Terry Lewis, 73, goes to the Bedford Center YMCA 3 days a week to work out and stay strong.

“I’ve always been a gym rat,” Lewis said. “I knew it was important to stay in shape.”

For 14 years, this has been more true than ever.

“Motorcycle accident,” Lewis said, referring to the reason he now uses a wheelchair. He hit a deer while driving his Harley 14 years ago. “The motorcycle landed on me, deer landed on the motorcycle, so about 1,400 pounds fell on my chest, broke 8 ribs and my back in 2 places.”

The accident left Lewis paralyzed, using a wheelchair to get around. It may have slowed him down a bit, but it didn’t stop Lewis.

“I always focus on what I can do rather than what I can’t do,” Lewis said.

When Lewis joined the Bedford Center YMCA shortly after it opened, he realized there were challenges in training.

“There really wasn’t any machine that I could work with without having to move from my chair,” Lewis said, noting that all of the equipment had built-in seats. “And if I get into that built-in seat, I might miss my shot, fall, and that’s just a bad situation.”

Not just for Terry, but for anyone else who might need help upgrading to equipment. Thus Lewis became a “polished” squeaky wheel.

“When I make noise about the wheelchair community, I don’t feel like I’m complaining. I’m just highlighting an issue that maybe no one really feels or understands because they can’t walk a mile in my shoes, so talk.”

“The most important element to me in achieving our mission is the ‘for all’ element,” said Carolanne Dunaway, executive director of the Bedford Center YMCA. “So being able to include everyone, integrate everyone, without being exclusive.”

That’s why Lewis researched the need for wheelchair-accessible equipment. The Y applied for grants, which were denied. Then the town of Bedford stepped in to help fund The Equalizer, a wheelchair-accessible, multifunctional weight machine, leveling the training field.

“It’s more about knowing that we have a solution to a problem that other people may not have realized was a problem,” Dunaway said. “It may have only affected Terry that week, but now it’s affecting many people who are able to use this equipment.”

“It makes me feel good,” Lewis said. “It makes me feel like I’ve done something.”