Almost There

I won't go into all the details, but I ended up buying another used chair from Duramed as the one they picked up Monday was beyond repair. This is a picture of the new tires with their very aggressive tread design. Should do the trick. Just a couple more minor tweaks to do, fenders and such and it'll be done. I wonder if there's a Monster Jam for wheelchairs.

Snow & Wheelchairs - Again

As regards the previous post, we've run into a bit of a problem in that one of the wheels is seized to the axle. Joe, from Tetra, has been back three times to try to remove it but no luck so the chair was picked up yesterday and taken to the shop of a dealer. they called this morning to warn me that they too are having a problem and that the cost will be more than expected. I told them to go ahead and see what they can do. After all, we've come this far.

On a related matter, London city council continues to debate the plowing of sidewalks so I fired off the letter below to a counsellor who appears to be on our side. Don't know if it'll do any good but it's worth a shot.

Dear Counsellor Branscombe,

First of all, please accept my sincere thank you for your support on the issue of plowing sidewalks, as noted in today's Free Press article on this topic.

I use a power wheelchair to get around and on at least a half dozen occasions last winter I became stuck on the snow-covered sidewalks, each time within a block of my home in the city's core. And each time, I was forced to sit there feeling quite helpless hoping that a passerby would stop to help me out. Apparently the good citizens of this city have more compassion for the disabled than certain council members as, fortunately, I never had to wait long before someone came to my rescue.

The alternative to getting stuck, of course, is to stay in my apartment but I refuse to be housebound for several months of the year. I refuse to allow my disability to get in the way of living life to the fullest and am disappointed that some on city council don't seem to understand that I have the right to do so. The same right as more able bodied individuals or those who choose to drive rather than walk.

Consequently, in anticipation of the upcoming winter and a lack of confidence that city hall understands the needs of myself and thousands of other citizens of this city, I have spent a considerable amount of money by purchasing a second used wheelchair which I am in the process of winterizing so I can continue to be mobile once the inevitable snowfall arrives. I consider myself fortunate in that i can afford to do so and realize this is not a possibility for many elderly and disabled who may be on fixed or limited incomes.

Well, I have rambled on long enough. I'll close by asking that you, on behalf of the disabled, the elderly and feeble, and anyone else who, either by choice or necessity, uses the sidewalks, continue to support this cause.

Once again, thank you for your concern and thank you for taking the time to listen to my plea.

Sincerely,

Bill Birtch

A Winter Wheelchair?

A couple of months ago, while waiting in line for an order of fish and chips, the person behind me asked how I liked my wheelchair, He then informed me that he had a used one for sale and without boring you with the details, I'll simply say that I ended up buying it. My old chair was due for new tires, overdue actually, and the batteries were getting old so I thought why not buy this one, the price was really good, and then I'd have a second chair which I could perhaps modify to use as a winter chair.

In a previous post, I lamented about how bad my chair performed in even a little bit of snow, how I'd gotten stuck several times last winter and how expensive it would be to import a winter worthy chair from the states. Anyway, I was relating this info to a support worker from the arthritis society and she told me about Tetra, a group made up of volunteer engineers who design devices for people with disabilities. I looked them up on the internet, found the local chapter and emailed them. After several emails we met and discussed the possibilities for winterizing my chair. Today I received an email from Joe, one of the engineers, who thinks he has found a solution, some larger tires with more tread which, with some minor modifications to the chair, should do the job.

Needless to say I am pretty excited about the possibility of having a chair that will allow me to remain mobile throughout the winter. These people have really been wonderful to work with up to this point and I am so grateful that I was able to find them. So, stay tuned and perhaps before too long I'll have a picture of my new beast to post.