Wheelchair baseballers

A very unusual baseball tournament was held in the CSUN G4 parking lot over the weekend. There would usually be a colorful family-packed park with rooting fathers and cheering mothers. What made this game unusual was that all the players were using wheelchairs. The cheering section also helped out.

Here

Scooter user faces thieves

Severely disabled Mark Lee was distraught when his mobility scooter was stolen and he was forced to hobble home on crutches in Witney late at night.

The thoughtless thieves who took the scooter were three teenage girls, who took the £800 machine for a lark. Two of them have now had to confront their victim to face up to the results of their behaviour, in the only case brought so far this year by a specialist youth police officer under the restorative justice system......

Here

Electric Mobility Scooter Goes All-Weather

Take a popular electric scooter and fit a lightweight plastic body on it. Equip it with a windshield wiper, lights and turn signals and presto -- an all-weather mobility aid that looks like a Smart car cut down the middle......

Here

Cash stolen after wheelchair fall

A man has been jailed for three months for stealing from a disabled man who had fallen over in his wheelchair.

Simon Williams, 28, went to the aid of the man who suffered from muscular dystrophy and Parkinson's disease but stole his wallet with £310 inside.

Here.

Flat battery leaves amputee stranded

Amputee David Watts had to be rescued by Wiltshire Air Ambulance when his new mobility scooter broke down on a cycle path between Chippenham and Lacock.
The 53-year-old from Little Englands had rented the scooter for only six days when it's battery died along the isolated path two miles from his home last Wednesday.

Full story here.

Wheelchair-bound pregnant woman bashed

A Perth man who bashed, kicked and stabbed his pregnant, wheelchair-bound de facto wife has been remanded in custody......

Here for story.

Don't drive your wheelchair at night!!

Here's the story.

PENSIONER Brian Rapley suffers so badly with arthritis that he can hardly walk.

And yet the 79-year-old, who is known as Basil, has been prosecuted for driving his mobility scooter at night.

The arthritic Army veteran was arrested on September 25, 2006, when police officers found him driving his electric mobility scooter along the middle of Manchester Road at 11pm with no lights on.

Another tax on the disabled!

Read this.

The popular mobility scooter, which has given many elderly and disabled people a new lease of life, has fallen prey to an EU-imposed tax, The Daily Telegraph has learnt.


GGGGgggggggggrrrrrrrr!!!

Vanity strikes again!

In increasing numbers, Las Vegas tourists exhausted by the four miles of gluttony laid out before them are getting around on electric mobility scooters.



Click here for the full article

Bringing wheelchairs into the 21st Century

I have to thank Robin of Access Auditing for this excellent post.

Bringing wheelchairs into the 21^st Century

I recently part in research to create accessible footpaths made out of recycled chip bark and the testing of their level of usability for wheelchair users. I came to one very important conclusion. Let me firstly explain the research conditions:

Trials involved attempting to push/be pushed in a wheelchair through 100mm in depth of varying thickness woodchip. If like myself you are a wheelchair user you will already know what the result was! Yes, you got it the front wheels simply sunk in and refused to budge. Any forward motion was impossible (with or without assistance)

In an ideal world wood chip or bark would be the best possible surface in woodland pathways, cheap to produce, convenient to acquire and very soft to fall or walk on also hardwearing, environmentally friendly and of course cheep! But unfortunately not at the slightest wheelchair friendly. So what is the answer? Do you car? Well here goes anyway.

To find the answer we first need to go back in-time (No, not Dr Who style) we need to look at the wheelchair as it was designed many moons ago in 1932 in fact.

Engineer, Harry Jennings, built the first folding wheelchair. (The design very much the same as we know it today) That was the earliest wheelchair, as I say, very similar to what is in use today.

The chair was built for a paraplegic friend of Jennings called Herbert Everest. Together they founded Everest and Jennings, a company that monopolised the wheelchair market for many years. (Taking us for a ride as it were) An law suit was actually brought against Everest & Jennings by the Department of Justice, who charged the company with rigging wheelchair prices. The case was finally settled out of court. (Surprise surprise)

Anyway, that’s your history lesson for today but what this tells us is that design has not really changed that much for nearly 80 very long years! Yes, there are lighter versions but the basic style remains. Two big wheels at that back, two little wheels at the front.

Again going back in time we need to remember that in the 30’s wheelchair users were mainly institutionalised and having access to the outside world (let alone woodland areas and any public areas) was not expected or even considered necessary, let alone a legal right as it is today.

So the answer to the problem of gaining wheelchair access in not only woodland pathways but beaches, grass, gravel etc etc is very simply, redesign the wheelchair so that it meets the needs of today’s users, not those of 70+ years ago!

I never promised the answer, simply stating the problem, one that is maybe not immediately obvious.

Robin

www.access-auditing.com

www.ableize.com

Don't follow this chaps example.

Police in Germany stopped a wheelchair user for riding in the middle of the road – only to find he was ten times over the legal alcohol limit for drivers.

But the 31-year-old will escape driving charges as he was technically a pedestrian.

