Vintage

The line was moving to checkout the Trackchair.

There is an old saying that goes, "you get what you pay for", but once again the Arizona Game & Fish Outdoor Expo proves that a free event can be well worth attending. This was our second year exhibiting and it was an amazing event with over 30,000 people coming through Saturday and Sunday.

Physical disability is only one aspect of who a person is, and often there are many ways to be of service to the community that do not involve physical ability. With diabetes being a major cause of amputations here in the USA I wanted to help with a recent Phoenix area event. The American Diabetes Association puts on a fund & awareness raiser called the Tour de Cure.

I offered my services as a nurse and as a ham radio operator. They were able to use me at a rest stop to provide medical care to any riders who needed it and to help keep an eye on the many diabetics who participate in the event. As an amputee I am able to work as a nurse without any problems, however even if I was a wheelchair user being a ham radio operator would have been equally valuable. Being able to provide quality, efficient communications is much more a mental than physical task and I would encourage anyone looking for way to serve the community and do so with limited physical requirements to look around for things you can do. The sense of “giving back” is well worth the effort.

Everyone deserves help, and we are happy to be there.

Disabled Explorers gave our first dual in-service recently at the Arizona State Hospital. Part of the presentation was for new amputees with focus on physical and emotional expectations. In addition we covered practical information on skin care, insurance and daily life. The other part of our presentation was for staff including nursing, recreational and physical therapist and educators. For this group our focus was on care, motivation and the reactions to limb loss.

As much as we would have liked to have given our in-service in the great outdoors, first we have to get the person and their caregivers ready to go outdoors.

The amputee watching the wheelchair user.....

Today was the first day for the W.A.V.E. to be out and about and it was right to work. Here in Phoenix we have the Disability Empowerment Center and it is filled with some great non-profits doing great work. This seemed like the perfect place to get some first-hand feedback on our project before we start taking people into the back country.