Category Archives: Personal Stories

Pimped out plow!

Meet Justin Anderson.

This Iraq war veteran is giving back to his community in an incredible way. After coming up with the clever idea of attaching a snow blade onto his wheelchair, Justin hit the nearby streets to help make the sidewalks safer for his neighbourhood during the winter.

“I had about half a dozen people stop me and ask if they could take a picture because they had never seen … a chair like this before.”

What’s particularly awesome about his pimped out ride is the way that it challenges other people’s typical perceptions of individuals using mobility aids and devices. Instead of Justin being dependent on others, the members of his community become dependent on him to perform this service. Way to go!

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Filed under Accessibility, Design, Inspirational, Personal Stories, personalizing, Posts, Videos, Wheelchairs

Dr. Who, Halloween, and the most awesome wheelchair costumes!

How does all this fit together?

1. It’s the 50th anniversary of Dr. Who! The long running BBC science fiction tv series about the adventures of a time-traveling humanoid alien known as the Doctor. My brother and I seriously loved this show when we were kids – it has great characters and some seriously creative low-tech special effects!

2. Dr. Who travels in this super cool ship – the TARDIS – a time machine that is bigger on the inside than the outside.

The TARDIS used from 2005 to 2010

The TARDIS used from 2005 to 2010

3. It was Halloween a few weeks ago and I’ve started to notice an awesome trend toward Wheelchair Costumes (what a great idea!).  There are lots of great ones out there, but one of my all time favourites is from the UK of Dr. Who and his TARDIS!

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Filed under Design, DIY, Inspirational, Mobility Aids, Personal Stories, personalizing, Photos, Posts, Recreation, Uncategorized

From the mind of a dancer comes a new kind of wheelchair

With their body as the joystick, these hands free wheelchairs allow dancers with disabilities to soar –

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Dancer Merry Lynn Morris teaching one of her students in the hands free wheelchair – that expression says its all…

The soul of the chair comes from Morris experience with her father who was in a wheelchair.  Finding it difficult to get close to him, to hug him, she felt the chair  ‘caged in’ her father.  Combined with her passion for dance, Morris later began to re-imagine a hands free wheelchair that was more ‘open’ to the world.

The science of this chair – which is controlled by the body – comes from a collaboration with a team of engineers at the University of South California –

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The potential of this – of hands free chairs that respond to the body and are designed in a way that facilitates interaction and inclusivity (physically and socially) – blows my mind! Bring it on!

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Filed under Accessibility, Design, Inspirational, invention, Mobility Aids, Personal Stories, Photos, Posts, Projects, Recreation, Videos

Personalized Prosthetics – What’s your fancy?

Video: Woman builds prosthetic leg out of Lego - The Globe and Mail

Occupational therapist Christina Stephens designed and built her own lego leg – Cool! You can watch how she does this in her time-lapse video that went viral this past summer –

Personalized prosthetics serve many purposes beyond function – not only can they get people where they need to go, they do so with style, with fun, with flare, and yes with FASHION. Check out the ‘alternative limb project’ where consumers are participants in the design process selecting pieces that either “blend in with the body or stand out as unique pieces of art, reflecting the wearers imagination, personality, and interests”.

Floral SocketChrystalized LegPersonalized prosthetics, like personalized mobility devices, not only delight the eye, they help to break down social barriers by promoting conversation, admiration and interest. 

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Filed under Articles, Barriers, Design, DIY, Inspirational, Personal Stories, personalizing, Photos, Posts, Projects, Uncategorized, Videos

Wheelchair-Bound Teen Makes History In The World Of Extreme Sports

“A lot of people think of the wheelchair as a medical instrument,” says Aaron Fatheringham a young man born with spina bifida who ‘tricked out’ his chair to accommodate his passion for extreme sports  “I think that’s wrong. You know, why not think of it as something fun?”. 

Flip

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Filed under Barriers, Inspirational, Personal Stories, personalizing, Posts, Quotes, Sports, Uncategorized

THE MAN WHO LIVED ON HIS BIKE

“I love being on a bike. It helps me feel free. I get it from my dad.”

Guillaume Blanchet lives on his bike for a year and dedicates this video and his love of cycling to his 64 year old father who has been riding his bike over 120,000km!

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Filed under Mobility Aids, Personal Stories, personalizing, Posts, Videos

Personalized mobility aids

My bike is MY mobility aid and I have it (and me!) pimped out for FUNCTION and FASHION.

I”m always on the lookout for other people’s ride and get inspired by the way we personalize them! Check out THIS guy – LOVE IT!

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Filed under Mobility Aids, Personal Stories, personalizing, Photos, Posts