Lift - Residential Exterior Residential - Electric Winch

The beauty of a winter wonderland. That is, until you are stuck outside waiting for a lift to raise you to the level you need to get into the warm house or lower you to the ground to get into a pre-warmed vehicle. Obviously, this issue is not exclusive to quadriplegics but we certainly are some of the most temperature-sensitive individuals.

The lift pictured above was purchased and installed after the slow-moving bureaucratic red tape was slashed through. Until then the relic my dad had purchased from the Abilities Council was in place as a solution until this modern lift was installed. It was then that the relic was moved out to their cabin. This lift, installed in 1998, has been a very reliable and trouble-free system for me. It's not without its imperfections but it has never let me down.

The vertical tracks, that the lift supports raise and lower between, have whiskers that keep a lot of debris out of that vertical tower which probably contributes to it functioning so well for so long. Above the controls is a stainless steel flap on hinges installed by my dad to keep the elements away from those buttons and the on/off key. Once he installed the flap we were replacing the protective plastic covers on the buttons far less frequently. The automatic stopping position for both the top and bottom have been nice, as opposed to the estimating and soft stopping point of the old Abilities Council lift. And, though it does not need to travel too far, it is not painfully slow.

My biggest complaint would be that, because of the pressure switch beneath the lift, designed to prevent anyone or anything from being crushed beneath it just like the lift inside this house, this lift does not go as flat to the ground as I would like. Because of this the ramp, though short, is quite steep. On this driveway there is adequate room to take a good run at it but that bump when you hit the ramp is not ideal when you have a something on your lap. Conversely, coming down is a pretty good bump. You will want to lean back to prevent any loss of balance or digging in of the front tires. This steep ramp could be remedied by having it descend from its protective position onto an additional small platform and ramp which would make the entire thing more gradual. However, I have an issue with the idea of mixing ramps and lifts. There is no good reason to it other than why would you want to have to fool around with both? Either build a proper ramp or have a proper lift.

Source: Home adaptation and modification businesses. Unlike the very complicated internal home lift installation, this could probably be done by someone with a degree of mechanical competence.

Sparkles! Sparkles Everywhere!

I am thankful that the number of barriers featured on this website is, and will be, fewer than the number of solutions and technology to aid individuals in their daily lives. However, there certainly are a few hidden barriers that are less obvious than you might think and worth bringing to the attention of people.

I will be the first person to admit that I really like the glitz and glamour, lights and shimmery decorations, and almost all things cheap and tacky when it comes to Christmas decorations. I'm quite aware of the places that most of these decorations come from, the pollution belching foreign factories and underpaid workers. But, as a photographer who loves all unique light sources, I can't help but get a little bit caught up in what would be considered classless and cheesy the other 11 months of the year.

It was with personal hardship that this photo was made for, as you'll read, the problem I'm about to talk about affected me briefly after handling these decorations. For, you see, many of the decorations, including greeting cards, are heavily laden with sparkles. Sparkles that often fall off. When the sparkles get on your clothes, on your hands, in your hair, and stick unpredictably to wherever they make their way, it can become a danger. How, you may ask? Many of the technologies that keep us alive involve inserting a device in a place that is typically reserved for exiting.

Most common, for me, is if sparkles should make their way onto my hands or onto my shirt they can become difficult to remove and may inadvertently make their way into a private area when using pant hooks to gain access for the purposes of catheterization. If sparkles make their way from my hands or shirt onto that catheter, and become deposited inside my bladder, the resulting discomfort, urgent urge to urinate, and potential incontinence is nothing short of miserable until you see those sparkles make their way out of my body, through the tube into the leg bag, finally ending up in the toilet.

My friend, Paul, has said his daughters' love of cosmetic glitter is a similar fiend.

So, this year, when you are choosing your Christmas cards or decorations to gift to a disabled individual who has similar invasive needs as mine, try to avoid the glitter. They will appreciate it.

Here is the Behind the Scenes video.