My story is about life, hopes and prayers that were answered.
When I was in the hospital my doctors told me someone should write a book or story about me and my Velomobile. The doctors are amazed at what this bicycle called a velomobile has done for my health. I am in very bad health, but this DF velomobile has helped me so much.
I have a few diseases that have been very hard on me. One is Chronic Heart Failure. The harder or more I work out or exercise my heart pumps blood the wrong direction. This blood flowing the wrong way floods my lungs with blood and I can not breath. This DF has conditioned my body were this flooding of my lungs no longer effects me. When I first started riding this DF I could only ride about 1/4 of a mile. I would be out of breath and covered in sweat after a 1/4 mile ride. After a few months of riding 1/4 mile I started stretching this to one mile. After a few months of one mile I took off. I went from one mile to 30 miles. At times I thought I was having a heart attach, I could not breath but I would not stop. I would lean forward open the visor on my hood and breath in the cool air coming in. Now I get none of this. I can pedal for 100 miles pushing as hard as I can with out any rest stops. I do not get short on air and my heart does not hurt. The doctors are amazed at this. They told me I still have this disease but have conditioned my body to have no effects from this disease.
I also have a very bad case of Osteoporosis. My doctor told me I have one of the worse cases of Osteoporosis she has ever seen in anyone. Because of this disease I have broke my back over 5 times and my neck once. I broke my neck while sleeping. They had to do a fusion on my neck. My life was hell. The pain for almost 20 years was more then I could take. I was on all sorts of heavy pain meds. After getting this DF and riding it everyday I was living a pain free life. No more pain meds. For the last 5 years life has been good. My DF broke down and was out of commission for one year. The axle in the rear swing arm, that glue joint broke. It took me a year to get this repaired. Long story on why this took a year but it did. In this year I was in the hospital a few times. When I got my DF back all this stopped.
I also have a disease called Marfans. This has ate up my discs in my back. All of them. I have many discs that are bulged or ruptured with a few pushing into my spinal cord. The pain from this is awful more then I can take. But riding this velomobile has eased this pain. Every time I would stand I would scream. But not now.
Because of all these disease I am ate up with arthritis. Riding this DF keeps the pain from this arthritis at bay. There have been a few time I would wake up and not able to move my neck or head. I would get my velomobile out and go for a ride. By the time I would come home all pain would be gone. I find this amazing.
My doctors are just amazed at all this. Exercise is the answer to bad health. I am proof of this. I must stay active. But with my problems or diseases, exercising is tough. I tried all sorts of things before I got this velomobile. I worked in a swimming pool with the elderly. This put me in the hospital more than once. I tried a tread mill and the doctors told me to get rid of it. The “doctors” wanted me doing nothing. I was told to sit on the couch and watch tv. I did this for years. Life was awful. Then I found the Velomobile. It has changed my life. If not for this thing you build called the velomobile I would more then likely be dead today. My family knows this as do my doctors. The day I found the Velomobile was the day my life changed.
The doctors at the hospital told me someone should write a book or article about me. I told them it’s not me, but the Bicycle I own called a Velomobile. The Velomobile is the amazing thing, not I.
My doctors agree with me, velomobiles should be listed as a physical therapy device. I am proof of this. I can’t exercise but I can ride this velomobile. Sure there are recumbent bikes called trikes. But the Velomobile being enclosed, I can ride this in very cold weather year around. In an open bike like a recumbent trike I would freeze.
Before discovering the velomobile, I started praying on this, on a solution for me. I told our Lord I needed something that I can ride or pedal so I could get some exercise. I had never heard of a velomobile. Then one day a man emails me and I end up with this crazy looking thing called a Velomobile. God was shinning on me when I found this. I still believe this was sent from heaven. There are angels that walk among us, and I really believe those that build these velomobiles are doing Gods work to keep us alive and pain free. A velomobile is more than a bicycle to me, it is heaven sent.