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At the Rehacare fair I had the world’s lightest wheelchair on my knees, the
of the Swedish company
As light as the wheelchair, as heavy is the price for this wheeler Ferrari . 
Further information e.g. www.aktiv-rollstuhl.de
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Uneven paths, curbs, cobble stone, sand, gravel, grass and of course snow are not really friends of a wheeler.
With a little oomph you reach an artistic score of 5.8 for your flight out of the wheelchair. This can end up annoying, see older blogpost Broken Leg.
The solution is rather simple, you “just” need a longer wheelchair. But if I had a longer wheelchair I wouldn’t get it into the wheelchair loading system of my car.
My Minitrac and handcycle are great, but I always need a volunteer to get one of it out of the cellar.
A super alternative is a single wheel in the size of half a children’s bicycle which you clamp to the front of your wheelchair, and when the front wheels are lifted it gets perfect. The wheelchair then looks a bit like a jogging stroller. There are various producers of such a system.
On the Rehacare fair in DĂĽsseldorf I have met Patrick Dougherty, the American inventor of the
I knew this attached wheel from many videos from the internet, but it is not easily available in Germany. It is so small that you can store it at the back of a rigid frame wheelchair. I take it on my knees when I descend with my platform lifter because I have a foldable wheelchair. Just input “FreeWheel” in Youtube and see for yourself what is suddenly accessible, e.g.:
I could buy a new “fair wheel” from him which was still lying in the hotel. On the last day of the fair he deposited it at the booth of Runa Reisen, a travel agency for handicapped. I know their staff very well because I always book my holidays there. They have sent the FreeWheel to my home then. Thanks again from this side.
With the FreeWheel it is even possible, ideally with additional Mountainbike tyres, to ride safely in the snow. Now the next winter can start, or maybe even a little bit of desert…
The FreeWheel is clamped tetra-easily to the footrest of a rigid-framed wheelchair. (But I have a foldable wheelchair…???)
If you ride forwards afterwards the front tyres of the wheelchair are lifted, and the fun can begin.
Because of the big tyres even “shocks” due to rough grounds are almost not noticed any more.
A rack with maximum load of 12 kg is available as well.
It has been upgraded with missing spoke reflectors incl. blinking valve caps (see picture above).
Of course Patrick wanted to know in detail how I get the FreeWheel clamped to my actually non-suitable foldable wheelchair by magic with Michael’s help.
New 2014 FreeWheel for folder-wheelchairs
For enquiries contact as usual: rollinator@eigude.de
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On Monday evening I “just” wanted to fuel up quickly!!!
There it was again
which will drive me insane some time.
The petrol station with the yellow shell has re-established the filling station attendant a couple of years ago. This is why I am usually going to the yellow club, but this time not to my usual station.
Unfortunately this one didn’t have a filling service, so I drove through to the cashier desk and waved with my yellow
for the side window.
The cashier clerk nodded in my direction, came outside and put the fuel hose into my car. After my cash budget of 40 € was exhausted he pulled the nozzle out again and cashed up.
I wished him a nice evening and started with my vehicle. When I was on the street again the car behind me flashed, then I already saw my
Even after intensive search my original fuel cap could not be located any more. Now I have a fuel cap out of the stock of the station.
Possibly it was from a 911 which would explain my rough driving mode from yesterday
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The wheelchair Segway is not only available from
Also the German company
is constructing one of those models. I think they are affordable, but apart from that I could not report more than what you can see on the website.
A wheeler mate has found out some things, I consider his investigations most interesting. However I can’t guarantee for the correctness of the information.
I will call him Informant Segway:
The scooter by Genny shown in the film clip costs laid-back 15950 Euro (net). I have got this information from the Italian headquarter.
A possible alternative is the MobilityCube reconstruction kit based on a Segway. Costs 3.800,00 €!
The customer either brings his own Segway, or we provide a Segway.
The aquisition of a Segway costs new 7.900,00 € and used from Segway 6.600,00 €.
We arrange the individual approval of the technical control association for costs of 385,00 €. Illumination according to road traffic regulations 50,00 €.
Optionally the customers can exchange the original tyres with tyres of the company Axperts. http://www.axperts.de
Usually an extra charge of ca. 420,00 € bis 450,00 € arises…
Thanks to informant Segway for the investigation!!!
Now we only have to convince Santa Claus as sponsor, and the fun can begin.
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Since I am rolling through the world for 5 years now, I have another enemy besides disabled parking place occupiers, namely doors.
These mostly white pieces are slowly turning into a phobia.
Not so easy to pull the door shut when you are standing… eh, sitting in your own way.
Hold the handle tight, roll backwards and mind not to fall forward if possible, or to do a backflip with the wheelchair.
