I’ve always heard that age 8 was the time to be fearful.

At age 8, DuchenneMuscular Dystrophy seems to finally catch up with the body and weakness begins.

When Jackson was first diagnosed at (almost) 4 years old, I heard horror stories

about this age. And I set the idea in the back of my mind and I figured I’d just deal with it when the time came.

Well, the time has come.

Jackson turned 8 in April and all was well. My mommy heart soared and I thought “Yes! We have kept Duchenne at bay. This is great, we’ve beat the odds!”

Then a couple months went by and Jackson began getting weaker. He began randomly falling. He would have leg cramps and leg pains and I didn’t know what to do.

I would massage his legs and do the best I could.

I took him to see his specialist and during that trip he confirmed that Jackson was indeed getting weaker.

Months earlier I ordered a Pride Go-Go Scooter because I try to be one step ahead of Duchenne.

This is the Pride Go-Go Scooter that I have. 

It folds up nicely which is incredible! 

When I got it out and introduced it to Jackson he immediately was upset and couldn’t understand why he needed a scooter at his age. I explained his muscle weakness and how it would help him to get around without getting so exhausted.

He still was upset. As a Mom I wasn’t sure how to quite handle it. Jackson’s little brother, Logan, had quite the opposite reaction. He thought the scooter was the coolest thing ever.

Knowing that, I figured I’d play off of that and try to figure something out.

Then I had an idea and didn’t know if it would even work or be an option…BUT I knew I had to at least try.

So I began looking up Scooter Modifications and I got nowhere fast.

I called and emailed the company and all I was told was that there was no device or way to modify the scooter in a safe fashion.

So then I got to work and began brainstorming on my own.

I thought it would just be perfect to develop some type of skateboard/scooter board attachment.

I went to my local baby boutique called Lullaby Lane and spoke to a lovely gal named Paige.

She was so sweet and patient and listened to my crazy idea.  

She had some scooterboards that we tried fitting on to the scooter and I ended up getting two and taking them home to see if/how I could attach them.

I ended up purchasing the  UPPaBaby Vista Piggyback Ride Along Board 

I used a combination of tools to attach the board to the scooter. Here is the supply list and directions on how to build it.

Materials Needed

Thredded Rod, the diameter of the hole of the scooter

UppaBaby Scooter Board

6-inch long square 5/8″ aluminum tubing, cut to size

Drill

10/32 screws with washers on both sides

3/16″ rod (18 inches long) threaded on both ends with a nut or a fastener to keep it attached.

These pictures show very easily that to start you have to use the thredded rod to go through one side and all the way out the other.

This scooter has a tube that the rod goes through. Then I had it also go through the aluminum tubing.

Cut 2 holes into the aluminum tubing and place washers and screws on the sides to attach it.

Then the board is completely attached and ready for roll!

The best part too is that the scooter can still completely fold in half and the board isn’t at all affected.

I showed it to my boys and they were beyond excited.

Logan got on the back of it and off they went!

We took it out for a spin and sure enough it worked beautifully and the boys thought it was THE BEST THING EVER!

Video of boys riding modified scooter around