Road Access - Disability Alliance

Articles, Essays and Support Group Items
About Segway users who have mobility challenges

Parkinsons

• California   -   "Technology boosts steadfast spirit", Parkinson's Post, January / February 2004
  "But with Parkinsons?! Balance is such a critical part of operating the Segway. ... How on earth could someone prone to falling actually make this thing work? ... It’s perfect."

• Florida   -   (web page no longer available) "Personal Stories", Segway.com, undated
  "The Segway HT has lifted the depression of knowing my loss of mobility would soon make me totally unable to get around without great burden on those around me."

• Alaska   -   "One fan says Segway counters his wobble, Parkinson's less of a problem", newsobserver.com, October 13, 2003
  "... the 73-year-old stepped off his Segway Human Transporter. "It's a marvelous machine," said Russell, whose Parkinson's disease has left him too wobbly for his usual ballroom dancing."

Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

• New Hampshire   -   " ‘Segging’ her way to freedom", Daily Hampshire Gazette, June 26, 2003
  "It has given me so much freedom..."

• California   -   "Segway training - Experience", BrainTalk Communities, a forum owned and maintained by the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, February 24, 2003
  "Exhilerating is an understatement. The feeling of freedom is wonderful."

• North America   -   Item in mslog.com, from the Houston Chronicle, August 25, 2003
  "Sometimes severe fatigue hits her out of the blue, so she seldom walks anywhere on her own..."

• Washington, D.C. area   -   "An Urban 'Segway' To Easier Shooting", Washington Post, undated
  "...he knows two people with multiple sclerosis who have benefited greatly from Segway's ability to move them to and fro."

Amputees

• New Hampshire   -   "Vital Signs: Orthopaedic surgeon Michael Mayor finds that his Segway is just what the doctor orderedl", Dartmouth Medicine, Summer 2004
  "[Mayor] was diagnosed with a rare malignancy in his right femur. Efforts at treatment failed. In the winter of his senior year, his leg was amputated above the knee.
  " ... [The Segway] not only worked like a charm indoors, it could even negotiate ice and snow outdoors in the winter."

• Australia   -   "Transporter may aid disabled", Monash Newsline : Science & Tech, June 9, 2003
  " 'A whole range of people could achieve greater mobility and independence by using the Segway, from those with mild arthritis through to amputees and even muscular dystrophy sufferers,' said REHAB Tech manager Mr Bill Contoyannis."

Arthritis

• Michigan   -   "Segway helps handicapped" (Letter to Editor), The Detroit News, September 30, 2003
  "I have had my Segway for about four months; it has been a gift from God. I am 59 and have arthritis in both of my ankles and my knee, and I have no cartilage in my joints. If I go anywhere, I don't have any help to do my shopping; do you know how hard it is to do something so simple as shopping for food when you can't walk? But because of my Segway I can go shopping..."

• Alaska   -   "Smooth Segway", Anchorage Daily News, June 23, 2003
  "I have arthritis in my hip, so I don't walk worth a damn," Nolan says. "I keep it in my pickup when I go downtown. I can park (the truck) over on the Park Strip, and the entire downtown Anchorage is easy for me. I can go to Sitka, and the entire town of Sitka is easy for me. Wrangell the same way."

Cerebral Palsy (CP)

• USA   -   "Segway helps people get their balance back", (Show #867) The Health Show, November 11, 2004
  "It's given me freedom I never thought I would have. And, it's given me experience that I never thought I would have."
• Indiana   -   "Student takes scooter to school", Herald-Times, April 6, 2004
  "Nick, a junior at Bloomington High School South, now tools around the school hallways standing on his Segway..."
• Indiana - more   -   Council for Community Accessibility, CCA Minutes, April 19, 2004
  "...the young man in the Herald-Times story who has cerebral palsy and uses a Segway for mobility at Bloomington High School South would like to demonstrate the Segway for others who might be interested."
• Indiana - more   -   "It's Segway or the highway", Indiana Daily Student News, April 28, 2004
  "...a local high-school student, bought his to help him move around, as he lives with cerebral palsy. Prange, who let the student test-drive his machine before he purchased one, said the purchase of a Segway has completely changed the student's life."