In hospital I already had a long ribbon with which I was always fishing for the door handles. This ribbon is still hanging on the door of my flat and is serving its purpose.
I hate my own kitchen door, it is one meter wide. I only say:
No arms, no cookies…!!!
Only the door knows why I haven’t hung such a ribbon on my beloved kitchen door during the last 4 years.
The blue-yellow nordic timber worms offer drawer handles in all designs, sizes and colours. There were no more hurdles for the
A mate has screwed such a handle on my favourite door from the inside.
Now I can eventually close the door even when I am already standing in the corridor.
Because the screws have to be very long I recommend to immediately take threaded bars (on IKEA handles mostly thread M4), and saw it off to size only at the end.
If you leave the bars a bit longer you can even mount two towel hooks at the inside on the door.
Tip, always drill the holes from outside to inside and use an air level.
Looks a bit like a towel rail, I like it. Next, the door of my flat will be refurbished.
Before spot-drilling the entrance door it can’t do any harm to integrate the landlord in selecting the handles.
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As already reported several times I was during my visit at the book fair on 12.10.2012 pushed ruggedly across the street without asking by a bodyguard due to the arrival of our federal president.
Thereupon I wrote on 15.10. an e-mail to the federal president.
All this can be referred to in the blogposts from 14.10.12 and 16.10.12.
I have continuously heard comments that I should have saved the work with the letter, it wouldn’t bother anyway anyone “up there” what concerns us “minor citizens”.
Even if I got a reply this would last weeks, or even months.
But many people were curious to read the reply as well!
On Friday 25.10.2012, already 10 days after the e-mail, I received a letter from Bellevue Palace (translator’s note: official residence of the German federal president), see stamp.
The letter is not signed by Mr Gauck, but by one of his three closest staff members, his
Personal Officer Mr Johannes Sturm.
TRANSLATION!!!
OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PRESIDENT
Personal office of the
Federal President
BERLIN, 19th October 2012
Spreeweg 1
Mr.
Steffen Löw
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxx Frankfurt am Main
Dear Mister Löw,
Federal President Joachim Gauck thanks you for your e-mail from 15th October 2012.
He has asked me to answer you. He has read your description of your unpleasant experience at the Frankfurt book fair attentively.
I can understand very well that it must have been unpleasant that you were pushed across a street in your wheelchair surprisingly and without being correctly addressed. It is regrettable that this apparently happened. It is not possible to verify your suspicion any more that the person concerned was a security force of the federal president. At this day personnel of a private security company and the Hessian state police were on duty as well.
At the same time I am asking for your understanding that the officers who are in charge of the security of the federal president before and during an event visited by such numerous people like the book fair are bearing a particularly large responsibility. This is concerning the security of the federal president as well as the prevention of possible accidents during arrival and departure of the car convoy.
In good knowledge of the acting officers and the described situation I can assure you that none of the officers is acting in thoughtless or unkind intention.
However I used your letter as occasion to discuss with the officers again the special situation of wheelchair users. Therefore I thank you for your feedback.
The federal president sends his best wishes and sincere regards.
Kind regards,
Johannes Sturm
Personal Officer of the Federal President
Mail address: Bundespräsidialamt 11010 Berlin, lnternet: http://www.bundespraesident.de
E-Mail: poststelle@bpra.bund.de
I have achieved what I had intended with my e-mail.
Mr Sturm has discussed with the security forces the special situation of us wheelchair users.
Download as PDF answer_federal_president_office
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Frontpage
One of the reasons why I was at the book fair 2012 in the beautiful Frankfurt was to meet again my friend and author Roberto Sastre in person.
Many fellow wheelers keep a diary already in the hospital after their accident. Writing as is known is medicine as well. So did my friend who wrote down his experiences from the start (as skilled IT guy of course in an internet blog).
This blog has been so successful that he was forced a little to publish it as a book.
His writing style is unique. He manages with his easy cynical style to describe the beginning as wheeler rookie so that articulations like ehhh, ouch, ahaaaaaaaaaaa are totally normal while reading.
The book may not be so suitable to read in a train.
Everybody who liked the movie “The Intouchables” gets his money’s worth with Sastre. The book is called
Rolling Thunder,
(ISBN/EAN: 9783845006550) you have to read it, a little bit like:
” Everything you always wanted to know about spinal cord injury but were afraid to ask”
His next literary act is a crime story,
Bender’s 1st case “Blackout”
(ISBN/EAN: 978-3-8450-0962-9) which is set in Frankfurt. An excellent book!!!
Private investigator Bender is of course a wheelchair using ex-commissar, with a van type “A-team” and an a little bit modified electric wheelchair with the name Elsbeth.
His own vehicle is a bit customized as well.