A spokesman for Schwerin police in North-East Germany said: 'The officers couldn't believe it when they saw the results of the breath test.'

Here

Well, I won't be bookining into the Savoy again!!

Trevor Phillips, chairman of the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights has publicly rebuked London's Savoy hotel for demanding £1,000 to install a temporary wheelchair ramp for an awards ceremony.

In his first major condemnation of a famous institution, signalling an intention to go aggressively after firms that fail to meet the Commission's standards, Phillips expressed his 'surprise and disappointment' at the incident and threatened to call on public bodies to boycott the Savoy, one of the world's most famous hotels.............


Tight fisted sods!!

Link

Wheelchair fencing

I was looking through Youtube and came across this -

LINK

I must admit to have never seen wheelchair fencing before.

Suspects use wheelchair to make off with ATM machine

Cheeky buggers!

BROOKLINE, Mass. -- Thieves are caught on camera looking for any means possible to steal an ATM.

Omar Ali Credle, a former Longwood Towers employee, and another accomplice allegedly used a wheelchair to cart off an entire teller machine on the night of April 18 from the apartment building where Credle used to work.

To pull off the heist, police say the pair stole a swipe card for the complex as well as keys to a tenant's vehicle before using the wheelchair to make off with the machine that they estimate contained close to $1,800.....

Story

Power wheelchair soccer

Safety Harbor, Florida - You may not have heard of power wheelchair soccer, but for those who play, it has become addictive. For the last three years the Tampa Thunder have been part of a growing sport that has offered an athletic outlet for those in wheelchairs....


Soccer

Man invents hunting wheelchair

Until now, a hunter who, for one reason or another, found himself wheelchair bound for any length of time would have to give up hunting.
But a Bismarck man is changing that.

Tom Martell had to have his left leg amputated.

While he has been able to live a fairly normal life with the help of a prosthesis, he wasn't able to hunt for the length of time he did before.......


www.kxmb.com/getArticle.asp?ArticleId=116988

Duo heads out on wheelchair trip

I liked this story!

Garden City native heads off on a 3,500-mile cross country cycling trek today to promote a unique wheelchair mission that brings mobility to poor people with physical disabilities.


Dr. Mike Bayer, a 1969 graduate of Garden City High School, and Don Schoendorfer, co-founders of Free Wheelchair Mission, left Reader's Digest's headquarters in Pleasantville, N.Y., this morning on a journey they say is a "grass roots educational and fundraising campaign." During the bicycling tour, they'll promote the message of the special wheelchair, which consists of a plastic seat with mountain-bike wheels, in every city, town and hamlet they pass through.

http://www.hutchnews.com/news/regional/stories/wheelchair042007.shtml

Mobility scooter mayhem

Check this story out!!


http://www.menandmotors.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,12133~1010726,00.html

Whizz-Kidz - a great organisation!!

Whizz-Kidz changes disabled children's lives - literally overnight. By providing them with customised mobility equipment, training and advice, we actually give them something much more important. We give them the independence to live a life of freedom.

A useful mobility scooter guide from Radar

Welcome to "Get Mobile", RADAR's independent guide to help you purchase a mobility scooter or powered wheelchair. There are thousands of people who will tell you that their quality of life has significantly improved since buying a powered wheelchair or scooter. Being able to get out independently, where and when you want is a positive life enhancing experience.

"Get Mobile" will help you assess your own needs, be aware of the risks and decide what kind of mobility aid is right for you. This guide advises on the methods of purchase and financial support, takes you through considerations such as operating costs and outlines your rights as a consumer. We have also provided you with best practice case studies and a list of useful contacts and information.

Wheelchairs are VAT free for disabled people

Wow, the government lets us off VAT - that's nice of them.

Disabled people don't have to pay VAT when they buy equipment that has been designed solely for disabled people or on the adaptation of equipment so they can use it.

Also, VAT is not charged on certain services provided to disabled people, including some building work to adapt a disabled person's home and the hire of disability equipment like wheelchairs.

Goods and services on which you don't have to pay VAT are often referred to as 'zero-rated' or 'eligible for VAT relief'. In other words, the rate of VAT that is charged on them is zero.

The rules about VAT reliefs for disabled people are complex. Not everything that is supplied to disabled people is zero-rated for VAT........

Motability Wheelchair Scheme

The Wheelchair Scheme

A fulfilling and rewarding lifestyle can be dependent on something as simple as having choices.
Getting a powered wheelchair or scooter through the Motability Scheme gives you the freedom to choose.

Whether a simple change of scenery, some fresh air, seeing friends, an afternoon at bingo, or a trip to the shops, being able to choose what to do and when to do it, can make a real difference.

Through Motability, you can turn your mobility allowance into a mobility solution. With an extensive range of scooters and powered wheelchairs available to suit all needs, being stuck indoors could be a thing of the past.

The Motability Powered Wheelchair and Scooter Scheme is operated by route2mobility under contract to Motability.

