It's not one of the things I promised to write about, but I thought I should throw a quick update. I went to see a physical therapist on Thursday, and he was able to help with the back pain a little. He also thinks he might be able to help with the butt pain. That was an unexpected development. I'm not convinced he's right, but it would be irresponsible not to pursue this line of inquiry until I'm 100% sure he's wrong. I really hope he's right. You could say I'm cautiously pessimistic. He thinks it's related to sciatica and caused by the same lower back problem I went to see him about. We'll see I guess.
Tobi has agreed to take me to 2 appointments this week, and my mom will be in town next week and should be able to take me to 2 more. I probably need to go to at least 2 more appointments the following week which I know Tobi can't do, but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
Jimmy took me last week to get an MRI on my spine, and Tobi is also taking me next week back to talk to the doctor about the MRI. Either this week or next, I'm going in to get my wheelchair adjusted to help with my posture. I have a couple options for rides for that, and it just depends on when they can schedule me.
So after many months of nothing happening, there's lots of stuff going on. Hopefully some of it helps.
If anybody wants to sign up to take me to a mid-day appointment the week of August 18th, let me know. If they can actually make significant improvements in the next couple weeks, I might try to drive myself, but we'll just have to see how I feel.
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Still Broken
July is rapidly coming to a close, and it's time for me to confirm, for the five remaining readers of this blog, that I'm still alive and kicking (so to speak). I was sitting here thinking about all the things I have to write about from the last month and feeling a bit overwhelmed, so instead of doing one long comprehensive post about everything I've done (besides sleep), I'm going to try to ration it out in a series of shorter posts. The way blogs are supposed to be. The question is whether the pain will allow me to do that. We'll see.
The last couple weeks, I've been spending a little more time up in my chair. Not much, but a little. I've been trying to tell myself that my butt has been feeling a little bit better. That may or may not actually be true. It's possible I'm just telling myself that to have an excuse to get out of bed. I can only take so much lying down.
So while I was sitting up a couple weeks ago, I started to notice a stabbing pain in my lower back, well below my line of injury. It felt like somebody was stabbing me directly in the spine with an ice pick, and it forced me back into bed. The pain went away after a couple days, but it came back a week later. Again, it lasted about 2 days, but this time it returned sooner. Now it's almost every day.
My butt has been bothering me a lot less since it started, but I think that's just because whatever hurts the most is the only thing I can feel at any given time, and the back problem hurts a LOT. It was suggested that it might be a herniated disk, and that sounds plausible to me.
Tobi took me to the doctor, and Gus took me for x-rays. This week, I'm going for some PT, and to get an MRI. Finding rides to doctor appointments is still one of my most difficult problems, but I'm very fortunate that Tobi is out of school the the next few weeks, and can drive me around to all of these. Hopefully one of them helps.
I'm still trying to spend time out of bed every day, but it's hard. I've been icing my back every day, and taking pain meds. They do help, once again, lying in bed is the only real relief I get, so I need to find a more permanent solution to this problem. A lot of times, like right now, the pain is relatively little as long as I don't move, but all the spine movement associated with pushing the wheelchair around is very problematic. It's challenging just to move around my apartment; going outside to check the mail seems unrealistic.
So that's what's wrong with me THIS month, and is probably the most important update, but it's not the only thing going on in my life. Now that we've gotten the negative stuff out of the way, hopefully I'll be able to write about the better stuff in the near future. Stay tuned.
The last couple weeks, I've been spending a little more time up in my chair. Not much, but a little. I've been trying to tell myself that my butt has been feeling a little bit better. That may or may not actually be true. It's possible I'm just telling myself that to have an excuse to get out of bed. I can only take so much lying down.
So while I was sitting up a couple weeks ago, I started to notice a stabbing pain in my lower back, well below my line of injury. It felt like somebody was stabbing me directly in the spine with an ice pick, and it forced me back into bed. The pain went away after a couple days, but it came back a week later. Again, it lasted about 2 days, but this time it returned sooner. Now it's almost every day.
My butt has been bothering me a lot less since it started, but I think that's just because whatever hurts the most is the only thing I can feel at any given time, and the back problem hurts a LOT. It was suggested that it might be a herniated disk, and that sounds plausible to me.
Tobi took me to the doctor, and Gus took me for x-rays. This week, I'm going for some PT, and to get an MRI. Finding rides to doctor appointments is still one of my most difficult problems, but I'm very fortunate that Tobi is out of school the the next few weeks, and can drive me around to all of these. Hopefully one of them helps.
