Intouchables - relationships, caregiving and disability

In the French film Intouchables, a rich quadriplegic hires a young man from the projects to be his live in caregiver. Some critics love it, others say it plays on stereotypes. I think it's great to see issues involving relationships between disabled folk and caregivers out there. Is it a realistic portrayal? Probably not. Just the fact that he can afford a live in caregiver is a dead give away - as if most people can do that! Look forward to seeing it.

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Frontier airlines fined for booting quadriplegic passenger off plane

Frontier will pay $50,000 in fines in a settlement after an incident occurred where they refused to allow a quadriplegic passenger to fly. DOT found they also failed to provide appropriate assistance in pre-boarding and getting on and off the plane.

Frontier agreed to the settlement without admitting to the violations, indicating its own investigation of the matter was not consistent with DOT's findings.

"I feel like this is a victory for not just me, but for the whole disabled community," [John Morris] told 7NEWS Friday. "It was humiliating. It was a lot to go through. And I just dont want anyone to go through what I had to go through."

"It really broke my heart, because I know what John goes through on a day to day basis, not being able to do things that he certainly would like to, just wanting the opportunity to travel," said his mother, Kathleen Morris, who was traveling with him. [via thedenverchannel.com]

Morris was not pre-boarded, then placed in a seat that was missing restraints. A baggage handler boarded him and Morris fell onto another passenger, his hand was caught and his shoe fell off. The captain refused to allow him to fly since Morris did not have an alternative restraint system with him, although Morris had flown numerous times using the airlines' seatbelt extenders to support him.

I've seen this happen a number of times, where airlines refuse to pre-board passengers with disabilities. Getting to your seat is a nightmare once the plane is full and inconveniences other passengers. It can also result in injuries. I've also seen arbitrary rules put in place by different airline employees, resulting in travel interruption, humiliating scenes and degrading treatment.

Glad that John Morris used his experiences to help pave the way for better travel for all of us.

In a power chair you can move mountains- almost

It wasn't until I got a power chair that I realized the unsung potential of many pounds of steel when it came to solving some independent living issues - such as moving heavy objects from one location to another.

I confess I've also used my power chair, nicknamed The Beast, to move furniture on occasion. But that's rare. The spaces I inhabit generally have an open floor design - things are pushed against the walls, leaving whatever room there is - and as every wheelchair user knows, there's never enough- to roll through. However, it does happen that a visitor or even an aide leaves forgetting to put a folding chair away or moves a heavy object that's right in the middle of the room. I quickly learned that such problems can be taken care of easily by my power chair. In fact if I angle my power chair correctly, it can even fold up a folding chair, make it cry uncle and toss it onto a pile of laundry.

This would all fit nicely into a Monty Python skit.

But the everyday tasks, those moments when as a quadriplegic I'm alone and I realize that I need to "get at" something in a heavy box, or move an object closer, is when I fully appreciate my power chair. Today a box of work was delivered. The UPS guy nicely dropped it in my front hallway for me, but I needed to work on it and I needed it near a light. I powered up the Beast, angled myself behind the box and pushed it quickly and efficiently right where I needed it. Didn't have to wait for an aide to come over or yell at a neighbor or make yet another wish for a robot. I'm already using machine power for better independent living.

A manual chair can be used in this way too. But it's much more impressive with a power chair. You can move - mountains. Not really. But almost.

Quadriplegic Playing Virtual Violin

Before acquiring quadriplegia, I played classical guitar. It's probably the number one thing I miss doing. So I was fascinated when I saw this video. What a wonderful thing to be able to do again!

Some tips for new quads

A video showing how a quad uses her cell phone and computer.

Courage Center Shining Star award: Jenny Mundo, quadriplegic

Life is not always a bowl of cherries, but...

ProfessirX shows how some quadriplegics can eat them using tenodesis to grasp objects.

Really like what he has to say about respect between quads.

Donnie Wittler's story

Accessibility Advocate Donnie Wittler tells his story: He fell out of a tree at the age of 26 on 9/11/98, severing his spinal cord between the 5th and 6th cervical vertebrae, and resulting in incomplete quadriplegia. He uses a wheelchair for mobility and has limited finger dexterity.

Donnie exposes a little known fact about many so-called "accessible" restrooms: they have major barriers for someone like him with limited finger dexterity.

The only problem is the suspension....

...says an Australian cattleman who has quadriplegia and is crossing the Tanami Desert in his power chair. You can read more about it here.

C5-C6 quadriplegic plays Hallelujah on piano

This video posted by a C5-6 quadriplegic shows how he plays the piano with the side of his hands. Beautiful piece.

Nava's Story: First Ventilated Quad to Sail Alone

Via YouTube:

Freedom Waters Foundation presents this story, originally aired on the Austrailian television program "A Current Affair", of Nava George. Nava is the first quadriplegic person to sail alone. With some training, and a special boat, Nava is able to explore a newly found freedom, sailing by herself.

If you're interested in adaptive sports, visit my other blog We Push Sports for more information or to share your story.

Quadtools reacher demo

Doug demonstrates how the Cripper helps him in daily tasks. He uses the regular length Cripper and the Shorti model in this video. They are made by quadtools.com

I have a regular size one which I purchased months ago. I'm saving up for the Shorti.

