Four year old Lachie loves the playground, the swings and in particular, the slides.

His favourite colour is green and he is passionate about reading, regularly requesting books. An avid Roald Dahl fan, he is very excited at the prospect of learning to read himself. Lachie has Bilateral Peri Ventricular Leukomalacia resulting in severe cerebral palsy, mild cortical visual impairment, development delay and epilepsy. He is fully dependent on his parents/carers for all aspects of his care.

The Children’s Charity  variety funded a modified tricycle for Lachie to provide him the opportunity to explore and interact with his environment, to participate in age appropriate social activities and this has resulted in a greater quality of life and much needed respite for his family.

Lachie was presented his brand new green modified tricycle at the 2011 Variety Bikes4Kids presentation in Federation Square, Melbourne. Lachie and his parents were presented this fantastic gift, from comedian Charlie Pickering and DLA Piper Community Investment Advisor Margie Hack, thanks to a generous donation to Variety from DLA Piper.

“His face lights up whenever he sees or gets on his bike and he is proud as punch to ride it around the local streets… You can just see how happy it makes him to be able to do something for someone else rather than having to have someone do something for him.”

Lachie’s ‘Green Machine’ has increased Lachie’s independence by providing him a way to explore and interact with his peers and bigger and better participation in family life and leisure activities.

Lachie’s mum Carly commented, “Lachie doesn’t often ask for anything except a book on his own, generally needing prompting to decide what activity he wants to do next, but he will ask to go for a bike ride, using his communication book”.

Lachie is at risk of developing muscle contractures and bone deformities due to the spastic component of Lachie’s cerebral palsy, meaning that his muscles are over active, turning on all the time and creating short, tight, weak muscles. The quadriplegic component means the whole of Lachie’s body is affected including the muscles of his limbs, trunk, head and neck, making swallowing and speech difficult. This can lead to pain and orthopaedic surgery and his new modified tricycle will help to prevent this occurring.