Thursday, December 22, 2016

Wheelchairs and Winter


The article below appeared on several of the Kennedy’s Disease Facebook pages a week ago. It is on the Rick Hansen Foundation website and is a good reminder to follow the Boy Scout Moto, “Be Prepared.”

Winter is tough on those of us living with a progressive disorder. What we could handle last year is more difficult today. Where we once enjoyed the season, it is barely tolerable today. Ice was once for skating. Now it is almost impossible to just safely navigate. Snow was for playing and shoveling back then. Today is keeps you indoors. Salt and sand were good for traction and a melting aid. Now it just messes up your chair and could cause considerable damage. And, if you break down or become stuck in the winter, it could become a life-threatening event.

Written by Heather Kuttai

“Alarmed would have been an understatement when I saw them: dark purple-black spots on all of my toes. “What on earth are those?” I thought. Considering the circulation problems I have had with my feet, panic struck: “It couldn’t be gangrene, could it?!”

It wasn’t. Luckily, I had a doctor’s appointment the next morning. “Frostbite,” he declared, and then frowned my sneakers. “It’s -20 outside. What part of living in a Canadian winter do you not understand?” …”

Click on the title to read the entire article.

And, speaking of wheelchairs, check out this article to read about this handy app.


“Google Maps, an app favored by nearly 70 percent of iPhone users, will now list wheelchair accessibility alongside information like traffic and store hours. The new addition makes using the app easier for people with disabilities, as well as parents with strollers and the elderly.
A team of Google employees, led by Google Drive product manager Rio Akasaka, took advantage of a dying company policy to make Google Maps accessible for people with physical disabilities. The famous 20 percent policy, announced by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 2004, encourages employees to spend up to 20 percent of their working hours concocting personal projects that might benefit the company. …”

Click on the title to read the entire article.


Be safe and stay upright.

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