Bacardi International has donated a beach-wheelchair to a disabled Bermudian boy so he can enjoy the beach this summer.

Jeffrey Medeiros, 15, was diagnosed with a rare form of Muscular Dystrophy eight years ago which his mother Ana Medeiros said also came with a ?death sentence diagnosis?.

His mother said Jeffrey is unlikely to live much past the age of 20.

?Muscular Dystrophy takes away so much from children,? Mrs. Medeiros said on Monday. ?Things that they used to enjoy get taken away because their muscles no longer work or can hold them steady. After two years of not being able to take Jeffrey swimming, we now have that joy back.?

Her son was happy because he loves the water, she said, but the wheelchair will also be a practical tool for giving Jeffrey physiotherapy.

?This will enable him to not only enjoy the water again but also allow me to safely and painlessly administer physiotherapy for him,? she said. ?The water is excellent for his muscles and I can manoeuvre them a lot easier under water than on his bed.

?I am looking forward to the day when the sun will shine on him and the water will relax his body as it massages him,? she added.

?He will be able to stretch his muscles and feel free in the water.

Mrs. Medeiros said she felt peaceful and happy when she saw her son sat so comfortably in his new chair.

?My son now will get back something he has missed,? she said. ?He will once again be able to swim with his sister and his friends. We are going to plan a big celebration for that day.

?I speak for Jeffrey when I say ?thank you?,? she said. ?These two little words have a very big meaning to us. They have provided Jeffrey with a wheelchair that will bring him years of enjoyment.?

Bacardi?s corporate controller Gaston Tano said the company wanted to help Jeffrey after reading an article about his condition in on January 17.

?After speaking to his mother she told us about this wheelchair that will allow him to enjoy, like every other child in Bermuda, the water, which is something he misses since a young age when he has been diagnosed with a disease,? Mr. Tano said. ?This is going to help his therapy a lot and he is very excited to have this and we are very happy to help the Medeiros family because I think they are a very strong family.?

Bacardi continued to be committed to Bermuda as a whole and specific families like the Medeiros family, he said.

The Committee of 25 for Handicapped Children researched the beach-wheelchair, which has large wheels on which Jeffrey can roll easily across sand, Mrs. Medeiros said.

Last Saturday, Jeffrey celebrated his 15th birthday at the Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo.

?This will be a good and sad birthday,? she said. ?One cannot forget that time marches on and the future is not very promising. But we still manage to take it one day at a time.?

And she still hopes that the Make a Wish Foundation can make Jeffrey?s wish a reality ? for him to spend a couple weeks being ?free and happy? at Disney World.