An interesting comment from a reader

Sands_PhD said...

Well, I have to speak up as a power chair user for 35 years: the iBot is a gimmick. I tested one in '07: they are overpriced, extremely large and heavy, ungainly, unsuited to most urban environment (think of the Segway). Most staircases are too problematic for them to traverse safely unaided. Any netizen is entitled to their opinion and I welcome efforts to advance the technology, but this is a step backwards.

My response:
Thank you for your interesting comment. I disagree with
everything you wrote except for the part about most
staircases being too problematic. The stair climbing
function is the only thing that has disappointed me.

Overpriced - I don't think it is overpriced compared to other
power chairs. In general it is overpriced, but that is no
different from any other durable medical equipment.

Extremely large - I'm surprised you think it's extremely
large. Compared to my manual, it is very large, but
compared to other power chairs, it seems quite reasonable.
In fact, I think it is even narrower than most power chairs.

Heavy - It's close to 300 pounds. I thought it would be
heavier.

Ungainly - Okay that one I might agree with.

Unsuited to most urban environments - I think the iBOT
is way better suited to urban environments than the average
power chair. We live in a world that is built for
average adult height comfort. Think of all the high
counters, displays that are difficult or impossible
to see when in a seated postion, having conversations
with standing adults, and reaching things on high shelves.

A gimmick? I hear, respect, and can appreciate that you've
expressed this opinion, but I completely disagree.

A step backwards? Really? I hope you elaborate on this.

Teaching a Class

I "taught" a 5th grade art class today. My daughter's
school doesn't have enough money to hire an art teacher,
so the art program there is run entirely by volunteers.
I've been an assistant to the art teacher for the past
5 years. Today the teacher was home puking like
50% of the students, and so I had to teach the class.
I was very nervous and had never done anything like that
before. It actually went quite well. I'm so glad I had
my iBOT though so that I could be in Balance Function and
be taller than the students. Imagine trying to teach a
class at 4 feet high.

I finally get my van back tomorrow. I've been without
it for a week. I don't know what I would have done
without my BOT to get me around.

Use Speed 1 when indoors...

especially if you are in a restaurant.

I learned that very important lesson last
night.

I also learned that the iBOT can easily
plow through tables and chairs.

And I learned that I could have a more
embarassing experience than the time when
I was in the 5th grade and I hiccuped in
the middle of a yawn which is quite loud
and instantly gets the attention of the
teacher and all of the classmates.

Extra extra thankful for the BOT

My car is going to be in the shop until
at least mid next week. : (

The good news is, I have my iBOT to get
me around. Surely I'd die without it.
And there's always -gasp- public transportation
if I absolutely need to go somewhere outside
of my neighborhood.

The other good news is that good weather is
predicted for the next few days. They're
talking 60 and sunny. I'm hoping the
weather forecasters aren't wrong like
they usually are.

Crosswalk signals

are so not PC. "Walk" and "Don't Walk" needs
to be changed to something like "Cross" and
"Don't Cross".

I get so confused when I'm trying to cross a
street at a crosswalk. When it says "Don't Walk"
I feel like that is when I should be crossing but
there's all these cars in my way. Then it turns
to "Walk" and the cars clear a path, but I can't
walk, so what am I supposed to do?

I think I'm going to start some sort of campaign
to change the wording of crosswalks. The way
it is now is just plain wrong. It's yet another
example of the discrimination us wheelers face.

Some alternative word possibilites include:

Stay/Go

Halt/Proceed

Pause/Boogie

Stay right there/Hurry Up

Suspend Movement/Move Freely

I think I like "Stay" and "Go" best because then
dogs will easily understand what to do as well.
I'm open to suggestions though, so let me know
if you can think of any good ones.

Happy V-Day!

My car gave me the sweetest Valentine present
ever. The brakes went out.

I'm thanking Dog for my iBOT. Without it I
would be burdening my friends for rides, or
calling a cab, both of which I prefer not to
do. I botted from the mechanic shop to
home... would have been next to impossible
in my manual - too many hills, too far,
curbs not cut.

Please please please, no rain tomorrow.

What not to do while in 4-Wheel Drive

Before I got my BOT, I was told by the rep to not
use the iBOT in 4-Wheel Drive when on carpet or
a rug. I've found out on my own that it's also a
good idea to not use 4-Wheel Drive when on painted
wood.

FlatBOT

I had said in an earlier entry that I would post
pictures of the iBOT with the seat reclined as
far as it would go. Here are the photos:


This is NOT a feature, meaning it is not intended to
be used in this position. It may be necessary when
transporting the iBOT, especially when putting it in
an airplane. I know an iBOT owner who did it this
way. The IT recommended way to get it in the plane
is to lay the BOT on it's side.

The iBOT is "cool"

The things kids say about my iBOT makes me smile.
Some examples:

From 5th grade boys at my daughter's school:
"You have a cool wheelchair!"
"That is so rad!"

From a teenage boy at the swimming pool:
"If I ever get put in a wheelchair, I want one
like that!"

From a teenage boy at the mall:
"That is the coolest looking wheelchair I've
ever seen!"

From a teenage girl at a middle school open house:
"Whoa! I want to get one of those!"

I'm not kidding about that last one. And no, she
had no obvious mobility issues.

And Now Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Program

If you've read the comments here over the last couple of
days, you know that there has been some garbage spewed.
When the garbage spewer started commenting and leaving
the names of my friends so it looked like it came from
them, I decided to clean up the place. All the garbage
and anything related to the garbage is gone.