I'm still trying to spend time out of bed every day, but it's hard. I've been icing my back every day, and taking pain meds. They do help, once again, lying in bed is the only real relief I get, so I need to find a more permanent solution to this problem. A lot of times, like right now, the pain is relatively little as long as I don't move, but all the spine movement associated with pushing the wheelchair around is very problematic. It's challenging just to move around my apartment; going outside to check the mail seems unrealistic.
So that's what's wrong with me THIS month, and is probably the most important update, but it's not the only thing going on in my life. Now that we've gotten the negative stuff out of the way, hopefully I'll be able to write about the better stuff in the near future. Stay tuned.
Monday, June 23, 2014
May and June
I guess its been a while since I wrote anything about myself in this blog. I suppose it's time. The last two months have been quite a contrast.
May
Driving the Van
Later, I went out on the road and drove to Gus's house for dinner. Gus accompanied me as a chaperone, but I did all the transferring and driving unassisted.
May
Driving the Van
I felt pretty good for most of May, and I got to do a lot of fun stuff. I finally got to experiment with driving my van.
Gus removed the passenger seat, and we rigged it so I could transfer to the driver's seat, and I took an exploratory trip around the parking lot.
And I did some practice transfers .
Later, I went out on the road and drove to Gus's house for dinner. Gus accompanied me as a chaperone, but I did all the transferring and driving unassisted.
We uncovered some possible challenges during this excursion . Notably, if I make a sharp turn to the left, I tend to fall out of the seat to the right. Overall, however, the experiment was a great success , and it gave me a lot of confidence that I will end up menacing public roads eventually.
Willie Nelson
Back in March, I learned that Willie Nelson was coming to play a show in Cary with Alison Krauss, and I thought it would be a good excursion if I could find some friends to go with me. I invited Cullen and Caitlin, and we bought tickets for the May 5th show. The show ended up being postponed until May 19th, and Gus and Uyen were given tickets, so they came too.
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| Fun times |
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| Who invited him? |
The weather was perfect, and I felt really good. We all had a great time. It was nice to get out of my apartment for an evening, and the show was fun. I always enjoy Alison Krauss, but the reason I wanted to see the show was to see Willie Nelson before he dies. I always wanted to see Johnny Cash, but I never got to.
It turned out Willie Nelson doesn't really sing anymore so much as stand in front of a band and recite lyrics, but the man is a legend and I guess he can do what he wants.
Memorial Day Cookout
In the month of May, I made friends with a couple here in my apartment building. On Memorial Day weekend, they invited me to grill some fish with them on the communal grill down by the playground. Philip is from Florida, and knows something about seafood. He picked up some red snapper at Whole Foods, and prepared it with some marinade. He grilled it whole with the head and skin on. I had never had fish prepared like that, but it was some of the best fish I have ever had.
The next day, we grilled hamburgers. They were made with special corn fed ground beef from whole foods, and they were the most flavorful hamburgers I have ever had .
It was really nice to have some friends in the building here, but unfortunately Philip and Wendy purchased a house and moved away in early June. It might actually be for the best from a weight gain standpoint.
Amy and Joe's Party
My friends Amy and Joe threw a big party Memorial Day weekend, and I decided to go. Gus and Uyen were nice enough to transport me, and the party was in the driveway so I didn't have to worry about getting inside their house. They did a pig pickin', and there was tons and tons of food.
The weather was great, and a lot of my friends were there. It was another had a really great time.
June
To Bed
In May, I had a lot of fun, and I spent a lot of time out doing stuff. Too much time I think.
The pain in my butt when I sit on it had been worsening all through May, and by early June it was unbearable. I could not sit up for any length of time, and I couldn't imagine sitting on a car seat when the fancy air cushion on my wheelchair was so painful. I decided I had to stay in bed until it got better. So that's been my June.
It's really frustrating because I felt like I made actual progress in May, and this feels like a big step backwards. I feel like I'm just laying here watching my life pass by, powerless to do anything about it. Fortunately I like sleeping, so its not all bad.
Not sitting up means it's almost impossible to type which makes it very difficult to post to the blog which is the main reason I haven't posted anything in so long. Right now I'm lying on my stomach, using Google's (awful) voice recognition software to painstakingly piece this post together. I'm fixing all the mistakes with one finger. It's excruciating. I've been working 4 hours and counting.
