Rick Hansen "Many in Motion" Relay

Carrying the Rick Hansen medal in Surrey

This past Saturday I carried the Rick Hansen medal as part of the 25th Anniversary Relay. It was a 250-metre roll, not very far, but uphill and it actually ended up being a bit of a workout. It was an interesting experience, we started by meeting up with some representatives of the relay and a dozen of the other medal-bearers for the day. We each told our story - and some of the stories were pretty emotional - and then we were loaded into a bus that took us each to our starting point on the route. Then it was a matter of taking the medal from the person before, and handing it off to the person following. I received the medal from a lady that has been through plenty of turmoil herself, and then handed it off to Angus Reid, who plays for the BC Lions CFL team. He also had quite the story to tell, and does a lot of work with kids in the community.

My mom and niece Erin (Erin was a medal-bearer in Ontario earlier) have been here for the week, partly for a visit to see our new home but also to join me on the relay. It was great to have them join us for the day, and I'll have another post later about some other activities we did during the week.

The Jedd handcycle
Yesterday I went to a handcycle clinic at the GF Strong Rehab Centre. I have tried a handcycle before at Casa Colina and really liked it, and went to see what was available here for different models and vendors. There was an upright model much like the one I had tried at the Casa, and there were also several low models. I've thought all along that the low cycles are too low for me to transfer into, and that for what I want to do - cruise along the boardwalk - they are a bit too elaborate. However, I did see this Jedd model, which looked to be a nice compromise between the upright cruiser and very low racing models. It has a laid-back seat that makes it much easier to "pedal" than the upright cycles, and yet it was fairly easy for me to get into and out of. We still have to see whether or not it will fit in the car and if we have space here in the building for it, but I may get a demo model to try for a few days.

I also learned that one of the bicycle vendors in Stanley Park has handcycles to rent now, and one of the Burnaby parks has a handcycle program this summer, so those are other options that we will check out.

Ready for the final session on the treadmill
This week I returned to the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre for the second part of the wheeling energy study, it was exactly the same as last week with a lot of wheeling on the treadmill. The researcher figured that, based on how well I was able to tell the change in effort on the treadmill, I would really notice changing to tube-type tires on my wheelchair. I'm about ready for a new set of tires anyway - all the wheeling on the paths here have worn out what's on there now - so I'll look at that in the next couple of weeks.

Debbie and I also went to the GF Strong Rehabilitation centre this week to meet with a recreational therapist. We got some good ideas for accessible places to hike and explore, and some really good resources for activities to check out. There seems to be loads of support for people with disabilities in Richmond and Vancouver, so plenty of things to look into.

Wheeling Energy Study

Last week I took part in a study at ICORD that looks at the effort it takes to wheel. A lot of research goes into finding out ways to decrease pain and fatigue for wheelchair users; the purpose of this particular study is to find out just how much of a change in wheeling effort a wheelchair user can detect. This will help determine meaningful ways that wheeling "demand" can be decreased. The example given to me was, if there is a noticeable and worthwhile change in perceived and actual effort between two types of carpet, then it may help to convince businesses that have a lot of carpet (like hotels) to use that different carpet.

The study involved a lot of wheeling on a treadmill. First the researchers determined how much drag my wheelchair has, by running the treadmill at an incline and hooking my chair (with me in it) to a strain gauge. As I figured, my chair has more drag than usual because it has solid inserts in the tires rather than tubes. So, if I change to tubes it will be easier to wheel but then I would have to worry about flats. For the second part, a winch-type contraption was attached to the back of my chair, with weights added to a rope to add or reduce drag. The weights simulated everything from a chair with tube-type tires to solid tires and five kilograms of luggage. I had to wheel for one minute; halfway through the minute the weight on the rope was changed. I had to rate the change in weight as well as the effort level. I did this 18 times, with a two-minute break in between each test - almost an hour on the treadmill.

The third part of the study was a set of three-minute wheels on the treadmill while my heart rate and oxygen consumption were monitored. A SmartWheel was attached to my chair, and measured things like how much force is used to push, the frequency and the smoothness of each push. I did this test four times, with two different inclines on the treadmill. And finally, I did two 15-meter sprints in a hallway with the SmartWheel attached. As you can imagine, that is a heck of a lot of wheeling - there were a lot of breaks, but it took more than three hours for everything. And I get to go back this week to do it all again! It will be interesting to see the results of the study, they are planning to use a fairly large sample of wheelchair users, and they started not too long ago. I signed up to receive a copy of the results when the study is published, it will be interesting to see what the findings are.

Boundary Bay Regional Park

The view along one of the paths in the park


Last weekend we went to Boundary Bay park, a popular spot for bird watching. The park is just south of us and close to the border, and the bay itself actually leaves a tiny part of the United States stranded from the rest of the country: Point Roberts. The park has some nice hard-packed gravel paths that continue right around the bay; we stayed in the park itself, but plan to head back and try some of the other parts of the path another time.

The Tek RMD

The Tek RMD - Robotic Mobilization Device
Several people have sent me a link to this video, about the Tek RMD Robotic Mobilization Device. It's essentially a motorized standing frame that can be used for various activities, and offers several advantages over a wheelchair. One advantage is, of course, that you stand in it rather than sit, and this has the same benefits as the standing frame - better circulation, digestion and bone density. Another is that you mount the RMD from the back, which is safer than tossing yourself in a wheelchair from the front or side. And finally, the device is quite a bit smaller than a wheelchair, making it more maneuverable.

Some of the news items on the RMD say it "replaces" the wheelchair, or makes it "obsolete." But from a practical standpoint, there are some drawbacks. I think with such a small base that it would be quite tippy, and the slightest bump in the floor could cause problems. Notice in the video that it goes very slow and is always shown on a perfectly flat floor. Certainly it's not something you could take out on a rough sidewalk. Another drawback is that I can't see how you would get it into a car to go somewhere.

Still, it's something definitely worth considering for use in an apartment or in lieu of a standing frame, and it sure would be nice to stand at the kitchen counter instead of sitting all twisted up - perfect for making cocktails!

Trunk Muscle Function Study Part III, and...

The third part of the trunk muscle function study was a repeat of last week, with all the same exercises. This time, however, when the electrodes were attached to my belly I could make one of the EMG lines go by working my abdomen, and there was a lot more activity on-screen during the exercises. The researchers asked if I had been "practicing" all weekend, and I think were a bit surprised when I said that I had done my weekly yoga session just that morning. It was all quite interesting again, and I learned more about what's in my abdomen as far as what muscles are working more than others. When the study is complete and all the data analyzed, I go back a final time to see the results.

On another note, I found out this week that I will be a medal-bearer for the Rick Hansen Relay when it goes through Surrey in May. I am really excited about that, and will post more details when I find out what exactly what's involved.