Diveheart Making Experience of a Lifetime Possible for Disabled

by Treadmarkz

I wouldn’t go scuba diving myself, but I think that knowing the opportunity exists to have the type of experience that Diveheart makes possible is a great thing. It makes me think back to when I was given the opportunity to go downhill skiing in Lake Tahoe. It was the greatest feeling of liberation I’d ever felt in my physical body. And I wish that feeling will manifest in many disabled people through Diveheart. Check it out. I saw a bit about them on TV this morning and I thought about all of you.

 

 

Ability Lifting Solutions Committed To Improving Quality of Life and Freedom for the Disabled

by Treadmarkz

Living in the material world, businesses often will not make the necessary changes to make their establishment wheelchair-friendly unless it becomes obvious to the owner that not doing so would mean loss of revenue. Often times it seems that up-front cost of renovations are the foremost concern. Often the prospects of a burgeoning clientele base – namely the disabled community – is not taken into consideration.

But this is not just an American problem. In Britain, the Equality Act 2010 appears to cover the same ground, roughly, as the Americans with Disabilities Act. London, dwelling place of 1.4 million disabled people and destination to large numbers of tourists every year, does not appear to be exempt from the problem of accessibility. British people with disabilities encounter the same every-day aggravations that I do; stores, restaurants and other public areas are not always accessible. I can’t say I am surprised.

I discovered this while discussing the issue with a representative of a British company that designs, builds and installs elevators (platform lifts) for domestic and commercial (even portable!) settings. They have numerous template designs but also specialize in “bespoke” designs, meaning “to the customer’s specifications.

The company, I feel, recognizes that many disabled people’s quality of life could be greatly improved. Inactivity comes from feeling disconnected from the outside world, feeling confined to one’s home. Ability Lifting Solutions is devoted to providing its clientele with a much more flexible quality of life, more options, more freedom. And in the end, that really is the answer, isn’t it?

They work with the customer to “suit your needs and budget” even if all you need is a lift to get you up one step. The work is all very modern, sleep and aesthetically pleasing. Domestic accessibility has come a long way since I was growing up and at my parents’ house we had a mechanical device in a closet renovated into an elevator shaft.

Ability Lifting Solutions’ Web site does not discuss pricing outright, but it does have a “Get a Quote” link. Surely with this company around there is a convenient, affordable way for companies to do as the Equality Act 2010 says. Surely it is worth a look if you are a business owner or a disabled resident in the U.K. or mainland Europe. Even if you are not, it is still worth a look to see how their product stacks up against what is available where you live.

Getting So Much Better All The Time…

by Treadmarkz

Well winter is almost over and I managed to avoid getting too out of shape. I think the best thing I did for myself was basically storing up for the winter by doing laps around my block every day during the summer and fall. I was like a squirrel storing a backlog of acorns. Winter is not by any means over, but I think it is getting close. We haven’t had much of a winter anyway, so I’ve been able to get out there occasionally lately. Can’t wait until I am out there every day. It is great cardio workout, but not only that but when I come in, I am not tired. No, no…In fact I often find myself energized after “doing my laps”. Which leads to weightlifting, yoga, crunches, and swimming once the pool opens. My fear was falling off the wagon over the winter and letting myself go. By the Grace, we had a short winter so I am going to be able to pick up where I left off, and add to my fitness storehouse. My hope is that I will only be in better and better shape as I head on into my mid-thirties. For those of you who are disabled I hope you will do so with me. We have enough going against us, in general. We need to take care of ourselves. I became a vegetarian two years ago and the biggest concern amongst people who love me was that I would lose strength by lack of protein. But there have only been a couple of other times in my life (pre-vegetarian) when was this energetic. And this time I have my wife who is much more enthusiastic about fitness than I am. And its only getting better.

Going Wheelchair Shopping

by Treadmarkz

Some time this week I am going shopping for a new chair. I got my prescription from my doctor. The chair I am in is definitely not fit to last another winter. I used and abused it this summer. I think all of that running around, along with the pressure of my job, have given me high blood pressure. Not really high, but higher than normal. I found that out when I had my appointments. Weird. I just wanted to get a prescription for a new chair and I found that out.

By the way, the doctor barely looked at me and started writing out the prescription for the chair, so I don’t know why I had to spend the time.

Rethinking the ReWalk

by Treadmarkz

I have been giving it a lot of thought, and though the ReWalk is still in its developmental stage as far as I am concerned, it does press me to consider what would be the one thing that would make me really, really wish that I could walk.

As my wife and I were driving through the countryside on our way home from my parents’ house today, I think I hit on the answer. The only reason I would ever really want to walk would be to be able to walk with my wife through the hills around my home town in the fall. The colors of course are beautiful (in fact sometimes the combination of colors can feel like something unearthly) and the hills are filled with endless mystery that is uncovered for the most part when the leaves begin to fall. But you can never quite uncover the mysteries of life unless you get right up close and personal with the things around you.

There is so much natural history I am missing. I know there is a ton of man-made history that I am missing out on by not being able to get into historic sites, but I’ve commented on that before.

Well, we can’t just make God, or the gods if you please, answerable to the Americans with Disabilities Act and all of a sudden have the hills, mountains, streams and valleys accessible to people in wheelchairs, now, can we? As I think that the point of this posting is to tell people with disabilities not to let any part of life pass you by because of your disability, for now, I may have to look into some off-road wheelchair options.

How To Get Six-Pack Abs in a Wheelchair. Is it Possible?

by Treadmarkz

When people meet me for the first time, they often make note of, or complement me on, the strong, muscular upper body that I have built up over the years pushing myself around in a chair. But what most of those people probably don’t realize is that my belly looks like an irregularly shaped loaf of bread. I guess that’s why it’s called the “bread box”.