The good news is my butt is definitely improving, but very very slowly. I have no idea how much longer I'm going to have to stay off it, but I'm going to try to let it heal as much as possible. I don't want to have to do this again.
I think the cause of the problem is twofold. I think I injured my butt sitting on it too much, but I also think I got a little more feeling back in my lower extremities. When I say that to people they always ask if that isn't a good thing, but I think it's a very bad thing. All paraplegics have pressure issues with their butts, but they can't feel it so it's easy to live with. If they could feel it, they would be miserable all the time.
I've been wondering if there are any surgeries to disconnect your spine since I think I would be a lot happier if mine had been broken properly, but I doubt anyone will do that.
So that's what's going on with me. I'll write again when I feel better and can sit at a keyboard. Now I'm going back to sleep.
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| Willie is the blur to the left |
It turned out Willie Nelson doesn't really sing anymore so much as stand in front of a band and recite lyrics, but the man is a legend and I guess he can do what he wants.
Memorial Day Cookout
In the month of May, I made friends with a couple here in my apartment building. On Memorial Day weekend, they invited me to grill some fish with them on the communal grill down by the playground. Philip is from Florida, and knows something about seafood. He picked up some red snapper at Whole Foods, and prepared it with some marinade. He grilled it whole with the head and skin on. I had never had fish prepared like that, but it was some of the best fish I have ever had.
The next day, we grilled hamburgers. They were made with special corn fed ground beef from whole foods, and they were the most flavorful hamburgers I have ever had .
 |
| Phillip and me down by the grill |
It was really nice to have some friends in the building here, but unfortunately Philip and Wendy purchased a house and moved away in early June. It might actually be for the best from a weight gain standpoint.
Amy and Joe's Party
My friends Amy and Joe threw a big party Memorial Day weekend, and I decided to go. Gus and Uyen were nice enough to transport me, and the party was in the driveway so I didn't have to worry about getting inside their house. They did a pig pickin', and there was tons and tons of food.
The weather was great, and a lot of my friends were there. It was another had a really great time.
June
To Bed
In May, I had a lot of fun, and I spent a lot of time out doing stuff. Too much time I think.
The pain in my butt when I sit on it had been worsening all through May, and by early June it was unbearable. I could not sit up for any length of time, and I couldn't imagine sitting on a car seat when the fancy air cushion on my wheelchair was so painful. I decided I had to stay in bed until it got better. So that's been my June.
It's really frustrating because I felt like I made actual progress in May, and this feels like a big step backwards. I feel like I'm just laying here watching my life pass by, powerless to do anything about it. Fortunately I like sleeping, so its not all bad.
Not sitting up means it's almost impossible to type which makes it very difficult to post to the blog which is the main reason I haven't posted anything in so long. Right now I'm lying on my stomach, using Google's (awful) voice recognition software to painstakingly piece this post together. I'm fixing all the mistakes with one finger. It's excruciating. I've been working 4 hours and counting.
The good news is my butt is definitely improving, but very very slowly. I have no idea how much longer I'm going to have to stay off it, but I'm going to try to let it heal as much as possible. I don't want to have to do this again.
I think the cause of the problem is twofold. I think I injured my butt sitting on it too much, but I also think I got a little more feeling back in my lower extremities. When I say that to people they always ask if that isn't a good thing, but I think it's a very bad thing. All paraplegics have pressure issues with their butts, but they can't feel it so it's easy to live with. If they could feel it, they would be miserable all the time.
I've been wondering if there are any surgeries to disconnect your spine since I think I would be a lot happier if mine had been broken properly, but I doubt anyone will do that.
So that's what's going on with me. I'll write again when I feel better and can sit at a keyboard. Now I'm going back to sleep.
Monday, May 26, 2014
A Few Of My Favorite Things - Part 8: Hand Vac
REVISED BELOW - I HAVE A NEW FAVORITE VACUUM
Everybody makes a mess from time to time, and I'm no exception. The other day, I spilled dry coffee grounds in my lap. If you did that, it wouldn't land in your lap because you wouldn't be sitting down while working with coffee. But if, for some reason, you were sitting down to make coffee, and you ended up with coffee grounds in your lap, you would stand up, and brush the mess onto the floor where it would be easy to sweep up.
Sweeping is not easy for me, and standing is much harder, so how to get rid of the mess? Enter the 18 Volt Shark Cordless Handheld Vacuum.
