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Date: 4/18/2023
SPRINGFIELD — Second grader Benjamin Brunson needed some assistance with his mobility at school and is a Batman fan. Robert Charland, better known as Bob the Bike Man, combined the student’s needs and affection for the superhero into a new wheeled chair and bike to help him get around school.
To present the new bike to Benjamin, Charland enlisted the aid of more than 20 members of law enforcement, fire services and ambulance services, many of them dressed superheroes, on April 13 at the Rebecca Johnson School.
Charland explained to Reminder Publishing a school resource officer at the school reached out to him about the student. Charland spent two months fabricating the bike and then having a local graphics firm “wrap” it in a Batman theme.
Charland explained to Brandon and Nicole Brunson, Benjamin’s parents, the bike has been constructed to accommodate Benjamin’s growth and will be good for him for years to come.
The bike comes with rechargeable lights, pedals that fold in for transportation and storage and Benjamin received his own Batman-themed helmet.
Benjamin was born with the rare Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome, a genetic disease that affect less than 50,000 in the nation.
Nicole Brunson told Reminder Publishing when she saw her son’s new bike for the first time, “I’m totally blown away and I’m so grateful that people care about our son.”