“I always called my arm, ‘my little arm.’ I think it was just what my parents called it, so I went with that. Over time, I learned what to say and what not to say, but none of that existed when I was younger. I didn’t know the term ‘limb difference.’
When you don’t see representation or you’re the only person in your town who has a limb difference, that has an effect. There are so many things when I look back at my childhood that I probably wouldn’t have mastered, but I would have been more comfortable and confident trying. I shied away from most sports. I shied away from instruments. I struck off all these things that a lot of young kids in their development try that are huge for them, from a health aspect or just a social-emotional aspect.
A lot of it was because I didn’t see someone that looked like me doing it, but I also just didn’t have access to the right tools. I didn’t even know where to start. So we try to combat that as an organization and show people that it’s more possible when you have the right resources and support.
We’ve put a lot of research and development into our Bike Arm Adapter, which we invented for someone with a limb difference who wanted to ride in Pelotonia. She was never really able to ride a bike as a kid, and getting her on her bike with the very first adapter made me realize that I wanted to do it too. So two weeks before the Pelotonia ride weekend, my team scrambled to make me one. I decided to ride with her, and I’d never ridden that far on a bike before. Hell, I hadn’t been on a bike in probably 10 years at that point either.
Ever since then, I’ve ridden my bike every summer. But while we’ve gotten serious about launching the Bike Arm Adapter, and we’ve done testing nationwide, the thing that comes back to me is that it’s a shame that only 30 people have this right now. We have the momentum to take this to the next level, and I think the best way to do that is to show the world what the Bike Arm Adapter is capable of and what people with limb differences are capable of.
On September 10, I’ll be completing the first Miles That Matter, a biking journey I created that will showcase the product. I’m going to be riding 190 miles from Indianapolis to Columbus over four days. The funds we want to raise will support the entire organization’s next chapter. It’ll help us do more internships and host more workshops. It’ll help us invest in our innovation and expand our reach. Our community has shown up for us before, and I know they’re going to show up again. This is all just the culmination of our hard work.”
– Aaron Westbrook is the Founder and CEO of Form5 an organization that creates eco-friendly, innovative products with custom applications in collaboration with the limb difference community.