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| In its natural environment |
I haven't used my cordless hand vac too many times yet, but I like knowing it's there in case I need to collect some wayward M&Ms, clean up after a preschooler who eats like a defective wood-chipper, or perform a hands-free scary bug removal.
REVISED 8/24/2019
I haven't looked at this blog in 4 years, but I wanted to update this entry since I fell out of love with the Shark, and fell deeply in love with the Dyson cordless vacuum line.
I have 2 different models. Of the two, I prefer the V7 which is the newer one. I suspect any model would do the job although I think they get heavier as they get newer which might make them more difficult to handle.
This vacuum is smaller and lighter than the Shark, and the shape does a better job staying on my lap for transport. I found the Shark tended to roll around as it wasn't really flat on the bottom. I lay the Dyson on its side on my lap and it stays put, plus I think the V7 is just as powerful as the shark if not moreso.
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Dyson V7 Motorhead Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner |
Monday, May 19, 2014
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.
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!
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.
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| 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!
Monday, May 12, 2014
A Few Of My Favorite Things - Part 6: Reacher Grabbers
The world we live in is designed around people with functioning legs. Spend one day in a wheelchair, and this fact becomes painfully obvious.
I live alone, and if I need to reach something that is either too high, or too low, I have to use a reacher grabber. I don't especially like having to rely on a fancy tool for something so simple, but I don't really have any other options.
I have an assortment of grabbers, and each is useful in its own way.
If I could have only one, it would be the Duro-Med 26-inch. This is the one they recommended when I was in rehab. It has decent grip strength, and it has excellent precision. If you drop a pill under the table, this is the grabber you want.
I own four of these that I keep in different rooms. In rehab, I remember them specifically saying this one was good if you want to grab a cloth to wipe something up on the floor. I haven't tried it yet, but that's probably true. I keep one in the bathroom to help flush the toilet since I can't get my chair close to the handle, or to pick things up if I drop them in the shower. I keep one near my bed, and when the HO was keeping me from reaching my feet, I used it to help put pants on.
This grabber is also somewhat effective for pulling things down from high cabinet shelves in the kitchen. My strategy for managing my kitchen space is that I keep just about everything that I use every day on the counter where I can reach it. My kitchen is very small, and I can't afford to waste any space, so some things that I don't use daily have to go in the upper cabinets. I have my friends put things up there when they come. Extra food has to go up there sometimes, so when I need it, I just use a grabber to pull it down. Most of the time that means pulling it off the front of the shelf, and either catching it, or letting it hit the counter. I try to put durable foods up there. Putting anything back up on a shelf is tricky at best.
The grabber I use more often for pulling things off shelves is the Unger 32-inch. It has a longer reach than the Duro-Med so it can reach things on higher shelves, and the jaws open a lot wider so it can grab larger things. The inside of the jaws also have a rubberized cover, so it has a chance of gripping a bottle. The head can also turn 90 degrees which is convenient for grabbing vertical boxes.
The problem with the Unger is that it does not have very good grip strength. If it did, it would be much more useful. Once I pull a box of cookies off the shelf, the odds that the Unger can hold it for a graceful landing are very low. For that reason, that's about the only thing this grabber is good for, but sometimes it's the right tool for that job.
The jaws of the Unger aren't very precise, so it wouldn't be good for picking up a pill, but another issue is that it's just too long. It's hard to appreciate until you try it, but using a grabber that is too long is very awkward. One reason the 26" Duro-Med is so useful is that it's a very convenient length, but sometimes you want something even shorter.
The PikStick 20-inch is such a grabber. I'd say this is my least useful grabber, and I haven't really used it much. I bought it to use to help with putting on pants, and I think it would have been perfect for that job, but I stopped needing a grabber for that at about the same time it arrived. Its head turns 90 degrees like the Unger, but I'm not sure if that's a useful feature for a grabber this small. Its grip strength is also not very good. It might be weaker than the Unger, so if I were to give up one of these grabbers, it would be this one.
A grabber that I would NOT want to give up is the Grappler 33-inch. My aunt sent me this when I first came home from rehab, and it took me a while to appreciate its usefulness. It's a little bit heavy which makes it a little bit clumsy to operate, but it has incredible grip strength. It's also the longest grabber I have, so if there is something up high, and I want to have a reasonable chance of not dropping it, this is the grabber I want.
