Infrared Activated Garbage Can

I'm back from my long hiatus with a few new items to post. I know it has been too long, but I feel like I have nearly completed everything I, personally, have to share. As new technologies or barriers are faced I will share them, and there's one that really got under my skin yesterday that I may need to rant about on here, soon. For now, a simple, affordable and very useful piece of technology is the infrared activated garbage can lid.

It can be difficult enough with functioning hands to bring a load of garbage to the can and open it without leaving any mess in the process. Add to that paralyzed fingers and often our dexterity itself is not enough to carry garbage over, let alone open the lid. Obviously foot pedal operated garbage cans don't work for us and many of the good cans out there are spring-loaded or designed in a way that the lid cannot stay open. With these cans, if you know you will need the lid open for a significant period of time, there are buttons to press to keep the lid open until you press the other button to close it.

These cans are not perfect. In my opinion, they automatically close too soon after opening and are not sensitive enough to stay open when a person's hand is still over the sensor while depositing multiple pieces of garbage. The first one that we had had critical parts, the gear responsible for opening the lid, made of plastic that broke far too soon, rendering the automatic lid useless, even after being repaired with some epoxy. Charge me an extra five dollars and make those important pieces of metal. Also, as entertaining as it is for children and some seniors, they almost need to come with instructions on the front indicating that you don't need to close the lid. All you will be doing is breaking that plastic gear I just spoke of.

That said, using D batteries, it will open and close thousands and thousands of times between needing new batteries, so, as long as they don't break the lid, let the kids play.

Source: The best one we've bought came from Costco for about $40. Other department stores like Canadian Tire carry them but are way overpriced until they come on sale, like most of the items at Canadian Tire.

Swiffer Duster

I haven't disappeared forever and Challenging Reality is not finished, yet. It's just that I've had some excellent opportunities to work on even larger projects that will help more people in even greater ways than what I've done here. When those opportunities come I've had to take them. As they wrap up, and a smaller two-week project for the health region begins soon, I can begin thinking about the work here.

One item that I've been meaning to highlight for a long time is a Swiffer Duster. Any wand type duster will work, I just happen to have the brand name at home. That said, it's not that I use it nearly as much as I should. I greatly appreciate my wife's keeping of our home and feel as though what I am able to do, and am able to reach, is not the most efficient use of my time if I could be cooking, washing dishes, managing finances or the other tasks that I excel at more than cleaning.

As simple as these static charged dusters are, they work even better in combination with The Gloves, as do so many of those things that require a little bit of dexterity to use effectively. I imagine that a universal cuff, or other strap to assist in securing the duster to your hand, would do a fine job in giving the strength and grip necessary for something as light as a duster like this.

The little bit of extra reach, the lightweight nature of the product and the effective way that it picks up dust makes it a fine product for quality cleaning, whether being used by a disabled person or an able-bodied person.

Source: Any department store.

Handicapped Parking and Placard

 

  Handicapped Parking Placard and Spaces by Jay Scott on 500px

There is a problem with that title, I know. I'm not entirely certain what the politically correct term is but I know it's not handicapped spaces. I'm not certain if it is accessible parking spaces or barrier free parking spaces. In Saskatoon and most of Saskatchewan those terms would be as literally incorrect as they are politically correct. I chose this title because, as outdated as it is, it is the most easily recognizable term that is understood by the most people.

Parking Spaces

It's not that we are not grateful for them because we are. It's that seldom are they wide enough to deploy a ramp or a lift and then still have enough room to exit the vehicle. Heaven help us if there is a median, as is common in the construction of current parking lots. Medians may protect vehicles from carts but they do not allow us adequate space to enter and exit our vehicles and they are the perfect place for snow to build up against, making the spot even smaller in winter. Often the only way is to park right on the driver's side line or park at an angle so we don't get blocked in. Far too many times I hear about peers of mine having notes put on their window, telling them what horrible drivers they are, because they were protecting their own interest and safety by parking at an angle. One more reason why I hope this site and this specific post reaches a few able-bodied people. This is one of the most public and visible struggles and adaptations to the average person.

This summer would you do us a favor and take a look at the lines in the parking lot? Try to remember how wide those spots are and, this winter, when you are desperately seeking that parking space a precious 10 feet closer to the door, remember we need that extra room and that spaces are designated as wider. If you are ever in a larger center in Alberta, British Columbia or Washington state, take a look around. Their spots are wide enough for both the vehicle and a ramp, and have designated marked off sections between each for a person to exit the vehicle, be it transferring into a wheelchair from the driver side, or exiting a ramp or lift on the passenger side.

