KLINGERSTOWN — There’s a guy asking for your vote who’s not seeking the White House — at least not yet.
Blake Kimmel, 10, of Klingerstown, hopes to collect as many online votes as he can before the March 30 deadline for The Great Bike Giveaway, a project of Friendship Circle.
Kimmel, who was born with arthrogryposis, a condition affecting his muscles, joints and nerves, wants to earn enough votes to win a Rifton Adaptive Tricycle/Bike. Voting began March 8 and, as of Thursday, Blake was in third place with 2,800 votes.
“Whoever gets the most votes, gets the bike,” he said. “We’ve contacted a lot of famous people and news teams,” said Blake, a fourth-grader at Mahantongo Elementary School and the son of William and Amanda Kimmel.
He is unable to ride a traditional bicycle due to his low muscle tone and poor balance, his mother said. With an adaptive bicycle, that dream of riding a bike would become reality.
“My physical therapist (Gemma Haas) saw it and she brought it into my school and I rode it,” he said of the Rifton model.
If he would be lucky enough to win the adaptive bike, Blake said he knows where he’d ride it first.
“I’d probably go over to the school and ride it on the macadam,” he said.
In addition to bike riding, Blake said he enjoys being active. He said he used to be a Cub Scout with the Pitman troop and did a little fishing, but he is no longer in scouting. He said he also enjoys hunting with his dad, playing baseball at home with his family and watching cartoons and NASCAR.
In addition to his parents, Blake’s family includes two sisters, Haley, 16, and Tara, 12, and a brother, Landon, 3. His grandparents are James and Pam Wetzel, Pitman, and Randy Kimmel, Hegins.
His family raises laying chickens, and he said they also have a “lazy” pet boxer named Baxter.
Although Blake was unable to eat by mouth until he was 3 years old, he’s now got quite an appetite, his mother said. Pizza and spaghetti are his favorite meals, he said, and Hershey’s candy bars are his favorite sweet treat.
It was his doctor, Dr. Armstrong at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, who has been guiding Blake on his journey with his disease, his mother said. His illness causes scoliosis of the spine, requiring Blake to get rods placed into his back. When he turns 16, the rods can be removed and more permanent rods can be put into place.
“He’s one of the first patients to get the new ‘magic’ rods,” his mother said. Every three months, Blake goes to Hershey to get his lengthening rods adjusted. The rods are magnetic, so there’s no need for more surgery. Magnets are used outside of the body to position the rods where they’re needed, she said.
“It only feels strange for a few minutes, then it’s okay,” Blake said.
Blake has progressed from being unable to walk, to using a walker and now is learning to use a walking stick at school.
“Right at birth, they (doctors) noted his low muscle tone and his feeding issues. His disease affects his muscles, joints and nerves,” his mother said.
Tri-Valley Elementary Principal Gerald Anderson has seen Blake’s progress first hand.
“Now, he’s walking down the hall, doing what he can do and has such an uplifting attitude,” Anderson said.
Blake’s personality shines through, Anderson said.
“He’s one of the most inspiring students I have ever met,” he said Friday.
“His attitude is so positive. He used to kid around about getting a (disciplinary) pink slip. At the end of the year last year, I gave him a pink slip for being too good,” Anderson added.
Anyone wishing to vote for Blake can click the link to vote and share at www.friendshipcircle.org/bikes/2016/02/blake-k-3.
Voting ends March 30 and each voter can only vote one time for Blake. You don’t need to donate any funds to vote, the voting is free. However, if you’d like to contribute monetarily, all donations go towards adding more bikes to the Great Bike Giveaway and enabling 600 children with special needs to receive a much needed adaptive bike. The cost of the adaptive tricycle Blake is seeking is estimated at $3,300.
The top vote-getter will receive the adaptive cycle. Other adaptive bikes will become available, depending on the number of donations.
Amanda Kimmel said her aunt Paula in Delaware heard about a friend winning an adaptive bike and suggested that she enter Blake in the contest. Blake tried last year but didn’t receive enough votes, she said, so the family decided Blake should try again. The “Team Blake” campaign is in full force.
In April 2013, Blake was selected as a Make-A-Wish recipient and received a trip to Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. He enjoyed the flight, he said.
“I thought it was really cool. There were window things you could slide up and down and you could see the clouds up there. It was a good experience,” Blake said.
This year, Blake’s hoping to ride off with an “election day” victory too.