The book starts with the sentence: This book is made-up from the beginning to the end…
I don’t believe this, I even have the suspicion that he has hacked my computer, stolen my latest research results of most innovative wheelchair reconstruction and published them in his book.
Extract from this novel:
As already said, you can build a lot into such an electric wheelchair.
In Rehab I have met Steffen.
He is totally nuts, has the weirdest ideas, and I and my electric wheelchair always have to suffer. With the result that my batteries are constantly empty.
Until Steffen had the idea with the fuel cell. Had almost cost me my wheelchair.
Because my bottom sustained a slight fire damage I let the hospital check it first…
“Now you’ve got a micro turbine.
There is a new bearing material. Special ceramics. Doesn’t need greasing, nor cooling. Is whistling a bit, but I’ll still carry that off.
From naught to fifty in 2.6 seconds. A bottle of camping gas every 4 weeks.
And I built in a small surprise for you.”
I can recommend those two books out of my deepest conviction, there is so much info inside, and even in a splendid packaging!!!
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A blind, a deaf and a wheeler stand at the river Jordan.
Then a voice speaks to them:
Swim through the river, and you will experience a miracle.
The wheeler is pushing the blind first to the right direction, and he falls into the water.
He swims to the other side and calls out loud, I can see again, I can see again.
Now it’s the turn of the deaf, when he comes out of the water he cries out lout, I can hear again!!!
The wheeler jumps into the water, he just makes it to the other side without drowning.
When he comes up the bank, he calls out loud:
Yippie… a set of “new tyres”,… a set of “new tyres”…!!!
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Sorry, this entry is only available in Deutsch.
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After my not-so-nice experience at the book fair in Frankfurt when a bodyguard of our federal president pushed me in my wheelchair out of the way without asking (see blogpost of 14.10.12) I have decided after a day of soul-searching to report this incident to our federal president.
Download as PDF Letter to the federal president
Dear Mister President,
I would like to draw your attention to an incident which happened in connection with your visit to the book fair in Frankfurt on Saturday October 13th, 2012.
I am a wheelchair user and was going around 15:00 hrs from the exit of exhibition hall 3 in the direction of the main plaza when suddenly without prior warning an unknown man grabbed quite ruthless and snappy the handles of my wheelchair and pushed me across the street which was actually closed to traffic.
I was rather in panic, but even shouting didn’t help, the man pushed me further across the street.
It turned out that the man was one of your security forces. You yourself were driving immediately afterwards with your convoy around the corner.
I was very lucky that I didn’t fall out of the wheelchair with this involuntary action because I am sitting in my wheelchair rather unstable due to my quadriplegia (cervical vertebra) and can’t firm up myself with my paralysed legs either.
Additionally I am using, like our minister of Finance, an active wheelchair which stops suddenly even at a small curb due to its construction and the small front tyres, and thus there is the risk for me to be dumped out of my wheelchair. As pushing escort person one should be trained accordingly.
Your staff member most probably would not have been able to hold me back when there would have been only a small curb or similar.
I fell out of my wheelchair in September 2011 the last time.
At this occasion I broke my right shinbone and fibula, spent four weeks in a hospital bed and had to painfully wear an orthosis for five further months, see blogposts on my weblog:
http://www.eigude.de/blog/?tag=beinbruch
When I addressed your staff member that I didn’t like this conduct I got the reply:
This is the president, it is like it is!!!
Mr. Gauck, I have great respect for your function as federal president, but this statement is not acceptable for me.
I am asking you in person to have your security staff trained and sensitized especially in interaction with disabled people.
A possible “accident”, how it could have happened, cannot be in your interest.
I am completely at your disposal in case of further enquiries or in advisory capacity.
Awaiting your reply.
Sincerely
Steffen Löw
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Frontpage
Today I was at the
I wanted to meet my friend and author Roberto Sastre there.
I will write a separate blogpost about the reunion with him.
When I left hall 3 where there were mainly children books, comics and presumably human beings in Manga costumes, it happened.
I was suddenly grabbed quite ruthless on the handles of my wheelchair by an unknown guy and was pushed without asking me quite snappy across a small road to the main plaza of the fair.
Except me, there were only pedestrians on this road, the passage was closed to traffic.
Even shouting didn’t help, the guy didn’t let go my handles.
I was rather in panic, but was lucky that this guy didn’t push me out of my wheelchair.
If there would have been a small curb I would have been licking the pavement.
What was happening???
Just in the moment when I was at the other side of the road three black cars with flashing blue light came speeding around the corner.
One of the limousines had the
and two coloured flags with a black eagle on the wings.
Actually our
was sitting in the back of the car.
This would have been something again if the bodyguard of our head of state would have pushed me out of the wheelchair.