Finally, regarding the parking spaces, to those who don't lose sleep over using them occasionally, I know you are just running in, but you might very well be taking up or blocking a critical spot for a vulnerable person who needs it or is trying to get back to their vehicle. We only wish we could just run in.

Placards and Permits

The second portion of this post is regarding the parking placard hanging from my mirror. Thankfully North America has standardized the format and any time you see a placard that size and that colour, regardless of where it is issued, you can know its purpose and so can parking enforcement officers.

On the front side is a sticker as issued by the city of Saskatoon which allows a person to park at any unreserved meter belonging to the city (this excludes the University campus or Innovation Place) for up to 36 hours. This is invaluable when we cannot easily come out to move our vehicle or when we quadriplegics have difficulty putting coins in the meter. Most the time, half of the coins end up in the gutter and parking costs us twice as much. Yes, the city is switching over to more automatic meters and they are uncertain how they will handle these stickers in the future. As of this writing this sticker system is the case. This I say to those who think we are getting a free ride, they do cost us $20 a year and I would gladly pay more for the convenience.

Finally, take a look online before you travel to a different city. Some places, like Seattle, allow free parking to anyone with an issued placard. This was great, convenient, and perfectly affordable during our visit some two years ago. However, that city has cracked down on the number of improperly issued permits. Too many people were using expired temporary ones or did not genuinely need the helping hand. I respect the City of Seattle for their decision to prevent abuse by those who would occupy a spot that could have been used by someone with a greater need.

Placard Source: Abilities Council or applications can be found online. A doctor's approval is likely necessary.

One final note about the photo. The pink in it is a tribute to the pink neon light I was so fond of in my old 1981 Chevy Scottsdale.

Hill Climbers

Hill climbers, or hill stoppers, have been one of the best technological additions I have ever experienced. The particularly grippy Q-Grip push rims that I enjoy are a great help but they are still susceptible to wet conditions. If they get much moisture on them your grip was gone when it came to contact between them and The Gloves. These hill climbers, when properly adjusted, are unbelievably effective at digging their sharp teeth into the tread and preventing lost ground.

Even when the wheels and rims are caked with snow and moisture, these grippers allow you to take a rest, get a grip on either the wheel or a spoke, and inch your way up a slope. No rush to speedily give your chair a push and get your arms back in time to prevent losing ground from the slope. One of the worst circumstances is when you give a hard push and your hand slips off the rim due to lack of grip. In a case like that you not only lose your forward momentum but can often injure a finger and have difficulty regaining your grip to prevent losing ground or spinning entirely around to be going down the slope, headfirst. A situation like that happened to me out on a path down by the river, when I lost my grip and ended up being bent over with my head between my knees barreling down a hill. With no trunk muscles to sit me up, and my hands trying to slow me down, I thought for sure that I was going to end up on my face on the asphalt or in the grass. These hill climbers would have prevented that.

When they are not properly adjusted, or if your tires are low on pressure, they can let you down. We have found them to be the most effective when used very slowly and intentionally. That is, after engaging them ensure that they are doing their job, then slowly push forward up the slope followed by gently releasing your grip to ensure they are holding before taking another stroke of the push rims. If they are adjusted to be closer to the wheels, when engaged, they will wear down your tread and cause a lot of resistance for forward momentum. All the more reason they are best used only when climbing a slope, not for general wheeling.

They have certainly got me out of some sticky situations where there were no other people around to lend a hand and they got me safely into my van on a very cold and snowy day.

Source: Most ultralight wheelchair dealers and online. Installation was very easy and something easily done by someone capable of adjusting regular wheel locks.

Touch Lamp

Everybody needs a grope light. You know, that light that's easy to find and smack the switch when you need light in the middle of the night. Certainly there are plenty of lamps available with a nice easy rocker switch that serve this purpose but nothing is quite as easy for someone with paralyzed fingers than a touch lamp. Unfortunately, they are becoming a little bit harder to find and new bulb technology is causing them to function differently than they used to 10 years ago.

My favorite touch lamp, pictured above, still uses incandescent bulbs. Just a nice, small, 60 W chandelier bulb. The lamp is what controls the dim, medium and bright levels. Built into it is a relay that allows only so much wattage through at each of the three levels. Many touch lamps actually require special bulbs which contain three separate filaments and that is how the three levels of brightness is controlled. I understand that this is necessary for lamps of a higher maximum wattage but thankfully smaller bedside lamps do not need the special bulbs.