It's designed by a quad and is a great help because it's made for exactly what we need.

Brent tells his story

You can find Brent's Organized Confusion Podcast here.

Listening Is An Act of Love

I just saw this wonderful article in the Huffington Post by Dr. Dan Gottlieb, about his early days dealing with life as a quadriplegic and how he learned that listening is an act of love.

Brandon's video

Brandon Sulser, a C5-6 quadriplegic, posted this video showing how he's adapted to his disability in everyday life. He shows a number of adaptive devices that he uses to transfer out of bed, get dressed, eat and get around.

New Robotic Arm to Help Quadriplegics

You can read more about it here.

The Wii - A Knockout

They say if you want to know anything about technology, ask a teenager.

Enter my nephew. I told him I'd like to get into some gaming and exercise.

Yesterday he lent me his Nintendo Wii. I strapped on a brace, pushed the controller into it and played the game Wii Sports.

I tried out the tennis game first. (Big surprise there, eh?) I was able to play that, although I wasn't very accurate. I could serve easily by just swinging. It was more difficult to hit the ball back in bounds, but I can't say yet whether I'll be able to master that.

Then I tried out boxing. This was definitely a quad-friendly game. To play this, you have to hold both a Wii controller and the nunchuck, so I attached both to my hands. Once I had done that, boxing on the Wii was easy. It consists mostly of punching movements, requiring no dexterity. Not only was it fun, but a pretty good workout. Getting K.O.'s was a real blast.

I couldn't play bowling at all. The movements just weren't happening. Baseball wasn't much of a go either.

Golf may be another game I can play. I had some success with that by just limiting my "strokes" to one basic move across my body and using gravity to bring my arm up and across my chest. This wasn't effective at some points in the game, but I managed to experiment with it enough to complete holes.

That's the wonder of the Wii. There really aren't any rules. As long as the game picks up your movement, you can play with the function you have. And, other than reports of some shoulder injuries or discomfort from overuse, the Wii is being used as a rehab tool without any concerns, so it seems to be a safe way to get exercise, stretch out and have some fun.

My nephew left it here for the weekend. I'm definitely going to work on my boxing skills. Next week? A bout in Las Vegas....

The Cripper Arrives!

I wrote a while ago about a quad reacher called The Cripper. It was on my wish list after I saw how it worked because I needed a reacher that would fit me properly and save as much energy as possible. Living alone can involve a lot of reaching issues, especially when your arms are paralyzed. It's a real drag to risk falling out of your wheelchair or wait for someone else to come over to get some things done. So I ordered The Cripper a few weeks ago. I've tried out a lot of quad reachers, so I'll admit I was wondering if my money would be well spent or once again wasted.

Today my custom made Cripper came. I was thrilled with the speed of delivery. The first thing I noticed when I slipped it on was how well it fit (see photo of Cripper on my hand and arm above). I had to take a moment or two to figure out exactly how far to push my arm into the device, but once I had my wrist and forearm in the right place, the Cripper felt comfortable , like a new arm. And the next time I put it on, my arm went exactly into the right place without a second thought. I love that kind of ease of use.

I began right away to pick items up. Letters, envelopes, plates and coins were first. I noticed that instead of my arm getting tired, it felt supported by the Cripper. Since using it only involves a slight raise of your wrist, I was able to do much than usual without stopping to rest my arm. I also seem to be able to pick up items that are heavier without hurting my arm. I could easily reach my printer and hit the buttons with more accuracy. (See photo at right).


The paperwork that comes with it suggests practicing a bit and there were certain items I tried to pick up that took a few tries. I'm not concerned about this because I'm learning new ways to use it every time I put it on. The grippers on the end aren't the usual dull plastic I'm used to, but have edges. So when I picked up a plastic fruit cup with a clear cover on it, the Cripper not only put it on the table but opened it as well. I'm looking forward to using that feature since opening items is difficult, particularly many of those single serving snack packets that are handy to keep around, but are packaged in a way that require assistance. The Cripper also effortlessly holds slippery items such as pens. (See photo at left).

The workmanship on the Cripper is very impressive. I was relieved when I saw that, since years ago I spent at least twice as much on a quad reacher that broke easily and often. I'm a busy and active person who needs equipment that can keep up with me and prefer items that are durable and don't require frequent replacement. In fact, the Cripper comes with paperwork that assures that ordering parts at a minimal cost is possible - even if your arm changes sizes. The good thing about this reacher is that there aren't many parts, unlike other quad reachers I tried.

If you're a quadriplegic with use of your tenodesis muscle, I recommend the Cripper. The web site can be found here. A video demonstrating it is shown below.

Max and The Magic Pill

Max Starkloff,a cofounder of Paraquad, talks about how he cofounded the organization after living for 12 years in a nursing home before finding accessible housing in Part 1 of this series.



In this video, part 2, Max talks about family and parenting, assumptions about disability and more.



You can find the other videos in this series here.

Quads v. Heat

This video explains why and how people with quadriplegia react differently to heat. it also shows a few ways to deal with being outside in the summer heat.