Abilities Expo

I have been using my new powered wheelchair for about a year. When I am sitting for long periods of time, I can become uncomfortable. I reached out to my local seating clinic, and they brought me in for a consultation. Unfortunately, they only had two options when I came in. I didn’t find either of them comfortable. This is when my Physical Therapist recommended that I go to the Abilities Expo because there would be a lot more vendors and I would be able to try different seat cushions.

Looking for a specific item to help me be comfortable

I had never been to one before and really didn’t know what to expect. To say that I was pleasantly surprised by how many vendors showed up to this event is an understatement. Since my first order of business was to find a seat cushion, I started with Permobil since that is the wheelchair I have. Permobil had multiple options, and I was able to try them all and use them for quite some time. It is sort of hard to really know if a cushion is going to be comfortable after only a few minutes of use. However, after trying a few I made my choice.

The rest of the afternoon, I spent checking out all the new and exciting things that the expo had to offer. There were a multitude of vendors for wheelchairs, wheelchair-accessible vans, wheelchair-accessible RV’s, accessories for wheelchairs, cushions, and beds. The list goes on but I imagine that you get the idea.

Products to make life easier

The product that stood out for me was the ibot wheelchair. This wheelchair has the ability to climb steps. There was someone who was disabled demonstrating this feature. It was very cool to see. I instantly imagined the possibilities. The ibot also has a 4 wheel drive feature that can navigate through a sandy beach. These are two things that excited me. Living with a disability is all about overcoming obstacles. When technology advances to help us overcome those obstacles it makes life a little bit easier.

Talking to the ibot rep he said that their chair is approved by Medicare. They are working on a power leg extension that is currently available on the Permobil and Quantum chairs. I am looking forward to the next time I can get a new chair. Ibot is looking very promising for my active lifestyle. Of course reliability is still my number one priority.

Discovering useful resources

Besides products there was also lots of information regarding state and local resources that are available to disabled individuals. This type of information is very useful. I found it helpful talking to these people.

I would say my first Ability Expo was a success. I found a new cushion for my wheelchair and I am excited about what wheelchairs are capable of doing. If you are someone who is interested in discovering what is available you should definitely try and get to an Abilities Expo in your area. I always say knowledge is power. When dealing with any type of disability we can use all the power and resources available.