In most lamps like this CFL bulbs simply don't work. They only work with lamps that have on and off, not multiple levels of brightness. The bulbs that can either cause a malfunction or cause the lamp to no longer have three levels of brightness are LED bulbs. If you notice when you shop for either CFL or LED bulbs they give their ratings in two measurements, actual wattage and equivalent wattage. Eventually we will become accustomed to the amount of light put out by a 10 W LED bulb but for now most of us need to know that that is typically equivalent to the 60 W incandescent bulb that we all grew up with.

In the case of the touch lamp, where the settings are 20 W output for low, 40 W output for medium and 60 W for high, even on the low setting you have already exceeded the LED bulb's maximum draw. So, using that bulb in this lamp would give me high, high, high and off. There would be no low or medium settings. There is no danger in this case because the bulb will not draw more than it needs. The lamp is not going to try to push an extra 50 W of power through the bulb on what would normally be the brightest setting. However, some lamps that function differently have warnings about not using LED bulbs in them and some LED bulbs on IKEA's website indicate that they are not well-suited for all touch lamps. I used IKEA as an example because that is about the most affordable place to purchase LED bulbs.

I don't believe touch lamps are going to disappear forever but they have been becoming more difficult to find. It may simply be a matter of searching hard to find the right one and, before long, we may not enjoy the ease of waking up to a low or medium setting if on or off are our only options.

Source: Lamp – department stores and online.
Bulbs – most department stores but I have found the best deals at IKEA and dx.com.

Lanyards and Mobile Phones

I'm fortunate to have enough dexterity to seldom need assistance using my mobile phone. As mentioned before, I have chosen cases that have features giving me a greater ability to securely hold the device. A phone from October of 2004, that I still have and is sitting right next to me on the desk as I write this, was one of the earlier phones with a built-in modem, very minimal Internet access and texting capabilities. I had it set up on a free phone plan provided by SaskTel to any member of the Canadian Paraplegic Association. I had to purchase the phone out right, which certainly brings to light how expensive cell phones are when you don't get them at a discount rate because of a contract. Since it has served me 11 years I think I got my money's worth.

That said, this was a flip phone before any type of Internet connectivity or advanced communication was available in a mobile device for your average consumer. It is a really nice compact, streamlined unit that fits in just about any pocket. Unfortunately, because of the smooth, round lines and perfectly fitting halves, it was pretty difficult for me to reliably hold on to or flip open when receiving a call. Unless I had somewhat long fingernails I had a difficult time prying open the phone to use it. At the time of its primary use, it was simply for emergency purposes so I seldom needed to get at it in a hurry.

Adding a lanyard to the built in bar, as seen in the photo below, made it easier to keep it nearby for immediate access, as well as one additional place to hold on to the phone while prying it open for use. For my purposes I found the lanyard to remove the streamlined nature of the phone and make it more difficult to put in or remove from a pocket when it was not around my neck. Because of this the lanyard did not stay attached to the quick connector for very long. It was nice to be able to leave a quick connector attached for the times I did want the lanyard on it.

Not everyone has the benefit of the dexterity that I enjoy while others have more dexterity. New phones tend not to have a place intended for a lanyard as the flip phone pictured above does. Not so long ago I saw a brilliant improvisation on Brenda's phone (she happens to work at the CPA) and on Delynne's phone (who also works at the CPA and brought the idea for last week's post regarding the adapted makeup brush). Their adaptation was simply to feed the lanyard around their case, looped from the headphone opening to the camera's opening. Ingenious and universal for just about any smart phone out there.

If you choose the right lanyard, with a very tough but thin cord as the one used on both of these phones (it's the same lanyard, switched from one phone to the next for demonstration purposes), it won't affect the fit of the phone in the case. One of the two that I saw even fit well with the legendary Otterbox case for an iPhone. By legendary I mean that they fit incredibly precisely, better than some of the knockoff cases I have seen and used.

I love simple, inexpensive solutions to make it easier to enjoy technology everyone else is enjoying, without a complicated custom-made adaptation. This lanyard came with a terrible a.m. radio in the shape of a Saskatchewan Roughriders helmet, attached as a prize to a bottle of Wiser's Deluxe. Wouldn't want to lose my radio while listening to a Rider game and drinking my whiskey.

Source: Discount stores and eBay are the best places to find a lanyard that best meets your needs.

Adapted Makeup Brush

The photo in this post is a re-creation of a makeup brush, extended by a tongue depressor, held on with white cloth medical tape, that my friend, Delynne, used to use. For whatever reason, she no longer needs this simple but effective adaptation that allows her to independently perform an important part of her grooming.

