Wheelchair Journey

I was born in 1951, graduated from U.C. Davis and have been in a wheelchair since 1979 when I fell through a skylight 16 feet to a concrete floor. My injury is C-7 but, I function fairly well as a paraplegic. My wife and I met four months before I broke my neck and she was crazy enough to hang around all these years. We have three grown children that are really wonderful people.

Since 1979, I've observed the design of wheelchairs and the wheelchair industry. I have always felt that significant improvements in design and function have been slow and in many cases, misdirected compared to that of other products and industries. I've had many chairs and related sports equipment over the years and intuitively, I've come to feel the need for a chair that, is minimalistic, has a greater number of functions, greater range of motion, serves a broader community of people, is user-friendly and looks good. After many years, I'm closer now than I've ever been with a design that seems to have merit. I am not certain of what people do if they get to the crossroad where I am. What I do feel is that I would like to see a decent prototype built. I have a feeling that what I've designed should meet the needs that I've mentioned. If the design can be perfected, I believe it will be appreciated by users, therapists, caregivers and others to have a significant effect on the industry and the lives of users. My other concerns have to do with rights and privacy as I would most desire to see it actually be made available to the public. I don't mind being part of a process but, I would not really want to see the idea disfigured into something that strays from the mission. Before we release the pictures and drawings to a person or organization that can help make it happen, I'm reaching out to ask the world for feedback and input about the hopes and needs I'm trying to address. All disabilities are different and I may not be able to address all the needs but I believe we can try.

ericsonrealty@gmail.com