But you hear it all the time in the media, gotta get a six-pack, wish I had a six-pack like that guy, I’m working out so by summer I’ll have a six-pack so I can go to the beach and pick up chicks. Whatever. There are superficial reasons, but it would be a nice feeling to have a nice, trim, sculpted healthy body.
In a wheelchair, it is easy to build up the muscle in the upper arms, shoulders and chest, but the abdomen? Most of the people I have ever known in wheelchairs have had a bit of a jelly belly. I used to say that would never happen to me. But it’s starting. Depending on your level of paralysis you may never achieve that six-pack, but I am sure at least you can have a flatter, more solid stomach if you work at it.

Let’s look at the ways that a person in a wheelchair can shed the jelly and sculpt that belly. Because you can push yourself around all day long and it will not make a bit of difference in your abdomen.

First thing is diet, obviously, but most people don’t like to hear that, and I am not an expert so I won’t waste the time with preaching something that I can’t for the life of me, practice. So that’s out the window right off the bat.

And the problem I have with writing this is that there are many different levels of paralysis, but for many paraplegics, and especially for quadriplegics, no matter what you do, you cannot get those ab muscles working. But I have seen some guys in chairs that partake in some pretty grueling physical activities, like skiing, sailing (which is a hell of a lot more physically demanding than it looks, I am told) and racing. All of these things demand balance, which requires you to use your abs, and yet that belly is such a struggle for a lot of us.

But regardless of your level, as long as you have good use of your arms, the best workout you can give yourself in that area, that I have ever had, is definitely swimming…there it is…swimming…the meaning of life! Put yourself on a regiment, a program, and stick with it, and you’ll be telling that gut to hit the bricks in no time. I remember those days. It was about 12 years ago, but I remember it.

Wheelchairin’ in the Bike Lane

by Treadmarkz

It strikes me as really dumb that it is illegal for people on bicycles to ride on the sidewalk. They are required to ride down on the street in the “bike lane”. Right next to where the traffic is zooming by! Two-ton chunks of metal are hurtling by at 40-60 miles per hour and these people on bikes can’t go on the sidewalk, because why? Because pedestrians might get hurt if they are hit by a bicycle? I think this is the idea behind the law. But hey, I am in a wheelchair and I can speed down the sidewalk pretty darn fast if I choose to. I don’t choose to, being a civilized man. And I think that, like me, a person on a bicycle can probably manage to control his/her speed if he/she sees pedestrians approaching on the sidewalk.
Should I take my wheelchair in the bike lane? Is it technically legal for me to take the sidewalk in my wheelchair? If it is okay, is it only because the wheelchair is my primary means of getting around, and a bicycle is a recreational vehicle? If so, then what if I took one of those hand-cycles out on the sidewalk? It’s a recreational vehicle. But yet, as a disabled person, it would still be my only means of getting around at the time, so they’d have to let me go on the sidewalk right?
Doesn’t make any sense. Are we willing to put some people more at risk than others of being hit by a car? Is this discrimination based on the person’s level of ability? I mean hey, I’m the one in the wheelchair here, I am the one getting special treatment, whose life is not being endangered, so far be it from me to complain, but I am looking out for everyone here.

Life as a Disabled Farm Boy

by Treadmarkz

If anyone reading this is in a wheelchair and grew up on a farm, I’d like to read your thoughts on the subject. Please comment.
Recently my wife and I visited my parents and somehow my parents got talking about how when they were first starting out as man and wife, my dad was thinking of becoming a farmer. He and my mom both grew up on farms. My dad did not however, become a farmer himself, so I grew up a smalltown boy, and I am thankful.

Because I am in a wheelchair, I couldn’t help but try to imagine what my life would have been like, had I grown up on a farm. All of the farm kids I ever met were out in the field or the barn with their parents doing chores from the time they were in diapers practically. For me, I am sure my dad could have found some job for me in the barn, but the field, I don’t know.

I know that I could have contributed a lot to the work that needed to be done in the house, just as I did as a town kid. But I feel like it would have felt wrong, as a boy, staying in the house while my brother went out to the field with my dad to do what is often considered to be the “men’s work” on the farm. I never felt that kind of disconnection as a townie.

As a townie, my siblings and I always had options on how we wanted to spend our time, after our small house chores were done, and our parents encouraged us to go into a career of our choice. But the farm kids we knew seemed to have been expected to do a larger share of the manual labor, and many took up a plot of land themselves when they left school. I don’t think it is forced upon them by any means, but it is a way of life that becomes so ingrained, I would imagine for some it is just the logical path.

My main question is “would I have felt as useful, would I have grown up feeling like a contributing member of my family and society had I grown up on a farm?”

Now, don’t get me wrong. I am sure that farmers are every bit as nurturing of their children’s dreams and talents. And I am sure, had my parents gone into farming, it wouldn’t have changed them as parents. But I am sure the atmosphere would have affected my personality drastically. That is why I am thankful I grew up a small town boy.

I’ve Heard Some Politically-Incorrect Words For “Disabled”, But THIS is Ridiculous! hehe…

by Treadmarkz

But seriously, I found this video on YouTube awhile back and I still can’t stop laughing about it. This news reporter is telling a story about a blind mountain climber, but kind of slips up.

The Spirit of Adventure on Four Wheels

by Treadmarkz

Here is a link to a story about Derrick Williamson, a man who has a dream to help preserve some great forest land in California which is being threatened by urbanization. In the process, he hopes to expand the physical boundaries of where people in wheelchairs can go for recreation, and to bring awareness to the preservation of “the spirit of adventure” Check it out here.