Dad-powered wheelchair aids teen in marching band

Algeo and his bandmates will be performing in New York City in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but Algeo will have some company.

The student, who has been playing the trumpet for eight years, was born with spina bifida and uses a wheelchair. But that won't stop him from marching with the band in the parade.

Algeo's father, John Algeo, has been learning the formations with Rob and will be pushing him throughout the whole performance while he plays trumpet.

"He's not really musically inclined, so it's been interesting," Rob said jokingly about his father.

Working along with his parents has been the easy part Rob said: It was the football field they've been training on that has been difficult. With the thin wheels of the wheelchair and the many bumps in the field, they have had a hard time during practice. "Pavement's a lot easier," Rob said, "not as much rocking back and forth."

Luckily the parade will be on pavement.

Rob's mother, Cris Algeo, said that they feel like a part of the band, and even went to band camp in Prescott earlier in the year.

She knew from the beginning that they wanted to do this for Rob, being as it's his last year of high school. Rob has been a member of the band for three years and usually is stationary near the drum majors during halftime performances.

"It was just a matter of figuring out how we were going to do it, not if we were going to do it," Cris said.

And how they do it is by simply placing a metal tube on the back of the wheelchair for John to push. Taking these small steps to make it right seems natural for Rob, who gained confidence in his abilities by playing wheelchair basketball.

"So many people in wheelchairs don't think they can do it. I've always known I can do it, I push myself," he said.

And on the morning of Thanksgiving, Rob will be pushing himself along with just a little help from his father.