Who doesn’t know my “Eigude blog” (click Frontpage) should know that last time I fell out of my wheelchair I broke my shinbone and fibula (see older blogposts).
When I explained to the guy with the ear piece that I didn’t like this he told me:
When I was driving home in my car this convoy blocked me again, now our president is spending the night in a grand hotel around the corner of my home.
I would be interested if this bodyguard has ever pushed around Mr Schäuble (translator’s note: the German minister of Finance is sitting in a wheelchair).
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The Rehacare fair which takes place once a year in DĂĽsseldorf is a must for each wheeler.
There you can see more or less everything you can imagine relating to technical aids and medical devices.
Starting with wheelchair manufacturers, hand cycles, ski, bath equipment, car customizing, help for everyday life, travel agencies for handicapped, etc, etc, etc,…
Unfortunately I couldn’t go to the fair last year. As is known I had left my wheelchair involuntarily and broken my right leg (see older blogpost).
Currently the absolute highlight in the wheelchair area is the Genny.
Basically it is nothing different than a “Segway” in wheelchair variant.
A Segway is this 2-wheel-vehicle on which you can drive around standing as pedestrian, and which meanwhile even the police is using.
The wheelchair variant is distributed only since August 2012 from the Suisse company Gennymobility in Germany.
Due to the big tyres uneven grounds or holes are no problem anymore.
This is mobility!!!
Watch the video how you can speed with the Genny along the beach as a wheeler, this vehicle is awesome…
I was hoping that I would be able to test this special wheelchair. This was one of the main reasons for me visiting the fair this year. I was very lucky that I only had to wait for around 15 minutes.
After I was eventually sitting on the vehicle the kind lady on the picture below was telling me that we quadriplegics are not allowed to drive with the Genny due to missing stability of the upper part of the body, we might fall down!
Uh,… I especially brought my belt from home.
Then she said it was not allowed to buckle up so that one doesn’t get hurt when the Genny falls over.
No,… I wanted to get started with it,… this is not easy to understand, these Swiss people are crazy…!!!
Well, after short discussion in Italian without me at the booth they were gracious, and I was allowed to get cruising under supervision, like everyone else.
The handling is very easy, by bending forward you start, by leaning backwards the lady Genny stops or drives backwards.
The handle bar is for steering, what else. With a bit of training it is possible without problems to turn on the spot.
The driving experience reminded me a lot of skiing, what made me cry a little bit as formerly obsessed skier, amazing…
According to my opinion the wheelchair Segway, in which variant ever, will make its way as variant of an electric wheelchair due to its easy, comfortable and speedy driving manner and in spite of its size, weight and high purchase price.
The “Genny” is still a vehicle for physically fit wheelers. We will have to wait a bit longer until it will get a technical aid for us “tired warriors”, but it’s a beginning!
If they wouldn’t have let me start, I would have gone on “sit-down strike” on the vehicle
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I have already introduced my car customized with hand throttle and wheelchair loading system (see older blogpost).
With a wheelchair loading system with sliding door you always have to consider how long the wheelchair is, otherwise it doesn’t fit into the car lifted upright (see older blogpost).
My wheelchair is rather short, and there is maximum 1 cm space left at the upper door edge when pulling the wheelchair in, otherwise the Astra would have been out of question as vehicle.
Therefore many wheelchair users have a minivan, like for example a VW Caddy.
An alternative is a wheelchair loading system on the roof, this looks a bit like a ski box.
A friend has such a box on his car, have a look yourself:
I have the yellow PLEASE-KEEP-DISTANCE-SIGN at the driver’s door as well!!!
A Jeep Commander is quite unusual on a disabled parking place, but with the wheelchair loading system it hypnotizes each pedestrian in passing.
You should see him jumping back into the car, he would easily win “Germany’s Got Talent”, wheelchair high jump unfortunately is not a Paralympics discipline
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One of the biggest difficulties for us quadriplegics is opening screw caps of jars and bottles.
The variant to beat them up with a hammer or to throw the jars and bottles in the easiest way on the floor to open them is working excellently, but proved out to be inefficient in practice after a longer test phase.
I have reported already several times about special openers, (see older blogposts).
As self-confessed roamer on websites of the most different online medical supply stores I have found two new models made from silicone. The sunflower bottle opener
is working quite well, but needs getting used to. The
has convinced me completely with its splines on the in- and outside whereby it gets a good grip, and is in my opinion even a little bit better than its competitor product of the company Dycem, whose products I think are excellent.
Source of supply of both items at www.dein-sanitätshaus.de
I assume no responsibility for an aching head on the next day after an extensive test series of the openers with e.g. a bottle of vodka and a jar of figs
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Sorry, this entry is only available in Deutsch.
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