As the Wheel Turns...
	My Wheelchair, Myself

Wheelchair users know the dilemma: A chair is alternately a constant companion and a constant headache.

As a vital tool for freedom and mobility, a wheelchair often becomes an extension of its user's body and personality. People carefully choose their chairs' colors, or they add personal touches as you would in a study or a vehicle. Some even name their chairs.

And when a wheelchair malfunctions or isn't properly fitted, the user can turn into one angry rider.

Cindy Deatherage of Chenoa, Ill., has used a wheelchair for 16 years. She's personalized her Invacare Ride-Lite with magnetic decals representing two of her favorite people — country singer Martina McBride and NASCAR driver Jeff Burton.

"However, if you're traveling, take them off at the airport or you'll lose them when they store your chair," warns Deatherage, who has Friedreich's ataxia.

Cindy Deatherage

For many people affected by progressive neuromuscular diseases, the wheelchair is a symbol of newfound freedom after a struggle with weakening muscles.

Lisa Moreland of Gastonia, N.C., was still walking when her son was born in 1991. She soon realized "the time had come where I said, ‘Look, I pushed myself and pushed myself, but I'm just not enjoying my life.' I didn't even want to go out.

"I went to the MDA clinic and told them that I wasn't giving up, but it's just that my walking has become such a burden to me, and I'd just as soon be in a wheelchair where I can enjoy my life."

Moreland, 32, who has type 3 spinal muscular atrophy, now uses an Action Ranger X, part of the Storm Series by Invacare, and says, "it is truly my best friend.

"I was glad that I had accepted [using a wheelchair] a long time ago," she recalls. "Now it's just easier for me as far as being a mother and living every day."

She also warns, "When something goes wrong with my wheelchair, stand back, everyone, because I can be one royal [uh, let's just say 'upset lady'].

Lisa Moreland

"To me, being in a chair is not my biggest problem," she adds. "It's everything else."

Glenn Olesen of Davidsonville, Md., is happy with his Storm Torque chair by Invacare. He especially likes the comfort of its Jay2 seat system.

Olesen, who has Becker muscular dystrophy, had only one complaint — no music.

"I got tired of messing with headphones and dead Walkman batteries," he says. "So I decided to install a stereo system on my wheelchair."

"The sound is great and I surprise people," Olesen says. "So now I'm never without music."

As these users have discovered, the wheelchair world is — appropriately — in constant motion. Two current areas of exploration involve robotics and swivels.

ActivMedia Robotics is testing a high-performance wheelchair with various input devices and software that can program destinations. And inventors at Pennsylvania State University's Applied Research Laboratory are working on a platform device that would allow a standard wheelchair to swivel much like an office chair — a great idea for the workplace.

As past Quest stories have reported, this ever-evolving world also offers off-road chairs, travel chairs, standing chairs, high-tech wheelchairs, wheelchair accessories, even Halloween costumes built around wheelchairs.

If you want to know more about how other wheelchair users cope with a range of issues, check out the recently published third edition of Spinal Network: The Total Wheelchair Resource Book. Find out more about this 586-pagebook at www.spinalnetwork.net or (888) 850-0344, ext. 209.

Watch Quest's feature "As the Wheel Turns" for coverage of wheelchair choice, fitting, maintenance, changes and other topics that are important in the life of a wheelchair or scooter user.

What would you like to read about in this feature? Send a picture of your personalized wheelchair, or tell us what wheelchair issues you want to know more about. Just contact publications@mdausa.org, or Quest, MDA, 3300 E. Sunrise Drive, Tucson, AZ 85718.