It was designed as a trash pick-up tool, and it's made almost entirely from steel so it's super strong. The jaws also open much wider than any of the other grabbers so it will pick up things they won't. The jaw tips have rubber booties on them so it has reasonable "gription" as Gus likes to say. Most recently, I used it to take down my wall clock which is well out of reach so I could replace the battery. I also was able use it to put the clock back up. None of my other grabbers could come close to doing that.
At this point, I feel like my grabber collection is just about complete, but the Grappler is so impressive, I am considering buying the 24-inch version as well. That would give me a smaller, lighter option for those times when heavy or large things aren't quite as high up or as far away. After that, I think I will have a reacher grabber for every situation.
I live alone, and if I need to reach something that is either too high, or too low, I have to use a reacher grabber. I don't especially like having to rely on a fancy tool for something so simple, but I don't really have any other options.
I have an assortment of grabbers, and each is useful in its own way.
 |
| My collection |
 |
| Duro-Med 26" |
This grabber is also somewhat effective for pulling things down from high cabinet shelves in the kitchen. My strategy for managing my kitchen space is that I keep just about everything that I use every day on the counter where I can reach it. My kitchen is very small, and I can't afford to waste any space, so some things that I don't use daily have to go in the upper cabinets. I have my friends put things up there when they come. Extra food has to go up there sometimes, so when I need it, I just use a grabber to pull it down. Most of the time that means pulling it off the front of the shelf, and either catching it, or letting it hit the counter. I try to put durable foods up there. Putting anything back up on a shelf is tricky at best.
The grabber I use more often for pulling things off shelves is the Unger 32-inch. It has a longer reach than the Duro-Med so it can reach things on higher shelves, and the jaws open a lot wider so it can grab larger things. The inside of the jaws also have a rubberized cover, so it has a chance of gripping a bottle. The head can also turn 90 degrees which is convenient for grabbing vertical boxes.
 |
| Unger 32" and PikStik 20" |
The jaws of the Unger aren't very precise, so it wouldn't be good for picking up a pill, but another issue is that it's just too long. It's hard to appreciate until you try it, but using a grabber that is too long is very awkward. One reason the 26" Duro-Med is so useful is that it's a very convenient length, but sometimes you want something even shorter.
The PikStick 20-inch is such a grabber. I'd say this is my least useful grabber, and I haven't really used it much. I bought it to use to help with putting on pants, and I think it would have been perfect for that job, but I stopped needing a grabber for that at about the same time it arrived. Its head turns 90 degrees like the Unger, but I'm not sure if that's a useful feature for a grabber this small. Its grip strength is also not very good. It might be weaker than the Unger, so if I were to give up one of these grabbers, it would be this one.
A grabber that I would NOT want to give up is the Grappler 33-inch. My aunt sent me this when I first came home from rehab, and it took me a while to appreciate its usefulness. It's a little bit heavy which makes it a little bit clumsy to operate, but it has incredible grip strength. It's also the longest grabber I have, so if there is something up high, and I want to have a reasonable chance of not dropping it, this is the grabber I want.
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| Grappler 33" |
At this point, I feel like my grabber collection is just about complete, but the Grappler is so impressive, I am considering buying the 24-inch version as well. That would give me a smaller, lighter option for those times when heavy or large things aren't quite as high up or as far away. After that, I think I will have a reacher grabber for every situation.
Monday, May 5, 2014
A Few Of My Favorite Things - Part 5: Door Pulls
Going in and out of doors is an important part of life that everyone does many times a day. You probably don't give it any thought, but if you rely on a wheelchair for your transportation, you know every door can be a challenge.
When negotiating a door, you almost always have to operate the door with one hand while you maneuver the wheelchair with the other. Driving a manual wheelchair with one hand is challenging. Doing it while leaning out of your chair to reach the door handle with the other hand will make you question how badly you really need to leave the room. Add in any additional complications like a spring-loaded door closer, a bumpy threshold, or a fragile item on your lap that needs to go with you, and the profanity will start to flow.
For a lot of the doors out in the world, there is nothing I can do. They suck and that's that. But for the doors in my apartment that I use every single day, there are options.
I got this idea from something I saw in a video by this guy. He has done lots of really helpful YouTube videos about how he manages his paralysis; if you're recently paralyzed, you should check him out. I was watching one of his videos, and I noticed something in the background. He had a handle mounted to a door near the hinge that he could use to pull the door closed behind him.
