Re: [QUAD-L] sip and puff system
Thanks for the reply. I did know about the design origin of the OmegaTrac. Back in the day I spoke and corresponded frequently with Jim Finch (the high quad designer of the Omegatrac), and his father Tom Finch. I first met them in 1998 (I think) and saw some of them a few times thereafter. They lived in Texas; I lived in Rhode Island; and once when Mrs. Finch and some of the Teftec staff were attending a Disabilities Expo nearby they had dinner at my home. It was really too bad for Omegatrac users when the Finch family sold their rights to the chair. Successors have pretty much neglected the chair and its user base in recent years. I hope they are working on improving things, because the chair can still perform better than most of its peers, in those areas where high quads have the most need. My son is still driving his original chair, although it no longer turns left or right and our last (used) replacement controller board has died. I have two Omegatrac hulks in my basement, and am trying to bring at least one of them back to life. In the meantime, Jeff is thinking about getting a new Omegatrac. On 5/30/2013 4:18 PM, Bob Vogel wrote: Hi Richard, At the risk of sounding like "Cliff Clavin" from the sitcom Cheers; the interesting thing you probably (or may not) know about the OmegaTrack is that it was invented, designed and manufactured by a man named Jim Finch, a C2 complete quadriplegic. He was able to breath without a vent because he had diaphramatic nerve stimulators implanted--like a pacemaker for breathing.
[QUAD-L] sip and puff system
I am trying to get an old Omegatrac wheelchair running. Assume that drive and steering control will be via chin (or lips) joystick. We want chair tilt and other functions to be controlled via sip and puff; meaning we cycle through the various functions and select and operate them entirely by sip and puff and not by the joystick. Rather than trying to install old sip and puff parts, some of which are probably broken, I would rather get an up-to-date setup. If you can, please recommend good current hardware that will permit sip and puff control of these functions: -- chair tilt up and down -- front shock absorber pumps fill and empty -- rear shock absorber pumps fill and empty -- lights on and off (optional) Thanks.
Re: [QUAD-L] cleaning leg bag
My solution for my quadriplegic son, beginning about 13 years ago, was not to use a leg bag at all. I mounted a black utility bag so it hangs off the front of his power chair base, behind his lower legs. We put a big 2000-ml bedside drainage bag in that, and run the tube inside his pants, up his leg. We cover the transparent tube with the kind of black flexible wire-concealing wrap you can get at Radioshack. The tube connects at top to his Texas or Foley cath (depending) and the tube is held in place by a white strap with velcro clamp. When the drainage bag gets near full, we just take it out, open the valve, and either fill up a bottle or two, or hold it over a toilet and let it drain. There is virtually no odor except when draining; it can go without draining three or four times as long as a leg bag; and it is much easier to manage in just about every way. Richard Galli
Re: [QUAD-L] What functions do you miss the most?
Thanks VERY much to Greg and Bobbie for their top-ten lists of functions they miss the most. It's exactly what I was looking for. I hope other folks will provide some lists as well. -- Best wishes Richard Galli ----- Richard Galli wrote: I'm going to be speaking at a seminar in June. You can help me prepare by answering a question that can be asked two ways: What functions do you miss the most? What are the functions that you would most want to recover if you had the chance? Make a list of ten functions, in order if you can do it. Post it or send it to me privately at rich...@gallilaw.com. If there are a reasonable number of responses, I'll post the results on the list. Be specific. Not just "use of my hands" but the specific function(s) that use of your hands would allow you to do, such as play a musical instrument or tune your Ferrari. If you selected both of those, they would count as two choices and you would have eight left to choose. Please let me know your level of injury when you respond. Why am I asking this? Simply to show that folks who are paralyzed similarly are personally affected in different ways, some of which a non-paralyzed person might not expect. As I have said to people since my son became a C1-C2 in 1998: walking is overrated.
[QUAD-L] What functions do you miss the most?
I'm going to be speaking at a seminar in June. You can help me prepare by answering a question that can be asked two ways: What functions do you miss the most? What are the functions that you would most want to recover if you had the chance? Make a list of ten functions, in order if you can do it. Post it or send it to me privately at rich...@gallilaw.com. If there are a reasonable number of responses, I'll post the results on the list. Be specific. Not just "use of my hands" but the specific function(s) that use of your hands would allow you to do, such as play a musical instrument or tune your Ferrari. If you selected both of those, they would count as two choices and you would have eight left to choose. Please let me know your level of injury when you respond. Why am I asking this? Simply to show that folks who are paralyzed similarly are personally affected in different ways, some of which a non-paralyzed person might not expect. As I have said to people since my son became a C1-C2 in 1998: walking is overrated. -- Best wishes Richard Galli -
[QUAD-L] OmegaTrac used stuff wanted
My son and I are interested in finding used OmegaTrac wheelchairs and/or parts. If you know where any can be found, please point me. Thanks. -- Best wishes Richard Galli - Visit my Commentary, Iraq Journal and photo gallery: http://www.gallireport.com Visit my Web Site: http://www.richardgalli.com
[QUAD-L] Omega Trac wheelchair: need help finding a USED chair
I need to find a used Omega Trac power wheelchair. If you know where one can be found, please let me know. -- Best wishes Richard Galli -
[QUAD-L] best state for quad support?