Post Polio

• Florida   -   "An illness revisited", Naples Daily News, December 2, 2003
  "... the Segway Human Transporter has allowed her to be more mobile..."

Spine Deformity, Back Injury & Balance

• California   -   " Segway for Disabled", Tech TV, March 17, 2004 & CNN Headline News, March 19, 2004
  (Video clip) "... they're finding local laws getting in their way."

• Texas   -   "Personal Story – Wallace L. Johnston", 2004
  (pdf) "I was quite surprised and very pleased to find that the SEGWAY could and did meet my expectations for mobility enhancement. My need to stand and touch something to obtain a reference point for stabilization was fully met by the SEGWAY. I had 'Electric Feet!' "

Injury due to Accident

• Missouri   -   "Student has Segway scooter to negotiate SEMO campus", Southeast Missourian, November 1, 2004
  "Brooke Gill is on a roll, even in the classroom.
  "The Southeast Missouri State University senior relies on a Segway -- a high-tech, two-wheel, seatless scooter-like device -- to get around the hilly Cape Girardeau campus.
  "For Gill, it's not a luxury. The 24-year-old from Dexter, Mo., has difficulty walking -- the result of a traffic accident in July 1996 shortly after she turned 16."

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome & Fibromyalgia

• New York   -   (no web link) "Upright citizens brigade", Time Out / New York, September 25, 2003
  "Bill Levy--a.k.a. "Segway Bill," as it says on his business card--is a calibration technician who's unable to work full-time; chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and other ailments would keep him virtually housebound if not for his Segway."

Paralysis

• California   -   (no web link) "Supes propose Segway ban", The Examiner, November 15, 2002
  "... Valerie Cheasty, of Albany, who is partially paralyzed because of a viral infection [said] -
  'I had the sense of walking again. I felt I had the same mobility I had before I became disabled. I was up until 3 a.m. I was thinking of all the things I could do again.
  'If I was not disabled, it would be like someone telling me, 'Now, you can fly.' "

• Missouri   -   "Oft-Scorned Segway Finds Friends Among the Disabled", New York Times, October 14. 2004
  " 'It's just this incredible feeling for those that cannot balance and when they stand up they feel like they're in the midst of falling all the time,' said Jerry Kerr of St. Louis, a Segway rider with a spinal cord injury that left him unable to walk, though he can stand to operate the scooter."
    -   (Duplicate link = Wilmington Star)

• Missouri   -   "IT's so cool, the owners' club is still small", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 15. 2004
  [Liddy, who has had a severe spinal cord injury said] " 'From being in the wheelchair to standing tall on the Segway, you kind of go from stigma to superhuman.' He also jokes about getting called 'lazy' by passers-by who have no idea that Liddy has a disability. 'They see me riding and my wife walking and give me a hard time,' he says."

• Texas   -   "Questrom addresses Castagna fall-out, new CEO's health", Home Textiles Today, November 16, 2004
  "And what the doctor said for sure is what we believe he has is a microscopic spinal cord injury, not multiple sclerosis. He does have some impairment to his mobility, but he offsets that by using a Segway..."

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) & Pulmonary Hypertension

• Illinois   -   "Personal Essay – Robert Jones", June 2004
  "The Segway ... is how I get around. Its maneuverability has given me the opportunity to do things and go places I have avoided for years such as the zoo. It allows me to explore in areas that requires extended walking."
• Illinois - more   -   "Segway changes man's life", ABC 7 Chicago, October 21, 2004
  " "I've told some people that my Segway is a juicer, you know, if life hands you lemons make lemonade," said Dr. Jones."