A lot of people with a disability have perfect grooming lower on the list of priorities, following those list items necessary to live life in a healthy way. Somehow, Delynne has managed to do both and always looks great when you see her. I respect that.

It was good to have a subject to photograph and include that is outside the realm of understanding to a guy like me. She has given me additional subjects to shoot, one of which involves a large space outside, an air compressor, coffee creamer, lasers and a bit of trial and error. You'll know it when you see it this summer.

Source: Doctor's office or order a pack online.

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.

Lift - House Interior - Battery Hydraulic

The lift in my parents' home is the first that was installed on my behalf. It has been a reliable, safety certified, overpriced solution to allow me access to the basement. It is a very slow moving hydraulic, DC powered, mechanism that provides the lift or descent. The DC power comes from a battery that is constantly being charged by AC and is supposed to be the backup to a power outage. I've never needed to test the backup but I'm doubtful that a seventeen year old battery would have the capacity to complete a cycle, if necessary.

The door locks shut as soon as the lift is activated, but that won't happen until the tediously slow gas shock lets the door creep closed. Once you reach your destination that shock makes a very inconvenient resistance when opening the door. Add to that the significant lip the user needs to descend or climb when exiting or entering while the lift is in the basement and it's not exactly smooth to use. The lip would be non-existent if the lift descended into a recess, which would make room for the pressure-sensitive plate which prevents the crushing of anything that might be underneath. Safety first, I suppose, though I've come crashing out of there on an angle when the door caught my chair because of the safety of the gas shock. Not much hope of carrying anything on my lap with that thing. My current lift has no such safeties. We'll look at it in the near future.

You can likely determine from my tone that I'm not fond of this lift. Safety is important, but almost everything takes longer in our disabled lives. Does getting downstairs have to take the 78 seconds I've timed it at? My current lift is plenty safe and takes me 17 seconds. These times include time taken to enter the lift. My biggest complaint comes not from inconvenience, but from well being. Not a safety concern but a sanity concern. That and the difficulty of transporting anything in addition to the user.

As the thin metal panels that enclose the wall-mounted tracks and the carriage expand or contract with the temperature change in the house between every furnace or air conditioner cycle they snap, crackle and pop, loudly, right above my wife's and my head, as we try to sleep. This drives us nuts.

I do not know what other safety certified lift options are available but I recommend seeking them out. If a lift of this style is your only option have it installed in a closet or away from places you need quiet.

Source: Home adaptation and modification businesses.

Lifts - Abilities Council Relic

My work here hasn't ended and my ideas have certainly not dried up. We've just been so happily enthralled with our wonderfully changed life and rapidly growing daughter. Now that we have some routine and rhythm back in our lives, and the busyness of the summer has passed for another year, I'm ready to resume work on Challenging Reality. If you are still with me, still checking for regular updates, thank you! If that's you please spread the word to anyone else you know has been visiting that I will be back with new photos, technology and updates. It may not be the 7 AM Monday morning every week posting that it was before but I won't leave you hanging as long as I did this last phase.

This was the first lift I ever owned. While waiting for the tedious bureaucratic process of planning and approval of renovations to make a home barrier free, in this case my parents' house which I returned to after my stay in rehab, my father decided he wasn't going to wait any longer. Seeing the lift pictured above for sale he purchased it to be temporarily installed at the front door of their home until a proper, modern lift would be approved and installed by insurance. Once that was done this one was handed down to make my access to their cabin virtually effortless.

So, why highlight such an archaic lift that you probably would have trouble finding today? Simply to prove the point that these lifts, which were so abundantly distributed by the Saskatchewan Abilities Council to anyone needing a lift to access their home due to a disability, may not be the most attractive but they are rocksolid reliable. They have their downfalls including having a significant portion of them made from plywood that will rot over time, not having the greatest weather sealing which means the cables inside may need replacing, they are very slow moving and they do not have a set stopping point.

Their operation is a bit finicky including that the lever to activate the lift moves in two directions, one moving the lift up and the other moving the lift down but if you should release the lever and switch to the other direction before the lift comes to a dead stop the platform will continue moving the same direction it was going. This may be a built-in safeguard to prevent any jerking or unnecessary pressure on the cables should the lift be accidentally jammed into the wrong direction. Not having a set stopping point, it's easy enough to determine when to let go of the lever once you have reached the ground but when being elevated to your higher destination the user has to make the decision when to release the lever, taking into account that it will continue to coast for an additional few centimeters, or so.