Your 'route2mobility' is as simple as calling 0845 60 762 60.

http://www.motability.co.uk/Templates/Internal.asp?nodeid=89861

NHS wheelchair services

NHS Wheelchair Service

NHS Wheelchair Services are run by local health authorities. They are responsible for allocating funds to the Wheelchair Service and Primary Care Trusts who are then responsible for providing the service itself. This sometimes includes contracting the running of the service to an outside company.

It's important to note that the way services are organised and provided varies between locations. This includes the 'eligibility criteria' used to decide what type of wheelchair (if any) to provide, the timescales in which to provide equipment, and the way in which wheelchairs are funded. The basic process is as follows:

• you are referred to a local NHS Wheelchair Service
  
• an assessment of your needs takes place
  
• timescales and funding options are discussed
  
• the wheelchair, and training in its use, is provided
  
• a maintenance and repair plan(s) is arranged
  

Wheelchairs can be manual or powered and may be provided with accessories such as cushions, armrests and trays.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/HealthAndSupport/Equipment/DG_4000495

Many people with disabilities struggle to stay fit...

I found this article pretty interesting!

Three times a week, Vince Stankoski is lifted from his wheelchair onto a stationary bicycle. Electrodes are attached to three of his muscle groups, coaxing his paralyzed legs to pedal.
It is the highlight of his workout.
"I like that I can look down at my legs and still see muscles there," says the Allentown, Pa., man who lost the use of his legs after falling from a tree in 1998.
Apart from the bike, he also likes using the upper body weights, which come equipped with a seat that swivels away so he can move his wheelchair into position and lift.
Stankoski is one of the fortunate ones. He belongs to a gym specifically designed to accommodate people with disabilities...........

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=health&id=5216073

Borough of Poole - cough up the extra cash!!

A FUNDING crisis has forced a charity which provides wheelchairs and scooters to disabled shoppers in Poole to slash its service in half.
Shopmobility, which loans motorised scooters and wheelchairs from its town centre base, has cut back opening times from six days a week to just three.
Graeme Lines, chairman of the charity Wheels for Freedom, which operates the service, said less than half of the service's £1,000-a-week running costs were met by funding from the Borough of Poole, and the charity had found it impossible to make up the difference through subscriptions and donations.........

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/latestnews/display.var.1332371.0.wheelchair_service_suffers_funding_cut.php

Cheap wheelchairs

Wheelchairs don't have to be expensive (even though some are!!) - you can get a chair for less than £100!!

Check some of the sponsors to on this site for some great deals!!

Even dogs need wheelchairs!

Poor little doggies :-(


http://www.dogkarts.com/

Quick fact! Wheelchair basketball!

Wheelchair basketball is of reletively recent origins. It was proposed by Sir Ludvic Guttman before the last War as one of many games that disabled people could play but it was not until 1974 that the first British league was started with just 5 teams. Since then it has grown enormously and is one of the cornerstone Paralympic events.

Enigma Super Deluxe

I have an Enigma Super Deluxe. It is nice and light, with some nice features. Very comfy! and pretty manoeverable.

Only slight quibble I have, and it is only a very teeny tiny problem, when you fold it you have to take the seat cover off, this means putting it on every time you get it out the car, which is fine, except on windy days when the velcro sticks itself in all the wrong places, but other than that it only takes seconds to put together. My son doesn't take the wheels off to fold mine, it is plenty light enough for him to lift in and out with them on, and will fit either in my boot or behind the seats.

It doesn't automatically come with a cushion either, but then people want different things from a wheelchair cushion, so if you want one you can go ahead and choose your own.

It all works very smoothly and with flip up arms gets nice and close to desk etc. and makes transferring easy.

The wheels are adjustable easily, it comes with the tool to do them, there are a few other adjustments you can make too. The seat cover incorporates a deep pocket at the back, I'm not keen on using a bag on back of seat, hard to reach for a start, and there's the security, but it has really strong velcro on, no chance of anyone getting in there without me hearing the ripping sound!!! (good to keep your pump in if using 'air' tyres) some suppliers seem to offer it with mag wheels.

Argos wheelchair review

It cost me £225 and the current Argos catalogue number is 045 0337.

It has pneumatic tyres and although a hand pump is thoughtfully included [and some tools for adjustments] I have no chance of inflating the tyres to the recommended 50 pounds pressure. Fortunately my electric pump that I use for my car fits the chair and so I do it the easy way.

The wheels are spoke type, not the alloy variety, and are very light. No idea whether the alloy sort fitted with puncture proof tyres are actually any lighter.

I purchased my chair in October 2005 and my main requirement was for a lightweight model that I could get in and out of the car easily. Having seen chairs at every price from £200 to £2000 I thought I would start cheap and if it was no good then I would not have lost much.

What is it like? Quite good, really. Although it is made in China [what isn't, you may ask] the fit and finish are good. The detachable wheels are particularly well done - no slack in the bearings.

It creaks and groans when in use but I check the tightness of fixings now and again and nothing seems about to fall off.

It is fairly light at 14 kilos but with the footrests attached it was still unmanageable. I have removed some parts and have bought the weight down by 5 kilos. All in all, a good chair and well worth the money.