May 2012
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
« Apr
	1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31

Paralyzed woman serves herself coffee for the 1st time in 15 years!

18 May, 2012 by DanaWheels.

A woman paralyzed 15 years ago, served herself coffee via a thermos and a straw. What’s so news worthy about that? Well, she’s a quadriplegic and she used a robotic arm that picked up the thermos and moved the arm by thought, via the “Braingate” interface designed by John Donoghue, a neuroscientist who pioneered the Braingate interface a decade ago.

It has gone from a quadriplegic being able to move a cursor on a computer screen to operating a robotic arm to serve coffee out of a thermos. This technology is amazing.

The woman also communicates via the interface by looking at a computer screen and highlighting each letter. The technology is still a long way from general use, but it is doing very well for trials in helping understand that the brain is still functional years after a brainstem injury.

Check out the article below and please watch the video:

Paralyzed woman moves Robotic Arm via Thought

Another company is using a robot to help the disabled… a man was able to give himself a shave with the use of a robot.

Robot helps quad shave himself

Posted in Medical, Real Life, Disability | No Comments »

There are times…

17 May, 2012 by DanaWheels.

That I really hate being disabled. And those times usually happen when something impeds my ability to get around. Right now, my motorized wheelchair, which I’ve had for a bit over a year, is throwing out error codes and when it does that, it beeps, and doesn’t go anywhere. *sigh* This started happening SATURDAY. I called the place where I bought the wheelchair, and they aren’t open on the weekends, unless it’s an emergency, and since Keith (my significant other) was here, they didn’t consider it to be an emergency, the repair guy couldn’t get to me until yesterday. Oh, really. And then, yesterday, my cellphone wasn’t working correctly, because the repair guy said he kept calling and leaving voice mails and I don’t have any record of that. So now, he’s coming tomorrow. We’ll see. I’m just basically stranded. The wheelchair is SORTA working. I can’t depend that it won’t start throwing out error codes again and just stop in the middle of whatever (the error codes basically state the joystick is out of center), and it caused me to have to use the wheelchair with the attendant joystick… which is a major PITA, because it requires BOTH hands, and doesn’t allow me to carry anything.

I was teasing Keith about his driving skills in regards to my wheelchair (using the attendant control), and I pretty much suck at it… *sigh* It’s harder than it looks. And I’ve been using a motorized wheelchair for nearly 10 years. One control change and I’m in trouble.

Posted in Real Life, Disability, Disability Issues, Personal | 1 Comment »

TSA needs to modify their policies for the disabled!

28 April, 2012 by DanaWheels.

A friend sent me a link to a newspaper article http://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/04/25/family-misses-flight-after-tsa-gives-pat-down-to-girl-with-cerebral-palsy/

because he knew I’d get upset… he had no idea.

The article states that a family, which included a young child with Cerebral Palsy, and is developmentally delayed, was flying to Disney World from Washington DC. The child, because she wears bilateral AFOs and uses forearm crutches, has to be go through a modified pat-down, and can’t go through the scanners. She is frightened by this, and the mother explained this to TSA and asked them to introduce themselves to the child. They didn’t do this, they just treating her aggressively. She became frightened. The agents started yelling at the girl and demanding that she be patted down and it frightened her even more.

A supervisor finally inspected her crutches and passed her through, but other agents followed the family and demanded that she go through a full inspection, and the family ultimately missed their flight.

The TSA reviewed the complaints after the incident and found that the agents behaved appropriately, in doing a modified pat-down on the child.

HUH? A supervisor clears her, and other agents chase down the family and frighten a disabled child, and it’s OKAY? Something isn’t right when one hand isn’t talking to the other hand.

I don’t fault TSA in doing security checks on everyone that gets on an airplane, I do not believe in the philosophy that just because you are disabled you should get a ‘free pass’, to the inspections, but the way the agents handled this could have been done in a much better manner. Sure, they had to do a pat-down on the girl, but they could have introduced themselves and explained what they were doing, instead of acting all aggressive and like thugs.

I would be seriously upset if I were just waved through security at the airport. ANYONE can be used to carry a bomb or gun or whatever through Security, but children can be handled in ways that make it so they aren’t frightened by the procedures. TSA needs new training and policies for children and especially disabled children.

Posted in General, Disability, Disability Issues | 1 Comment »

Queen Elizabeth proclaims new rules to US!