• Tenn.   -   "Segways and special needs", Spring 2004
  "[The Segway] has been the most freeing and liberating thing since my disability occurred 2 years ago. Before the Segway I could have cared less about good weather outside because my unrestrained freedom was in using the internet and doing things on the computer. Now, after just a few short days of ownership, I am grumpy if I don't get outside and experience nature. ... One thing Segway is excellent for: Fighting deep vein thrombosis, which (if you don't know) is the forming of blood clots deep in the veins, often as a result of prolonged sitting. The clots can cause deadly complications. Disabled people who can walk and stand benefit from any device or activity that gets them wanting to be on their feet."

Nerve Degeneration

• California   -   "'Head Monster's' winning ways, Engineer spins high-end cable wire idea into industry-leading company", San Francisco Chronicle, November 8, 2004
  "Lee does have one problem that slows him down. A degenerative nerve problem, which he says stems from radiation exposure during his time as a fusion engineer, makes walking a slow, tedious task for him.
  "He relies on his fleet of four Segway Human Transporters -- two-wheeled, self-balancing electric scooters -- to get around his office or to reach his luxury box at Monster Park, the new name for Candlestick Park."
• California - more   -   "Much-heralded Segway struggles to gain traction", Oakland Tribune, October 31, 2004
  "Noel Lee, CEO of Monster Cable Products, has a walking disorder. The Segway has given him the opportunity to do things he never envisioned several years ago. ...
  'I ride it right into the stadium and onto the field,' he said. 'For me, it has truly been a lifesaving experience.' "

Guillain-Barre syndrome

• Pennsylvania   -   "2-wheeler lets man zip around Millersburg", The Patriot-News, July 20, 2004
  "All this talking and traveling has been a life change for a man who used to drive the three blocks to the local hardware store and fell so often when walking that he learned how to hit the ground without hurting himself."

Still's Disease

• Wisconsin   -   "Rib Mt. man one of first to own Segway scooter", Wausau Daily Herald, March 24, 2003
  "Tom Kufahl's energy was deteriorating. He tired easily and it was difficult for him to walk. He tried a motorized wheelchair for a while, but he didn't like it much. Still's disease, which limits mobility and energy, was taking its toll."

Poor Circulation resulting in Ischemic Pain

• United States   -   "Segway - an Unsolicited Endorsement", MountainMan WebBlog, April 18, 2003
  "I don't think I've ever before been in the position where I wanted to make a product endorsement, but this product is just so absolutely WONDERFUL that I felt I had to put my opinion 'out there'. If any reader should have any difficulty walking on reasonably smooth surfaces (floors, roads, dirt roads, grass), and be able to stand still for a few minutes (which is all the balance skills I think you'll need), then this is the product for you, and I urge you to learn more about Segway."

Hip Replacement

• United States   -   "What's Selling in America", FastCompany (Issue 66), January 2003
  "She's buying fabulous canes and a Segway scooter, and she might even get herself a jazzy wheelchair. Greenberg's editor friend and thousands more just like her represent an entirely different ethos for dealing with age-induced ailments."

Mobility Assistance - General

• California   -   "Segway Recall Doesn't Slow Down Student", Daily Nexus, October 1, 2003
  "Pickern, who has difficulty walking due to a disability, would otherwise rely on a motorized scooter to help her get to class. Though not marketed as an aid for those with disabilities, Pickern said the Segway has been an improvement..."

• Utah   -   "Rehab Demos Scooter, Stair-Climbing Chair", Pulse, March 15, 2004
  "... Rosenbluth said he is most excited about how the Segway Scooter could help people with incomplete spinal cord injuries and who have difficulty walking. "This device is very feasible for these patients and gives them more independence and freedom," he said."

• United States   -   "Service Robots in Health Care: The Evolution of Mechanical Solutions to Human Resource Problems", Bon Secours Health System, Inc., June 2003
  "Mobility assistance is one of the most promising applications currently under development in health care. Several articles and current Web pages report transportation technologies, such as the Segway Transporter, that are being studied for use by patients and caregivers alike."

HOME

© Rada Project, 2004
November 17, 2004 (Version 1.g)