The safeguards to prevent a user from falling off are entirely manual. The hinged ramp folds up and hooks onto an eyebolt to prevent the user from rolling off. Of course, this is entirely optional and I don't know if I have used it more than a dozen times in 17 years. The lift move slow enough as it is I'm not willing to spend the additional time necessary to lift that gate. I've never fallen off. Ironically, right in front of the bench in the photo is where I fell out of my chair one time due to it being a wheelchair I was not accustomed to and a dip in the ground. It had nothing to do with the lift as it was at the front of the cabin at that time. I used the opportunity to play in the grass with my dog for awhile before getting help to get back into my chair.

So simple and reliable are the mechanisms for this lift that I have seen one converted to transport a user from the main floor of the house to the basement and back up. It required its own support system, much larger than the triangular vertical support that the lift was designed with, but the motors, gears and cables worked very well to safely get a person between floors without concern.

I understand the closed operating system of modern lifts and how the safety is not a bad thing. Sometimes, though, it's nice for someone who is skilled at adapting or modifying things to be able to take a solid piece of technology, like this lift, and tweak it to be well suited to function in a way or location other than originally intended.

If there is anything that Challenging Reality has shown, and this man has learned, it's that often the best solutions are not something you can find mass-produced.

Source: No longer made. Available used from adaptive equipment sellers' classifieds sources such as abilities council or Canadian Paraplegic Association. I would recommend a new lift for intended purposes or one made from scratch for custom purposes.

Ramps - Erindale Pond

Continuing the series on ramps, we will take a look at one of the urban ramps I have encountered multiple times. The one pictured above leads up from the Erindale pond in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The path around the pond is quality asphalt, reasonably level with only a few instances of lips where the building materials transition between concrete, paving stones or asphalt. The tricky part comes when you need to climb up from the shoreline to get back to your vehicle or where you came from.

Often a photo does not accurately represent the grade of a ramp and I fear that this photo is one of those, despite my best efforts. This ramp is reasonably steep for an urban setting but it is very long and without any level portions where a rest might be appropriate. Other techniques, such as allowing a wheel to back into the landscape tie at the side of the ramp, can work when a rest is needed, however, often there are no options like this and the only alternative is to turn your wheelchair sideways to lessen the effort needed to prevent rolling back down the ramp. The biggest problem with this sideways parking technique is the energy it takes to get straightened out and resume climbing.

I mention that this ramp is a reasonable grade for an urban setting. Far too often when new strip malls or other buildings have their parking lots paved the grade of the slope leading to either a concrete curb cut or the ramp leading into the building is ridiculously steep. For whatever reason, our home builder told us that they legally could not build my ramp in the garage because it would be a grade of 1:10, 1:12 being legal for a public building. This was our own private dwelling. The number of parking lots I see with ridiculously steep slopes before you actually reach the curb cut, sidewalk, or ramp to the building's front door are ridiculous. Situations like this display thoughtless guideline compliance without any common sense.

Thankfully, regardless of a slope's grade, devices such as hill climber brakes exist and can be used to grab your wheels so you cannot roll backwards. Those will be examined in the future.

We are thankful that these ramps exist, as opposed to simply being stairs, but improper implementation makes them less effective in building a barrier free community.

Source: Urban settings and do not be afraid to contact your city counselor if there are blatant problems with a local ramp, be it the condition of the building materials, the grade or transitions from level ground to the ramp or the ramp to the surface at the top.

Ramps - Switchback

Through the winding tunnels under the University of Saskatchewan, which connect the buildings that vary in age, elevation and repair, a person will encounter many ramps of multiple different characteristics. Some are steep enough that I would not feel safe climbing or descending them independently in a manual or power wheelchair. Others are properly and reasonably gradual, with many ramps falling between those two extremes.

The ramp pictured above is one of the better ramps in the tunnel system underground. The switchback halfway up gives a person an opportunity to rest, regain strength for the next climb, and can be a place to wait for a clear path to the next plateau. This ramp would be one example of one that is too narrow for multiple people at once and when the masses are moving through here it can become intrusive to be the guy in a wheelchair blocking everyone else's way.

Unfortunately, depending on the time of day and year, some of the access points in these tunnels are often closed or locked which necessitates venturing outside to find a suitable detour. Often choosing to take the tunnels is a longer distance than going outside but it can save exposing oneself to the elements. When you hit one of these dead ends, only to have to go outside to find a detour, it results in much wasted time and energy in backtracking. Far from a perfect system when time between classes is short, transportation arrival and departure times have short windows, and when accessible washrooms are less frequent than they should be.

