Poppy Atkinson beams as she speeds around on a bicycle.
It’s an activity that would otherwise be impossible for the 11-year-old who has a zest for life despite being profoundly disabled.
Poppy’s wheelchair is strapped onto the new bike at Kingspark School, in Dundee, where she’s about to start secondary school.
As soon as she hears the ramp click down Poppy starts laughing.
Mum Sharon McGregor says: “She’s smiling, she’s so excited!”
Poppy needs round-the-clock care
A keen cyclist who is training for a triathlon, Sharon is “ecstatic” that she can now share her passion with her daughter.
Poppy’s severe complex needs mean she needs round-the-clock care.
She was born with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, which causes overgrowth, and has epilepsy. A prolonged seizure when she was 15 months old caused a brain injury.
Sharon explains: “She was just starting to walk, she was just starting to say her first words.
“She became hypoxic [deprived of oxygen] after a severe seizure that happened through the night.
“She stopped breathing and was taken into hospital.
“For two weeks she was in an induced coma. When she woke up she wasn’t able to do anything for herself. So now Poppy needs 24-hour nursing care.”
Sharon, who also has two grown-up children, was living in Exeter at the time but returned to Dundee before Poppy started school.
Poppy loves Kingspark School where she’s been a pupil since primary one.
Sharon, a single parent, cares for Poppy alone at home in Kirkton. She receives help from her mother and Poppy visits Glenlaw House regularly for respite care.
She says: “It’s so good to have the school here for support.”
Poppy and Sharon love swimming at Kingspark School, where the pool is fitted with a track hoist and sensory lighting.
New Kingspark School bike makes cycling possible
The recent purchase of the £5,600 wheelchair-accessible bicycle, funded by Kingspark Parent and Staff Association, adds to the activities Poppy can do.
This is a godsend to Sharon as Poppy’s growth makes it increasingly difficult to take her out.
She says: “As she gets older I feel like the world is getting smaller for her.
“There are so many things that are inaccessible now because of her wheelchair.
“As she gets bigger I can’t get her around the same.”
When she was smaller and lighter, Poppy could be lifted into the school’s other bicycles with bucket chairs.
School depute head teacher Susan Jackson says the new bike means cycling is now accessible to all Kingspark children.
She says: “Our bikes with bucket fronts don’t posturally support all our children, so this one allows them to go on in their wheelchair, where they are posturally supported.
“It gives them an opportunity to experience something they might not have had before.”
Pablo’s pedal power brings joy to Poppy and classmates
Pablo Casado has the joy of pedalling Poppy and her classmates around.
The outdoor learning teacher says: “To be outdoors means a lot to them.
“For some of the children it’s less about the cycling, it’s the feeling of the wind, other people speaking to them.
“I get to see and hear their reactions. I love it, just love it.”
Families are also able to use the bike so they can share the experience with their children.
Kingspark parents, including Sharon, raised money for the bike by walking 20 miles in Dundee Kiltwalk. Sharon and Poppy also did their own 20 miles on walks around their neighbourhood.
‘I try to give Poppy experiences her siblings had’
Poppy was very poorly last year, with repeated bouts of pneumonia and chest infections.
As she gets older, her health is a constant worry for Sharon.
But watching Poppy speed round the school grounds on the bike, Sharon says: “It makes me feel a bit emotional to be honest. Full of warmth and happiness.
“I’m on my own with Poppy so it is quite hard.
“But I try to give her the best experiences I can.
“I like her to have the same kind of experiences my older kids had. They had bikes and things like that so I want that for her.
“She is quite a happy soul anyway.
“You can see in her face that this just gives her a sense of freedom.”
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