COVID-19 Coverage
Fantastic information to have, guys! Thanks for this since I’m heading into a need for homecare post-surgery and this is critical to review.
Patrick W. Maher
Newmobility.com
A Great Disservice
I have been the owner/operator of Eagle Sportschairs, LLC for 40 years. I am writing about the article you recently published about wheelchair sports equipment, “Specialized Sports Chairs and the People Who Use Them,” by Bob Vogel. This article does a great disservice to the people who use sports wheelchairs. You completely omitted several brands and manufacturers of specialty wheelchairs — notably my company, Eagle Sportschairs, and RGK Wheelchairs, both major sponsors of the NWBA Nationals [which were not mentioned]. By not consulting more sources and including all of the options, you cheat your readers of the chance to make the best choice for their needs based on equipment, price and availability.
Not only do we build custom equipment for highly competitive athletes, we also build great budget equipment that helps build teams and promote sport for up-and-coming athletes.
As a remedy, I would like to see an article on adaptive sports equipment that includes all of the brands and manufacturers. It would be helpful if you also included a chart to compare equipment by features and price. Stay safe and well in these trying times,
Barry Ewing
Founder/Owner Eagle Sportschairs, LLC
Bubble Man
Wow! This is an amazing article (“Para/Medic,” March 2020). I have a T10-12 incomplete injury from an 18-foot fall that occurred in 2003. Can I use a PEMF bone growth stimulator after having titanium rods and screws in place? My guess is, probably not. But I’m sure going to show this article to my orthopedic surgeon at my next visit in two weeks. Thank you so very much for providing us with this valuable information! By the way, I broke my left femur 10 years ago. At that time, I went to my doctor, but they didn’t do X-rays and sent me home. Six weeks later, I went back to my doctor, and X-rays show the bone was broken but was now mending. My wife says I need to be bubble wrapped.
Robert Lamb
Newmobility.com
Author Bob Vogel responds: I know of several people who used bone growth stimulators in conjunction with rod or metal hardware in their femur or tib/fibula. I hope you have already seen your doctor and are healing quickly.
Don’t Be Offended
Recently there have been a few pieces on “inspiration” and how some disabled folks are offended by [nondisabled people] who are inspired by us doing things that strike most of us as mundane daily tasks. But I would like to just remind the readers that inspiration is in that person and not something we really have any say over.
I had a good friend break his back in a skiing accident. He said that he wasn’t afraid because he had watched me deal with my paralysis for years and do more than most people he knew who weren’t “disabled.”
So by doing nothing exceptional, but just living my life, I provided inspiration to him. Maybe next time someone sounds a little dumb and says you are their inspiration for doing something as simple as getting in your car, just smile and think, “I hope it opens their mind.”
Lucian Smith
Philadelphia
Longtime Reader, First Time Writer
I have always enjoyed this mag. My daughter is a nonverbal quad with cerebral palsy. Your mag is always the best source for info to deal with everything. Thank you. Best to all of you. You have no idea how much good works and hope you give us!
Name Withheld
Crip Camp
It’s really cool that former President Obama is a producer (“Crip Camp,” March 2020)! I hope a lot of people besides just people with disabilities are interested!
Alexandra Shepard
Newmobility.com
** This post was originally published on https://www.newmobility.com/2020/05/share-may-2020/
