Over the week end we read with great interest about the trip made by Ron Taylor which was completed last week. Ron made his trans-pennine treck on his 4 wheel drive electric wheelchair raising over £20k in the process.

Ron's day job is an RSPB area manager and he lives in Denby Dale in W. Yorkshire. His mission for a long while has been to improve access for wheelchair users of all types to RSPB nature reserves. Roy recognises that electric wheelchair users and powerchairs to access some sites but there isn't always suitable access for manual wheelchairs nor transits.

Ron's trip took him on a 215 mile coast to coast route from Southport and too 10 days to complete. Ron has motor neurone disease and uses his wheelchair constantly. He seems to have taken long days on the trek in his stride commenting 'my legs don't work... and sitting on your bones for 10-12 hours a day is painful'.

Ron is now going to audit 20 RSPB nature reserves and draw up a list of changes to be made for better access. Ron wants access to the reserves to be "just as good as for an able-bodied person".

Mr Taylor said he had been asked to give a report on access to the board of the Trans Pennine Trail, and the National Trust has also asked him to help as a result of his trip.

We think Rons efforts are brilliant and hope that he is able to make the changes that he recommends to make accessibility far batter so all wheelchair users can enjoy both the RSBP sites and the trans Peninne route, whether using manual or electric wheelchairs.

It will be 10 years this October that the DDA or disability discrimination act required businesses and other organisations to make a reasonable effort to make their premises usable by disabled folk.

In essence this means that buildings that are frequented by the general public have to be fairly wheelchair friendly. This can take many forms but usually involves adding ramps, widening doorways and welcoming guide dogs so that we don't find it unnecessarily difficult to use their services. It seems that what is deemed reasonable depends mainly on the cost of the work needed in relation to the size or value of the business.

In the main I feel that this act has been taken on seriously by most. There was a noticeable flux of activity when the act was first introduced as many buildings were actively converted for disabled use. These changes were easier to implement in some cases than others. Owners of large older buildings probably found the transition the most costly. Wheelchair access has improved massively in the past few years as a result. With more electric wheelchairs in use there are more modifications being made to cater for them.
I have read of cases where wheelchair ramps have been objected to in older buildings. English heritage have made several protests along these lines. It is for these reasons that some venues are slow to adopt the legislation. Recent figures show that a survey of 52 of Britain's 100 busiest tourist attractions show that two-thirds (63%) were not fully wheelchair accessible. A quarter had no parking spaces for disabled cars. These figures are care the charity Vitalise.

Let's hope that peoples understanding of the needs of the UK's 10 million disabled people is improved and that more wheelchair access is provided.

Without any doubt, lightweight wheelchairs can help those of us with impaired mobility. Its hard to believe that an estimated 1 in 50 folk have some form of paralysis most of whom do not require wheelchairs as their symptoms are not sufficiently debilitating. Unfortunately paralysis often means more to the individual involved with chronic pain and impaired bodily functions being commonplace along with sensory issues and other effects due to being immobile.

Whether paralysis is caused by an accident or is a side effect of another medical condition it has the same effect on the individual in that the body cannot respond correctly to the instructions it normally receives from the brain. As well as the obvious immobility paralysis often causes other conditions including ones sense of self identity due to their restrictions on independence. Instead of being viewed as another person, some paralysed people can often feel defined by their wheelchair.

So can science really help us rediscover our mobility ? Developments like lightweight wheelchairs help paralysed people to better cope with immobility, but scientists are now developing new solutions that may make a big difference and put people back in control.

How is this being done ? Although it is very unlikely that paralysis of all forms could be cured, there are emerging innovations that help to bypass the problems the brain has giving instruction to other pats of the body. This is being explored in a number of ways including:

Regenerative medication using stem cells to regenerate damaged nerve cells in order to help restore their function including the ultimate goal of correcting damaged communication between the brain and muscles

Nerve stimulation technology - where electrical currents are used to create new message pathways which when used in conjunction with rehab can help to restore movement to some patients.

This is highly specialised research being developed to treat paralysis. It is hoped that scientists can piece together many types of work from different fields in order to produce life-changing breakthroughs. If this is the case could it ever be the end of the need for the wheelchair ?

We saw this picture and thought we had to share it. Ryan Chen, the guy in the wheelchair was injured whilst snowboarding five years ago but refuses to stop the disability from doing most things !

Crowd surfing in a wheelchair is not something i would have thought possible until i saw the photo taken last week in the US while he attended the Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco.

Ryan who has total paralyses from the waist down was spotted by the band performing at the time and is known by them. The lead singer had this to say after the concert:

"It was pretty amazing, looking out onto a sea of people and seeing Ryan being propped up on his wheelchair, Ryan has an incredible attitude about life and is almost always the happiest person in the room.”
See the photo here

Extreme sports are not everyone's cup of tea and bungee jumping is certainly not for the faint-hearted. So what drove disabled daredevil Riley Martin to do just that ?

The brave 21 year old from Canada doesn't shy away from much and certainly does not let his wheelchair hold him back. SO a couple of weeks ago he dropped 170 feet over a swollen river in Canada to the amazement of onlookers. Riley claims he was mainly inspired to take the vertigo-inducing jump last month having seen Canadian paralympian Rick Hanse doing the same.