Thoughts: If attendance at a post secondary education institution is in your future minimize those first stressful days by having a good explore to determine the best routes for yourself. Don't be afraid to mention to the appropriate counselor the problem areas that need addressing. It may not be fixed by the time you have completed your stay but, hopefully, you will be making it better for the next person who needs proper access.

Ramps - My Van

After a fairly worry free ownership of a Dodge Grand Caravan, modified to have pneumatic suspension by Van Action, it was good to upgrade to a mass produced product that is the Braun Rampvan. Because they manufacture tens of thousands of these each year, with dealership and repair support in most major centers, it gave me much greater confidence in the ability to have a problem diagnosed and fixed quickly, should one arise. When the pneumatic suspension system on my Grand Caravan developed a leak finding it was incredibly difficult and when it was thought to be found and repaired it was not long before the problem resurfaced.

It was an excessive source of anxiety for me because that van could not be driven without that pneumatic suspension. It functioned by inflating the suspension every time the van was to be used. If the compressor that inflated the suspension were to fail it would be mere minutes before the van would be unsafe to drive. I was never stranded anywhere but with the compressor cutting in every 60 seconds my concerns over it having excessive wear or overheating and failing completely were not without merit. With a Braun Rampvan the rear suspension is compressed each time the user wants to enter or exit the van. If this system were to fail the ramp may be a bit steep but the vehicle would be perfectly drivable.

The ramp on these vans can vary in steepness from a grade of 1:7 to a grade of 1:9, when parked on a flat surface. This depends on the distance the floor is dropped and the style of ramp. In the case of mine, a Toyota Sienna, the floor had to be dropped 12 inches, which resulted in a slightly more gradual incline than in my friend Paul's Honda Odessy which has a 10 inch drop floor, but a different style ramp that is steeper for the first third, then more gradual for the top two thirds. One good push will get you over the steeper bottom half of his ramp then the rest of your climb is easy. The ramp on my van has only a slightly steeper bottom half and requires just a little more than one full push to get over that hump. You cannot always count on being able to, but when the opportunity to park next to a curb or sidewalk comes, take it. Your ramp will be virtually flat.

These differences between vehicles and ramps can be difficult to determine which will work the best based on your physical ability. An authorized dealer should be able to provide you with demonstration models to try. Other technology, such as hill climber brakes, are available to assist in the process. They will be covered in the future and I hope to complete compiling a video we recorded the raw footage for to demonstrate the difficulty of climbing each ramp on each van by two quadriplegics of slightly different levels of neurological function.

If there's one thing I have learned about vehicles it is that necessity truly is the mother of invention. When I had a ramp I needed to be able to climb my determination made it possible in a short amount of time. The same could be said for difficult transfers and many other physical things I needed to be able to accomplish independently. Determination and practice go a long way.

Other adaptations to the vehicle will be covered in future posts.

Source: Authorized adapted vehicle reseller and modifiers.

Nail Clippers and Nail Files

Ingrown nails are unpleasant for anyone but an undetected ingrown toenail can be a source of Autonomic Dysreflexia and, if untreated, infection for those of us without sensation in our toes or fingers. Healing in the feet and legs of we quadriplegics is reduced because of our diminished circulation so preventative care is much better and easier than treating a problem after it begins. Standard nail clippers usually take care of the majority of the work, that is, when a person is able to effectively use them. I cannot.

For years post injury I would chew my fingernails off when they needed it. This had all sorts of implications from damage to the nail, peeling back further than it should at the edges, as well as sanitary concerns. As well as I could wash my hands, sometimes the underside of the nails just didn't come as clean they could. Thankfully, I found a solution.

The 15 cm x 2 cm nail file pictured above is my simple solution. When tucked in between the palm of my hand and my gloves it is sturdy enough for me to effectively file down my fingernails. I have to get creative with pinning down the finger containing the nail being filed, but that is another challenge solved by finding the right surface or technique to hold the digit steady. I have been fortunate to have someone care for my toenails but I do feel confident in my ability to file them while in bed, should the need arise. I have learned to do my nail filing before laundry day because the pile of dust produced by it inevitably gets on my clothing and skin. Often the irritation it causes on my face makes me itchy for a period of time unless I really scrub it clean.

Before I found the nail files I use now, I used to use a smaller crystal nail file secured to a butter knife with hockey tape. The knife simply served as a longer handle to make it easier to hold in my gloves. These larger files have eliminated that need.

