A Few Of My Favorite Things - Part 7: WeMo Light Switch

There are a lot of weird problems that come with paralysis.  One of the ones I noticed very quickly after I came home from the hospital was turning off the light at night.

Getting in bed at night is non-trivial for a paraplegic, especially when they are new to it.  Transferring from the wheelchair to bed, or from bed to the wheelchair can be a bit hairy, especially in the dark.  When I first moved into this apartment, I was brand new to these transfers, and I did not feel comfortable doing them in the dark.  My solution was to have a night light running in my room all the time.  This solution was a compromise.  There was a little bit of light when I was doing my transfer, but not as much as I really wanted.  Then there was more light in the room while I was sleeping than I would really prefer.

Smart phones are fantastic.  I held out getting one for several years while some of my friends pressured me to get one.  Ultimately, I did get one, only about a year before my injury.  I don't know how I'd ever survive a spinal cord injury without one.

I use my phone for everything.  I use the alarm feature many times a day to remember to take pills, or to empty my bladder.  I use a grocery list app to share my grocery list with Gus so he can pick things up for me if he goes to the store.  I use several chat and email apps to stay in contact with my friends.  I use the camera to take pictures for the blog.  I use the calendar to keep track of doctor appointments and dinner dates with friends.  I use the contact list to keep track of all the doctors and therapists I've seen.  I use the IMDB app to find out what actors were in certain movies.  And now I use WeMo to turn my lights off at night.

The WeMo light switch, by Belkin, is a smart light switch that uses your home WiFi network to talk to your smart phone.

WeMo on the right

There's not a lot to say about it except that I love it.  I can now get in (or out) of bed with the lights on, and then turn them off (or on) when I'm ready using an app on my phone.  It may seem like a little thing, but it makes my life a LOT better.

Update (5/20/2014) - My friend, Ben Parees, wants credit for introducing me to the dorky world of home automation.  It's true.  He did.  Thanks, Ben!  If you run into him, ask him about his project to automate the opening and closing of his mini-blinds in correspondence with the position of the sun!