Which state provides the best financial and other support for a quadriplegic adult? Justify your choice. If there are enough responses, I might start putting together a table and post it online for all to see, add to and correct. -- Best wishes Richard Galli - Treat yourself to "The Pig Trilogy" free 30 minute excerpt from "Of Rice and Men" an audio book published by Random House http://www.richardgalli.com If war is hell, imagine Army farming.
Re: [QUAD-L] How Do You Read Books? / ON SCREEN
In my last post about scanning, I forgot to mention a couple of things: First, by scanning the printed work into a digital file you enable enlargement on screen. Folks who need a page turner also may find it difficult to read small text at the distances needed for page turning. When a document is converted to digital format, the reader can enlarge it to a comfortable reading size. Second, if it's a book you want to scan, you will need cut the spine off to make nice clean pages to run through the scanner feeder. You can do that by hand, obviously -- but copy places like Ikon and probably most other places that make volume copies will also cut the binders off books for a very small price, possibly a dollar or less. Best wishes Richard Galli - Treat yourself to "The Pig Trilogy" free 30 minute excerpt from "Of Rice and Men" an audio book published by Random House http://www.richardgalli.com/trilogy.htm Richard Galli wrote: My son is a high quad, nothing below the neck. He has a laptop on his wheelchair and a desktop on his -- you guessed it -- desk. When he needs to read a book or any other document of more than a couple of pages, we scan it. The resulting file can be viewed in its as-scanned digital format -- a multipage tiff file -- or we convert it into Adobe acrobat. No expensive software is necessary to do this. Some versions of windows come with a program called Imaging or Kodak Imaging that will scan to multipage tiff; or you can use Irfanview [http://www.irfanview.com] or similar free programs to do the scanning. We just chop up the books and scan the sheets. If there are size or other non-routine problems, we might copy the pages first before scanning. Don't have a feeder-equipped scanner handy? Many of the multifunction copy machines used in standard office environments have scanners built in, although their owners don't know it. It should not be that hard to find someone who will do the scanning or let you do it -- especially since no actual paper or toner is used up to produce the digital file. Having the book or other document available any time on screen is much superior to using any of the mechanical "reading" devices, whether it be low tech like mouth sticks or high tech like page turners. Best wishes Richard Galli - Treat yourself to "The Pig Trilogy" free 30 minute excerpt from "Of Rice and Men" an audio book published by Random House http://www.richardgalli.com/trilogy.htm [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I am having a dilemma. I was an avid book reader before I became a quadriplegic due to Transverse Myelitis. Now I am in a dilemma as to how do I manage to read a book. I have a book stand, but it is virtually impossible for me to turn the pages. I have looked on the Internet for page turners, but I haven't found any that are suitable for my need. This is really driving me crazy, especially since there are so many things I need to read. I would like to know how anyone else manage to read a book. For novels, I get books on tape, if they're available, but some things I need to read, do not come on a tape. I would appreciate any suggestions. Naomi
Re: [QUAD-L] How Do You Read Books? / ON SCREEN
My son is a high quad, nothing below the neck. He has a laptop on his wheelchair and a desktop on his -- you guessed it -- desk. When he needs to read a book or any other document of more than a couple of pages, we scan it. The resulting file can be viewed in its as-scanned digital format -- a multipage tiff file -- or we convert it into Adobe acrobat. No expensive software is necessary to do this. Some versions of windows come with a program called Imaging or Kodak Imaging that will scan to multipage tiff; or you can use Irfanview [http://www.irfanview.com] or similar free programs to do the scanning. We just chop up the books and scan the sheets. If there are size or other non-routine problems, we might copy the pages first before scanning. Don't have a feeder-equipped scanner handy? Many of the multifunction copy machines used in standard office environments have scanners built in, although their owners don't know it. It should not be that hard to find someone who will do the scanning or let you do it -- especially since no actual paper or toner is used up to produce the digital file. Having the book or other document available any time on screen is much superior to using any of the mechanical "reading" devices, whether it be low tech like mouth sticks or high tech like page turners. Best wishes Richard Galli - Treat yourself to "The Pig Trilogy" free 30 minute excerpt from "Of Rice and Men" an audio book published by Random House http://www.richardgalli.com/trilogy.htm [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I am having a dilemma. I was an avid book reader before I became a quadriplegic due to Transverse Myelitis. Now I am in a dilemma as to how do I manage to read a book. I have a book stand, but it is virtually impossible for me to turn the pages. I have looked on the Internet for page turners, but I haven't found any that are suitable for my need. This is really driving me crazy, especially since there are so many things I need to read. I would like to know how anyone else manage to read a book. For novels, I get books on tape, if they're available, but some things I need to read, do not come on a tape. I would appreciate any suggestions. Naomi
[QUAD-L] Need temporary facility for 26-yr-old quad on vent: RI, MA, CT
My son Jeff is a C1-C2 quad who uses a phrenic nerve pacer during the day and a bedside ventilator at night. I have been a primary caregiver at home for eight years, but starting in February will be out of the country for 45-60 days. Since my wife will not be able to handle everything while I am gone, I need to find a facility that could handle Jeff. We live in Rhode Island, where opportunities are minimal because of the ventilator problem. I would love to hear if any of you know of a facility in (for example) the Southern Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut. Finding a place is a fairly critical task for me right now, and I will appreciate all the help I can get. -- Best wishes Richard Galli http://www.gallilaw.com/jeffhome.htm http://www.rescuingjeffrey.com - Treat yourself to "The Pig Trilogy" free 30 minute excerpt from "Of Rice and Men" an audio book published by Random House http://www.richardgalli.com/trilogy.htm
