Forty-five years ago, he was in an accident. Friday, he gets to ride a motorcycle again

Patricia Alvord, Livingston Daily
·2 min read
After suffering critical injuries in a car accident 45 years ago, Ernie Decare, a two-year resident of The Willows at Howell, will get a chance to ride a motorcycle again Friday, June 9.
After suffering critical injuries in a car accident 45 years ago, Ernie Decare, a two-year resident of The Willows at Howell, will get a chance to ride a motorcycle again Friday, June 9.

HOWELL — After suffering critical injuries in a car accident 45 years ago, Ernie Decare, a two-year resident of The Willows at Howell, will get a chance to ride a motorcycle again Friday, June 9.

At 6 p.m. Friday, there'll be a Live-A-Dream Cruise Motorcycle Show at The Willows, 1500 Byron Road in Howell. It'll travel to Fowlerville and back. Motorcyclists are asked to arrive by 5:45 p.m.

Although Decare is nonverbal, he's recently expressed interest in riding a motorcycle again.

"A couple of our managers were taking care of him with some personal care in his room and they were talking about going on a motorcycle ride and Ernie just lit up," said Willows Community Service Representative Kait Lewis.

Since 2011, Live-A-Dream, in partnership with Trilogy Health Services, has helped Willows seniors make their dreams a reality by providing financial support.

"We have a program, it's kind of like the Make-A-Wish program. Ours is called Live-A-Dream, so when we have seniors or people who are disabled, we then find out like, 'What's your goal before you go?'" Lewis said.

With the help of different motorcycle clubs, including American Legion Riders, Nozzlemen, Baron's and the Iron Wheels, Decare will be able to live his dream of riding a motorcycle again by riding in a motorcycle sidecar and cruising with the clubs for a 45-minute ride. Police will block off M-59 to let everyone pass through together.

At the event, the community is welcome to enjoy free hot dogs, chips and drinks.

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"If people want to come out, they don't have to ride, but they can come out and see all the motorcycles," Lewis said.

Live-A-Dream tackles dreams quarterly. In the past, they've sent a resident to the Grand Ole Opry to see a show; one went skydiving with the CEO; and, on one occasion, staff decorated a room to reflect Indian culture with food and drinks, so a veteran and former marine biologist could give a presentation on multiple studies he did in Nepal.

"We see if we can make it happen and we try and pull the community in also to make it a true event," Lewis said.

— Contact reporter Patricia Alvord at palvord@livingstondaily.com.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Forty-five years ago, he was in an accident. Friday, he gets to ride a motorcycle again