Thanks

to all for the suggestions. I'm still thinking
about things that can be done. I'd love to get
together with a group of others. Maybe we can
arrange to meet up in Las Vegas or something?
Anyone interested?

And another thing...

I believe someone needs to file a class action
suit against Medicare for classifying the iBOT
as a luxury.

They say going outside of our homes is a luxury.
That's discrimination.

What to do about Independence Technology

I'm just a quiet little mouse who is very uneducated
in matters like this, but I cannot sit back and watch
the iBOT die. Suggestions on what I and others can
do is greatly appreciated.

When a friend of mine (not an iBOT user, or even
disabled) found out about IT yesterday, he wrote to
Johnson and Johnson boycotting their products. J &
J is a huge company and IT is a division of J & J.
Obviously IT isn't making money from the bot. Without
enough insurance companies paying for them and at a
cost of $26,000, not enough people are able to get
an iBOT. I don't know how many iBOTs have been sold,
but I'm guessing it's less than 500. Of course this
is not a money making project for J & J. I even
spoke with the rep about this numerous times before
and after I got my iBOT. He said that J & J were in
in for the long haul. They knew it wouldn't be a
money maker for many many years, but they were
committed to it. So what happened?

Like my friend, I will be boycotting J & J products.
I will also do my best to spread the word so that
others will do the same.

I will also write to Dean Kamen. The guy the brilliant,
and obviously proud of the iBOT. I can't believe that
he will sit back and watch the iBOT die.

I've never done anything like this before, but I think
we need to organize some kind of rally. Image 100+ iBOT
users positioned all in the highest setting in balance
gathered outside J & J?

Anyone with me?

Nancy, Utah guy, Irv, Scott, others (Pat?).... what can we do?

I've been sick in bed for over a week now, so I'm not
quite myself these days... I would like to say that I'm
not about to sit back and quietly watch the iBOT die. I
do not know what I can do at this point, but I have a
few ideas in my head.


Are you with me? I'd be devastated to give up my bot.

IT will stop selling the iBOT

It's true. Independence Technology has announced they
will no longer sell the iBOT as of January 2009. Support
and service will continue until 2013 however.

The reason for this? Medicare says the iBOT is a luxury.
They won't even pay for a wheelchair that has outdoor
capabilities. They only cover a chair that will get
a person from one place in their house to the other.

What next? Is getting out of bed going to be a luxury?

Oh no! Please don't let this be true...

I just received a message from "anonymous" asking if I've heard that IT is going out of business. I hope this is not true... though I wouldn't be terribly surprised. Crap. I've googled it but didn't come up with anything. Does anyone know anything about this? I'm very worried.

Question from a reader

Logan wrote...

Hi Shannon, I'm interested in buying a used iBOT. Any tips or things to look out for? (I had a test drive a couple of years ago.) Is there an iBOT owners forum out there?

The only thing I'm afraid of is that I get enough attention with my service dog. Add an iBOT and I'll never be able to get things done!

I say....

I'm sorry I did not respond in a more timely matter. Things have been busy around here. So... you have an opportunity to buy a used iBOT? That's fabulous! I would suggest that you have a rep from IT look it over before buying it. Mine was practically new, but I don't know the circumstances around the one you are interested in. Be aware that the warranty is not transferable. But also be aware that in the year+ that I've had my used iBOT, the lack of warranty has not been a problem for me.

IBOT owners forum... I know there was one but now I cannot find it. I looked through my bookmarks, and I did a google search and I cannot find it. When I have more time, I'll do a bit more digging and hopefully find it. Or, if anyone reading this knows the website, please leave a comment.

About the attention the iBOT draws... A few years back (this was before I got my iBOT) I was training my dog to be a service dog. He did great, but I stopped using him because I couldn't handle all the attention. People are interested in the iBOT, and you definitely will get lots of people asking questions, but I've found that if I'm in a hurry or not in the mood to talk to anyone, I just look straight ahead and keep on going. I have had some people run after me to ask about it, but not often. The other thing you can do is put it in Standard Function. People think it is just a regular power chair when it's in Standard. I think I've only had one person ask me about when I was in Standard, and he knew it by name and was somewhat familiar with them, but had never seen one in real life before.

I had a much harder time getting things done when I had my dog with me than I do with the iBOT. So many people stopped me to ask if they could pet my dog, but no one has asked to pet my iBOT! Dog lovers obviously find it extremely difficult to see a friendly dog and not pet him/her (which is understandable), but people seem satisfied to just look (stare) at the iBOT.