Source: Department stores, drugstores, eBay.

Tongs

When a squeezing action is required to operate a tool such as scissors or, in this case, tongs it requires we quadriplegics to use two hands if we hope to have any type of strength or efficiency with a tool of that nature. When much of your actions at the table or preparation surface require an elbow or arm to be down for balance, and two hands are required to operate tool like this, I feel more like an excavator with a very limited pivotal range for my scoop. It's not that it can't be done, it's just that there are often better tools for the job for us.

In the case of a bowl of salad I find a nice large serving spoon to be more effective for both tossing and serving than tongs could ever be. Still, when that sizzling steak on the barbecue is ready to be flipped I feel bad about giving it a gentle stab with my fork, potentially releasing a few juices, rather than a gentle turning with a pair of tongs.

UPDATE: It was brought to my attention, by dear Heather, that these tongs can be the difference between reaching something or being unable to get at it. Of course, her being a paraplegic, her hands are able to use tongs with the ease of anyone, and that's why she has four pairs. Thank you for informing us, Heather!

Source: Really, finding the right substitute for you most likely available at a department or kitchen store.

Lanyard

You've already seen this lanyard in my post regarding door bumpers to assist in pressing remote buttons. These little well tied loops of rope or cord can be so helpful in so many other ways. Keeping keys attached to something easy to grab a hold of, and easy on the teeth for those times you need to hold on to them with your mouth, is a big deal because the alternative is dropping them. For many quadriplegics, or any wheelchair users for that matter, picking things off the floor can be very difficult. Especially if you already have something on your lap or are in the middle of a snow-covered parking lot.

A lanyard can be homemade, bought cheaply from any discount store, and be almost any length you need to fit your intended purpose. As attractive as the Solomon bar weave is on the upper part of this lanyard, it is the diamond knot that I am most grateful to be able to tie successfully. That knot makes for not just a loop to hold onto but a nicely sized ball of cord to incorporate into a zipper pull, making the challenge of operating a zipper a little bit easier. Here are my thoughts on zippers. While the white part of the cord is illuminated by a camera flash, the green part is because of the glow-in-the-dark material used to make this lanyard. It's a little more expensive than standard paracord but for those times I wanted to be able to find my keys in the dark I'm glad I chose it for this keychain.

The reason I like paracord so much is that when used to secure keys, as shown in the door bumpers post linked to above, is that it is quite easy to detach the keys for those times when you need to separate your vehicle keys from your house keys, such as when leaving a vehicle for service. I prefer this over the quick clasp lanyards that you can purchase in stores because often those clasps are spring-loaded and pivot which makes operating them very difficult, and a danger to a person's lip should you choose to use your teeth and have the clasp snap shut.

In the future we will take a look at other lanyards of the smaller size used to keep smooth and difficult cell phones closer to us and less likely to be dropped on the floor if they slip out of our hands. Because I did not want to be tied down by a lanyard hanging off my phone I chose a very rubbery case and the larger design of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 for my current phone, which I talk about in the post regarding touch screens and styluses.

Source: Webbed lanyards - Department or DollarStores
Paracord and Premade Paracord Lanyards - EBay and Etsy

Barbecue Tools

Last week we looked at the Reaching Rod that I use for a number of tasks around the house. By far the most important is using it to safely lower the lid of our barbecue. By hooking the curved portion through the leftmost teardrop shaped hole near the handle I am able to gently pull the lid forward to begin lowering it. As it descends the handle of the barbecue rests against the neck of the rod, the hook remaining in the teardrop shaped hole, so that the lid does not slam shut. With our previous barbecue I was able to use the fork of our barbecue tool set to do lower the lid gently. The shape of the new barbecue lid's handle necessitated finding an alternate way. A prime example of one method not necessarily working for everyone or every circumstance. Base your own solution on this information.

Regarding the tools that I use to barbecue, there is nothing special about them except that when purchased we were very intentional about choosing tools that had a good rubber handle. This handle made for ease of inserting in The Gloves yet provided enough friction to safely flip a nice, big, juicy steak. More challenging than that are grilled vegetables because they can be floppy or more likely to roll or slide off of a tool, but I manage by being extra careful when cooking them. Unfortunately, the shafts of the tools we first chose were somewhat flimsy and they did tend to bend when put under any pressure, such as sterilizing the flipper by placing it under the lid between uses. The tools we bought recently have a nice rubber handle but sturdier shafts which we hope will make for less flex when dealing with something heavy such as a whole chicken.

