Charge Me Baby

Blog November 14, 2013, Thursday

I am not sure what I got myself into now but I feel motivated to make the next step. I've verbalized for some time that I need to have access to a charger out in the community when I am out rolling around in my chair. I think or seem to remember I have groused on topic a lot when the first chair I ordered did not have an onboard charger. I was beside myself, I could not believe the direction powered mobility had gone. I've had to accept this move but I have not appreciated the move. So, I figured out a life that allows me to use my power chair and not be so frightened of running out of power while in the community. This means that I drag along with me a battery charger. I found a small trickle charger at UCAT,Which is slow as molasses but would do the trick if I desperately needed a charge. I keep planning to get a more functional charger to carry around but I have not as yet.

The last decade or so I've been quite involved in the area of assistive technology particularly in the area reutilization of assistive technology. I worked with projects that have tried to reintroduce used equipment, that is good equipment, back into the community of folks with disabilities. Long story short this project rendered a great deal of used but good battery chargers. Currently these chargers are sitting stacked like cord wood at places like Utah Center for Assistive Technology,Independent living centers across the state and many vendors of durable medical equipment.

I wish to access these battery charger stockpiles and move these valuable pieces of equipment to the public domain.If I had my way I would place these chargers and facilities like public libraries, where the chargers can be checked out like reference materials, a couple hours of the time and not leaving the building. I chose libraries because they already have a checkout system in place and libraries are centrally located, wheelchair accessible and generally staffed with aultristic folk. Libraries aside ideally other charging stations could be located at scepters of public transit like train stations on light rail systems, hospitals, malls, theaters and food markets places frequented by people who use power chairs.

I finally got professional physical therapist, who is respected, to believe in my program. He even carried through with my request to get a couple of chargers at Wellness program offered by University of Utah sugarhouse physical therapy clinic. I also have the support of the director of the spinal cord injury program at the University of Utah was also my primary physician. I think I can now get the attraction I need to move to the next step of implementation. This is such an easy task I hope it does not become mired in political mud.

I currently am bringing back the Access Utah Network Facebook page and I plan to use the page to develop interest in this project. I will also begin visiting with members of the A T committee to see what kind of support I might get from these folk. This project is so needed and so doable it hurts.

I am really trying not to let my cynical side take over, this is hard.