Mackinac Bridge Walk; 32 Years and Counting

In 1972 Marv started a tradition of walking the Mackinac Bridge on Labor Day. Since then he has participated in the event a total of 32 times. In fact, he’s so proud of his tradition he has a custom license plate and a decal on the back of his truck with each of the years he walked the bridge. With his enthusiasm for the event, you can imagine how he must have felt when he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a serious disorder that mistakenly attacks part of the nervous system causing muscle weakness and paralysis.

Despite being able to walk short distances, Marv wasn’t sure he was strong enough to make the trek across the Straights of Mackinac. After getting permission from the Mackinac Bridge Authority to bring a power scooter to the event, Marv called Alternatives in Motion to see if we could help. We had one scooter left in our warehouse, so with a new set of batteries, and a little bit of hesitation, we sent Marv on his way north hoping the scooter would make the five mile journey without breaking down.  A few weeks after the event, Marv returned the scooter and said it worked great! It was a proud moment for our staff when Marv showed us the year 2011 had been added to the back of his truck. We where happy to help Marv keep his streak alive for another year!