of my life, it’s amazing to be able to do them for myself. If the ES Riders had never found me, I honestly don’t know how my life would have played out in the future. Not being able to do these simple things would have had a huge impact on my future: what I did for a job, where I lived, and pretty much every major aspect of my life.

Thanks to this generous gift, I no longer have to worry about how my mobility issues will affect what I’m going to do for the day; I can just hop on my Segway and go. This gift truly means everything me and nothing I ever say or do will be able to thank the ES Riders enough for what they did for me.