During a week end break with his partner in British Columbia Riley and his self propelled wheelchair where strapped in to a harness by the event organisers. Reilly who confesses to being nervous and can be seen in the video as he makes the 170 foot plunge over the Canadian river.

Cardiff girl wins award for wheelchair users clothing

Lucy Jones a 23 year old from Cardiff in Wales has recently won 2 awards for her clothing designs that are made for wheelchair users. Lucy was voted Womenswear Designer of the Year of Class 2015 at the New York Parsons School of Design's annual fashion benefit.

Lucy says that the innovation for many of her designs come as a result of working with her cousin Jake who is a wheelchair user who struggles to find clothes to suit him and that can be put on by himself. Lucy has looked and listened to her cousin and other wheelchair users to identify the common problems people face when sat in their chair much of every day.

Redesigning the way the fabric is cut and stitched has mean that wheelchair users now have garments that no longer impair movement and that allow them to dress themselves easier than before.

"I realised that we, in the fashion industry, need to create more accessible solutions in clothing," Ms Jones said. "I thought if Jake could dress himself, he would be able to be more independent. Clothes have the power to do that."

With alterations made to trouser leg length and lowering of the back waistband wheelchair users were soon to be able to dress themselves and win back some independence. Lucy also had to consider that kneecaps change shape when bent, leading her to remove extra fabric at the bend of the knee, so trouser legs can fall flat. And Lucy took account of how thighs and bottoms spread when seated, as well as eliminating uncomfortable fabric bunching at the crotch.

With tops, Lucy reinforced elbows because they are always leaning on armrests, removed excess bulk and made room for the more developed muscles that people in wheelchairs develop in their shoulders and arms from propelling themselves in their chairs. Ms Jones has now made it her mission to raise awareness on the issue of designing for disabilities.

Using carbon fibre to build the frame engineers creating the new all terrain wheelchair for the challenge are aiming to give it both strength and minimum weight. The Paralympic athlete is planning to climb Mt kilimanjaro which is almost 6,000m above sea level. The expedition, which will follow the Marangu route to Kilimanjaro, will take place from 3–15 September.

The wheelchair has two wheels at the front and one at the back to provide extra stability and the user will propel hand levers to provide the power by connecting to the rear wheel using a pinion and chain. So that the user can use both hands to power the wheelchair,the steering is capable of locking in place. A chest plate is in place allowing the user to lean forward to hold the hand pedals and get maximum power. The plate and the seat both use a combination of gel and foam to ensure maximum possible comfort.

With the exception of the wheels, the wheelchair is about 85 % carbon fibre and weighs in at about 15 KGs, making it the lightest all terrain wheelchair that we have ever seen.

The expedition will consist of the athlete, who has not yet been chosen, along with three doctors from the Hospital Clínico San Carlos in Madrid, five Airbus engineers, a member of Altran, who helped design the wheelchair.

At long last paralympian Simon Richardson has the electric wheelchair he has waited a long time for. Simon who was originally injured in a road accident in 2001 when he was knocked of his bicycle leaving him with severe leg and back injuries.

ten years on Simon was involved in another road accident, this time he was hit by a van near his home in South Wales which left him with a broken spine and wheelchair bound for life.

Simon, who lives near Bridgend in Wales has used a self propelled chair for a number of years but found like many that it was becoming less suitable and wanted a bit more comfort and mobility. At just 48 Simon who has 2 children was finding things hard until the arrival of his new electric wheelchair which he says has made "quite a difference".

The new chair was paid for by money raised by local friends and family and businesses who donated enough allowing him to buy the £900 chair.

Simon became a Paralympic competitor after suffering leg and back injuries in a previous road accident involving his bicycle and a car in 2001 and won two gold and one silver medal at the 2008 Beijing games and received an MBE in 2009.

With Wimbledon just around the corner, it was great to see that we have a total of 5 British wheelchair tennis players in the doubles this year which is a record !

Grand slam champs Jordanne Whiley and Gordon Reid are among a record five Brits on the Tennis Foundation’s Performance Programme set to contest the men’s and women’s wheelchair tennis doubles events at The Championships, Wimbledon this year after wild cards were announced today for debutants Louise Hunt and Alfie hewett.

The championships have been put back by 1 week this year to give players the chance for some rest and relaxation after the Aegon Championships in Eastbourne this week.
Wheelchair user Jordanne Whiley had this to say “Wimbledon is my favourite tournament and to win there last year as part of the calendar Grand Slam was the realisation of a dream since I was a young child,” said Whiley. “Yui and I really wanted to repeat the calendar Grand Slam again this year and had a tough final at Roland Garros, but we’ll learn from that experience and will thrive off the home support at Wimbledon and aim to keep that title where it belongs.”

It should be interesting with a total of £64,000 in prize money is on offer for the wheelchair tennis doubles competition and the event will be played from Friday 10th July to Sunday 12th July.

An update on parking and accessibility.

A limited number of parking spaces for small electric scooters (pavement vehicles only) is available inside the Grounds. The scooters must not be left unattended except in designated areas; a uniformed security guard will advise a suitable parking location.
Folding wheelchairs may be left in a designated space at Gate 4 if arranged with a Steward or a uniformed Security Officer.