BRUNSWICK

T hanks to a chance meeting with a local business owner, a young boy with cerebral palsy has a new set of wheels.

Nelson Moody recalled meeting Megan Bouchard and her 5- year-old son Trey at a restaurant.

“In comes this woman with a little boy in a wheelchair,” said Moody, owner of Yankee Lanes in Brunswick. “She decorated the wheelchair to look like a spaceship. … I went over to compliment her on the wheelchair.”

Moody and Bouchard started talking and Trey perked up when he heard the word “bowling.” Advocacy for her son’s needs led to the next part of the conversation.

“She told me about a special trike featured at a Boston trade show,” he said.

The specially designed adaptive tricycle, however, carried a hefty price — $3,500.

Moody decided to hold a fundraiser at Yankee Lanes and promoted it at local nonprofits such as American Legion Post 21, which donated nearly $500.

A month later, $2,200 had been collected.

The fundraiser fits into Moody’s vision to make Yankee Lanes a place that brings families together.

“I’m pretty proud of my customers,” Moody said.

An anonymous donor wrote a check for the remaining balance and the bike was delivered around New Year’s. It was presented to Trey at Yankee Lanes. As Bouchard and her son walked into the bowling ally, Trey spotted the bike.

“He immediately wanted to get on it and ride it,” Moody said. “He rode it to the snack bar.”

“Trey is a very, very, happy boy,” Bouchard said, describing her son, who attends kindergarten at Freeport’s Morse Street School. “We’ve been through a lot — he was a preemie and had a stroke about eight days after birth.”

A feeding tube ensures Trey is nourished, and a shunt system drains excess cerebral spinal fluid from his brain.

The new tricycle gives Trey some more independence, and also builds strength in his legs and improves the range of motion in his hips.

Bouchard cites the adage that “it takes a village to raise a child.”

“I think this is a perfect situation to show that,” Bouchard said. “Because without the village, Trey would not have his bicycle.”

lconnell@timesrecord.com