I've also noticed quite a difference in the number of people asking me about it now than a year ago. I think this is for a few reasons. One reason is that more and more people are seeing them. I think IT has been advertising because in the past few months I've had quite a few people say that they saw it on TV. Also, I tend to go to the same grocery store, library, etc, and so I know lots of people have seen me before. If I'm in a checkout line or something where I'm not on the go, I've had lots of people who are in line also tell me that they've seen me around before. And finally, I think I've perfected the art of "Don't talk to me, I'm busy".

The questions really don't bother me. If I am in a hurry, I go in Standard. I can go faster in Standard, plus people think it's just a regular power chair. Not long ago my daughter and I were at the grocery store and we were in a hurry. I was in Balance Function, because that is where I like to be, and we had stopped at the deli. As my daughter was quietly saying to me, "Maybe you should go down so no one asks you about it", a man asked me about it. He literally interrupted her sentence to ask me a question. I found it humorous, but my daughter was a bit irritated. I'm usually a very friendly person, and I'm happy to answer questions, but if you are a person who does not like questions, being in Balance Function would definitely be an issue. Oh, also, before I got my iBOT, I had people ask me why I'm in a wheelchair. Since I've had the iBOT, no one has. It's quite nice! Although I understand people's curiosity, I think it's quite rude for a complete stranger to ask such a personal question. "How come you're all crippled up?" is a bit stabbing, whereas, "That is an awesome chair!", or "How does it balance like that", does not bother me.

I hope what I've written helps. Feel free to ask any other questions. And let me know if you get it and how you like it!

Edited to add: One more thing about the attention a service dog and an iBOT draws. Although I definitely understand people wanting to pet a service dog, I think they should know better. Therefore, I was always somewhat perturbed when someone asked to pet him. I don't feel that way with the iBOT. I guess I would never ask to pet someone's service dog, and I would never ask a person why they were in a wheelchair, but I might ask someone a question or two if they had a super cool wheelchair. : )

Just a bit of new information

I believe I had written somewhere in this blog that the iBOT can be sold outside of the United States. I just found out that is not true. Someone from a different country could purchase an iBOT, but they would need a prescription from a US doctor, plus they would need to do the evaluation and the training here in the states. So it would be a very costly and time consuming thing. I guess it'd wouldn't be so bad for Canada or Mexico, but if you are from overseas, I think it would be quite an ordeal. I have a friend in Europe who really wanted an iBOT, but it's unfortunately not going to happen for her at this point. : (

The other new thing is the price of service. Service used to be $90/hour. They have changed it to a flat $125 for regular service (4 to 6 business days), and $200 for expedited service (2 to 4 business days). Still quite reasonable IMO. I've had the BOT for a little over a year now (and it's not covered under warranty since I bought mine used). In that year, as far as I can remember, I haven't had to pay for any service calls. A service rep has been to my house twice I believe. Once was to update something and the other time was when I was having lots of flat tires. I wasn't charged either time. I also had a rep come to teach a friend stair climbing. No charge for that either. Overall, I'm still very pleased with their customer service. They're very smart to have excellent customer service. People ask me all the time about service and I have nothing but good things to say. Just yesterday a lady in a powerchair stopped me in the grocery store and asked me about it. I can't remember what kind of chair she had, but she said their customer service is complete crap.

Videos

A few new ones.

Outdoor School

Portland public schools have been running
an outdoor school program since 1966. It's
tons of fun, or so I've heard. Mention it
to a person who attended Portland public schools
in 6th grade, and they all say, "Oh! Outdoor
School is so much fun!" The kids spend 5
nights in the woods. Every 6th grader goes.
My daughter goes next month.

Yesterday there was an orientation at the camp-
site. It was basically for the parents to see
where their kids would be for 5 nights. I was
extra thankful for my iBOT because I could
not have toured the place without it. The
paths were gravel and sloped, but the iBOT
handled it with no problems. The dining hall
had a step. Again, no problem for the BOT.

I would not have gotten a look inside the
cabins without the BOT because of the
step.

Check out the view. (Also would have been
inaccessible without the iBOT.)

On clear days, you can see the beautiful Mt.
Hood.

Lucky kids! I didn't grow up in Oregon, so
I never went to Outdoor School. I grew up
in rural WI, and we never did anything like
this.