One of my biggest door-related annoyances in my apartment is that whenever I leave, I have to go out, turn completely around, roll back across the threshold, grab the door handle with one hand while backing myself across the bumpy threshold with the other, trying not to hit the wheelchair with the door as I do it. It's awkward and difficult and annoying. If I'm taking something out with me, I have to take it off my lap since it will probably fall off my lap while I'm closing the door.
When I saw it in the video, I immediately recognized how nice it would be to have a handle on the door that I could reach from outside without rolling back in. The guy in the video (I don't know his name) used what looked like a drawer pull for his handle, but I know he owns his house so he probably just drilled mounting holes in the door to attach the handle. I rent an apartment, so that's not really an option for me. Fortunately, I'm a problem solver.
I bought a drawer pull that mounts using #6 screws inserted from behind, like this one. The screws that came with it wouldn't work for my purposes, so I had to buy some flat head machine screws that would fit, like these. Then I got some 1/8" x 1" aluminum bar stock to mount the handle to. Before my injury, I could have done this myself in my garage, but I had to get a friend to do it for me. He cut the bar about 2 inches longer than the handle. He drilled two mounting holes in the aluminum, and countersunk them so the screw heads would sit flush. He cleaned up the rough edges, and assembled the whole thing together.
Now I had a handle mounted to a plate that was perfectly flat on the back. I use a product called Command Hooks all over my apartment to attach things to walls with adhesive stickers that are strong, but removable. I borrowed 4 of the small command strips to mount the handle to the door.
I put one on the front door, and one on the door to my balcony. Now when I go out, I just have to turn slightly, grab the handle and pull. It works ridiculously well, and when I move out of this apartment, I'll just pull the tabs on the command strips, and it will come right off. At least that's the theory.
It seems like a little thing, but it really makes my life a lot better. I smile every time I use it.
When negotiating a door, you almost always have to operate the door with one hand while you maneuver the wheelchair with the other. Driving a manual wheelchair with one hand is challenging. Doing it while leaning out of your chair to reach the door handle with the other hand will make you question how badly you really need to leave the room. Add in any additional complications like a spring-loaded door closer, a bumpy threshold, or a fragile item on your lap that needs to go with you, and the profanity will start to flow.
For a lot of the doors out in the world, there is nothing I can do. They suck and that's that. But for the doors in my apartment that I use every single day, there are options.
I got this idea from something I saw in a video by this guy. He has done lots of really helpful YouTube videos about how he manages his paralysis; if you're recently paralyzed, you should check him out. I was watching one of his videos, and I noticed something in the background. He had a handle mounted to a door near the hinge that he could use to pull the door closed behind him.
One of my biggest door-related annoyances in my apartment is that whenever I leave, I have to go out, turn completely around, roll back across the threshold, grab the door handle with one hand while backing myself across the bumpy threshold with the other, trying not to hit the wheelchair with the door as I do it. It's awkward and difficult and annoying. If I'm taking something out with me, I have to take it off my lap since it will probably fall off my lap while I'm closing the door.
When I saw it in the video, I immediately recognized how nice it would be to have a handle on the door that I could reach from outside without rolling back in. The guy in the video (I don't know his name) used what looked like a drawer pull for his handle, but I know he owns his house so he probably just drilled mounting holes in the door to attach the handle. I rent an apartment, so that's not really an option for me. Fortunately, I'm a problem solver.
I bought a drawer pull that mounts using #6 screws inserted from behind, like this one. The screws that came with it wouldn't work for my purposes, so I had to buy some flat head machine screws that would fit, like these. Then I got some 1/8" x 1" aluminum bar stock to mount the handle to. Before my injury, I could have done this myself in my garage, but I had to get a friend to do it for me. He cut the bar about 2 inches longer than the handle. He drilled two mounting holes in the aluminum, and countersunk them so the screw heads would sit flush. He cleaned up the rough edges, and assembled the whole thing together.
 |
| Looks like this |
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| The finished product |
I put one on the front door, and one on the door to my balcony. Now when I go out, I just have to turn slightly, grab the handle and pull. It works ridiculously well, and when I move out of this apartment, I'll just pull the tabs on the command strips, and it will come right off. At least that's the theory.
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| The one on the balcony door |
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| What it looks like on the back |
It seems like a little thing, but it really makes my life a lot better. I smile every time I use it.
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