11 April, 2012 by DanaWheels.

This was posted to Facebook and there are many of my friends that are not on Facebook, so I thought I would share this. Thanks to Steve Hatton who shared RJ Renner’s photo of Queen Elizabeth II.

To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately.

(You should look up ‘revocation’ in the Oxford English Dictionary.)

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas, which she does not fancy).

Your new Prime Minister, David Cameron , will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections.

Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

1. The letter ‘U’ will be reinstated in words such as ‘colour,’ ‘favour,’ ‘labour’ and ‘neighbour.’ Likewise, you will learn to spell ‘doughnut’ without skipping half the letters, and the suffix ‘-ize’ will be replaced by the suffix ‘-ise.’ Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up ‘vocabulary’).

2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ”like’ and ‘you know’ is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter ‘u” and the elimination of ‘-ize.’

3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.

4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you’re not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can’t sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you’re not ready to shoot grouse.

5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.

7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.

8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.

9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable, as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat’s Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.

10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one’s ears removed with a cheese grater.

11. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).

12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside ofAmerica. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries.

13. You must tell us who killed JFK. It’s been driving us mad.

14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty’s Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).

15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.

God Save the Queen!

PS: Only share this with friends who have a good sense of humour (NOT humor)!

Posted in Humor, Internet, General, Facebook | 1 Comment »

US Sues AT&T over Relay Service for the Hearing Impaired!

27 March, 2012 by DanaWheels.

Well, this is a new thing for me… talking about something out in the news. But, since it affects the disabled in some way, I figure it would be of some use. The US Government is suing AT&T for payments made to AT&T by the US Government for usage of their Relay service for the hearing and speech impaired. Each time a call goes out, there’s a payment that AT&T gets for usage of their lines that the government makes because they are complying with the law. However, it’s come to the government’s attention that the callers weren’t really disabled, but that they were Nigerians doing scamming and that they were using the free service to fasciliate those scams.

The way the Relay Service works is that a person calls a special number with a TDD and the Relay service calls the number that the disabled person wants to get in contact with and becomes the bridge between the voice call and the TDD. They do not edit what is said, they type exactly what is said on both sides. Type for one, talk for the other. It’s exacting work, and you have to be trained in it.

Now the US Government is saying that AT&T knew that the Relay service was being used by scammers and they want their money back that they paid AT&T. The volume of the calls rose 95% and were from out of the country. That’s a red flag right there.

PC Magazine reports that the government wants to service the disabled, but won’t tolerate scammers, and I wouldn’t either.

Let’s hope they can get back the $16 Million that the government paid AT&T. Unless and until AT&T can figure out how to (or actually DOES) screen the callers to make sure they really are disabled, I think the government is right to ask for its money back.

Posted in Real Life, Internet, Disability, Disability Issues | 3 Comments »

Transportation Update

26 March, 2012 by DanaWheels.

I called to get signed up for the Transportation service, and found they only have one van. I offered the use of my lift equipped van to transport me to my various outings so they don’t have to take their van to transport me, since I only need a driver. The person on the phone was going to talk to someone at a meeting tonight about my suggestions. Being that I’m so in tune with disability law, and how things work, I could make suggestions to ease their burden of helping and get service for myself as well. Yeah, I want to use their service, but I don’t see any reason to take their van when mine does just as well. No one else can ride with us, but that’s okay, as long as I pay for my own gas.

Posted in Medical, Real Life, Disability, Disability Issues, Personal | 1 Comment »

Transportation!

26 March, 2012 by DanaWheels.

I was handed a folded piece of paper yesterday… it was a small ad for a paratransit company for the five cities in the valley here. It won’t take me to my PCP (Primary Care Physician) or Pump Refill appointments, but it’ll allow me to get to Physical Therapy. It runs from 9am to 2pm Monday-Friday. Costs $5, (donation), but I think well worth it. It’s FAR better than being stuck at home. I just have to find a place that will take me and do PT with me as Apple Physical Therapy wants nothing to do with me, as they feel a neuro PT would work better. They sent me to Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, but the hospital is down two therapists so they aren’t taking new patients. *sigh* And the paratransit won’t go that far. Only local. Say 10 miles. So, I’ll have to do research. I hope there’s a place that does PT around here.

I’ll also be able to go shopping and do other errands. No longer stuck at home and dependent on my inlaws and husband for going places.

Posted in Real Life, General, Disability, Disability Issues, Personal | 1 Comment »

Facebook Badges - Like Pages

18 March, 2012 by DanaWheels.

Blogroll