PROVO, Utah- It's been tough for 18-year-old McKay Mitton to get around because he's outgrown his bike stroller/trailer, but recently some BYU students put an idea in motion and built an adult-sized trailer for the teen.
Thursday, he tested out his brand new customized stroller/bike trailer. It's a more comfortable ride since he's outgrown his old wheels.
"McKay is one of triplets. He has cerebral palsy and has been in a wheelchair essentially all his life," said his mom, Allison Mitton.
McKay's limitations don't hold him back.
"He’s like every other kid that likes to be outside," Mitton said. "He’s my one that would be outside 18 hours if he could."
When it became too difficult for him to ride his old stroller/bike trailer, mechanical engineering students from BYU's Capstone Program stepped in and built an adult-sized bike trailer that converts to a jogging stroller.
"There was nothing on the market we could find," Mitton said.
Cheryl Wu, a mechanical engineering student at BYU, said it was a project unlike any other they'd worked on.
"I'd say this is pretty unique because there’s nothing on the market out there for an adult that is a convertible bike/trailer jogger also for recreational use," Wu said.
It's a blessing for McKay's family, who say they want nothing more than to see him smile.
"When we treat our kid like a kid instead of a disabled kid, that’s when we find the most joy," Mitton said.
BYU students want to help anyone who can benefit from their invention. That’s why they plan to put the entire project, including step-by-step instructions, online. That way anyone can make the trailer on their own. Those instructions were not yet posted at the time this story was posted.