At first I thought that the triangular hangers at the end of the tools would be helpful. They ended up getting in my way so I removed them. Otherwise, it was just a matter of trying a few tools until we found the ones that suited best. This is definitely not something terribly unique, just a matter of purchasing what works best for you.

Source: Hardware and Department Stores

USB Flash Drives

USB ports can be frustrating for anyone - lining up the plug with the port, making certain it's facing the correct direction (help us, if it's a vertical port!) - but with paralyzed hands it's even more difficult. A streamlined design, like that of a laptop, makes for a minimal distance between the drive and the desk or table, providing even less surface area available on the drive to grasp. Thankfully, many USB flash drives have a suitable place to attach a lanyard or split ring. Of course, the split ring attached to my monkey's fist self-defense paracord creation is an exaggeration, but made for a more interesting photo.

Either a lanyard or a split ring will assist in easing the removal, but I find the split ring to give me a more solid place to insert my thumb which also helps in sticking the drive in the port. Many USB peripherals do not have ways to make them more convenient for us. But many do. There are a myriad of interesting and unique designs for flash drives and often something as simple as a binder clip can provide a larger handle on almost any USB device.

Source: Split rings are available from any department or hardware stores.
Interesting USB Drives are abundant at online retailers like Deal Extreme, Amazon or eBay.

Incentive Spirometer

More than a few times in the months following a spinal cord injury in which the ability to breathe normally is affected there are problems relating to the reduced lung capacity and significantly reduced ability to inhale and exhale. Our breathing depends on our trunk muscles, diaphragm, and to a small degree our shoulders. With a spinal cord injury in the neck one of the two diaphragm innervation locations is cut off as well as the muscles in the trunk. That is a lot of lost function in a critical area. The worst time after and injury is immediately following, when breathing function instantly goes from using your diaphragm and trunk muscles to just part of the diaphragm. I clearly remember the distress I was in and the offer of nearby friends to perform some mouth-to-mouth assistance which I refused, being a foolish teenager not wanting his friend placing his mouth on my own.

This reduced capacity resulted in multiple initial pneumonias, the regular need for a suction hose to extract phlegm, and a general inability to expel air with adequate force. Thankfully, I never needed deep suction, as in when the hose needs to be inserted much deeper into the throat by a trained individual, but simply the same as they give you at the dentist's office. Though I still may be considered more susceptible to pneumonia it has never been a problem for me, personally.

I still cannot cough properly while sitting up or laying on my back without a learned technique, and the satisfaction of a good sneeze only graces me about one out of 20 times that the tickle and urge causes me to inhale in preparation. If I time it just right I can apply pressure to my abdomen to execute a proper sneeze. The critical act of coughing will be addressed next week.

Thankfully, there are tools to assist in building lung capacity and strength. Pictured above is an incentive spirometer, which is designed to do just that. The hose can be attached to either side of the body of the device. One side allows you to suck air in and the other side allows you to blow air out. The idea is to increase the resistance as your strength increases so that keeping the ball at the top while the air moves through it is just difficult enough. It's no different than any other strength training.

An incentive spirometer can also be helpful to encourage very deep breathing and complete exhaling which is a very good practice in clearing congestion and preventing sickness. For we who find it very difficult to get our heart rate and respiration high enough to naturally perform this deep breathing this can be a lifesaver when dealing with any kind of respiratory illness. Regardless of illness, I try to do some deep breathing a few times each day in the interest of prevention.

Source: Respiratory therapists, occupational therapists and many medical professionals. They are very affordable and can be ordered online.

Sport Cuff

I misplaced my sport cuff many years ago because I always just use a new pair of The Gloves with strong new Velcro as my tool of choice to hold on to any sporting device with a straight handle. When I wear The Gloves I do not diminish my ability to wheel nearly as much as when I tried using the above pictured sport cuff. I also found the sport cuff to limit my wrist function which is so essential to so many sports, especially those such as badminton or icefishing where wrist movement is really essential to the technique. However, for someone who's muscles that control the wrist are paralyzed this cuff makes some sport possible where it would not have been, otherwise.

For sports such as tennis or fishing with a large rod, where the movement involves more control by the larger arm muscle groups, a sport cuff has great advantages. This one was borrowed from my friend, and former model, Paul. Though he and I have virtually the same level of function, there are a few muscles of mine that provide me just a little more function than him. Where every little bit of function counts, especially where wrist flexion and triceps come in, a sport cuff like this can mean the difference between being able to successfully participate in an activity or not being able to.

Source: Occupational therapy product catalogues, online, or custom made.