ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — Covered dishes lined long tables in the gym of Bethel Baptist church on Highway 90 in Robertsdale Aug. 30. Workers in the kitchen prepared rolls and other dishes. It was going to be a fun evening for the congregation, which would see two young girls baptized and would share the delicious home-cooked meal afterward. This “Church Family Night” is something that pastor Mitch Nelson says happen at the church every month.

It was gala event, attended by 100 or so. But there was going to be a special presentation after dinner, and there was a lot of anticipation.

Megan Busch was going to get a new “bike.”

Busch went with her sister Jessica, then 15, and their friend, Taylor Hathcock, then 14 to a convenience store in Robertsdale New Year’s Eve. The girls were struck by a vehicle as they made their way home down County Road 65. Jessica Busch and Taylor Hathcock have recovered from their injuries, but Megan remains in a wheelchair.

Megan and her mother, Kim Busch, made their way to the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore to seek further treatment of Megan’s injuries. earlier this year.

Megan learned new skills like transferring herself from her wheelchair to other places.

Megan also was able to walk at the hospital with the aid of a walker and braces, and a set of braces is being prepared for the Central Christian School student. Megan is now a fifth-grade student at the school and whizzes about in her wheelchair.

She gets around Bethel Baptist well, needing help only to get up some of the ramps leading from one building to another in the complex. A lively youngster, A typical fifth-grader, Megan has pink braces on her teeth and was terribly interested in the cool new phone applications a friend was showing off.

“They told us the same thing (as other hospitals have told the family), but Megan has a lot more feeling than other people with an injury in the same place,” said Rodney Busch, Megan’s father in an earlier interview.

While there is no cure at this time, doctors and physical therapists agree that it is important for Megan to keep her legs moving as much as possible to retain muscle tone and the sensation she has remaining. Should a treatment become available, the work will help her take advantage of new therapies.

Megan was able to walk in Baltimore with the help of braces, so her doctors are encouraged that she may have more than the usual abilities than someone with a “T12” injury might have.

The family, Kim says, has exhausted insurance benefits for Megan’s physical therapy.

That’s why Megan’s new “bike” (it’s stationary and hooks to her wheelchair) is so important. It’s an RT300 Functional Electrical Stimulation Cycle, something Megan’s medical team recommended. It keeps electronic track of Megan’s progress, even sending a report to the Baltimore hospital each week.

“You won’t be able to cheat,” Kim told Megan with a chuckle.

Trouble was, the bike cost $15,000 and the Busch family had no way to pay for it.

That’s where Bethel Baptist came in. The church held fundraisers, including a fish fry that served 1,360 plates of fish to raise money for the new bike. According to Buddy Taylor, a member of the church, the fry raised “more than $10,000” for Megan’s new bike. Taylor and Nelson added that donations for Megan came in, and the church was able to purchase the new gear for Megan.

“This is just part of our church’s expression of Christ’s love,” said Nelson.

There was enough money left over to purchase a “glider,” a piece of rehabilitation equipment that Megan can stand in and exercise her hip muscles.

“It’s something that she stands in,” explained Kim, “She can move he legs, she makes it go by bumping it with her hands, and it puts weight on her bones.”

Megan uses the glider for an hour a day after school, and according to her, “after the first day, my hips were sore.”

“I just want to thank everybody for all their hard work,” said Kim.

“Yes, thank everybody,” said Megan.