Monday, March 28, 2011

Candy Apple Red

"I need my freedom!" declared Judith Survis, a spunky redhead from Vancouver Washington. A blood disorder caused her to feel fatigued, and due to her low energy walking from the bedroom to the kitchen was far too much cardio for her body to take. One day while she was resting, she saw on TV an advertisement for a power chair and immediately picked up the phone to ask a few questions. Anyone who knows Judith personally, knows she can’t resist a new conversation, and for all intents and purposes, really only ask a few questions. After about 45 minutes on the phone with representative Carrie, Judith was so excited she immediately ordered her chair. Of course before hanging up the phone, Judith asked Carrie one last question, 'does it come in candy apple red?' Judith was in luck! When her new power chair from arrived, Judith immediately fell in love with the candy apple red paint, as she always dreamt of having a car in this color. The technician who delivered the chair was knowledgeable and knew all the answers to Judith's many questions.

She said her life has completely transformed from prisoner to get er' done. Judith comfortably sits in her chair for hours at a time either watching TV, cleaning, chasing her cute husband Thomas around the house, or cooking one of her signature dishes ranging from pot roast to crock pot delicacies. Whenever her Chihuahua Buddy hears her get in her chair, he jumps into her lap, ready to get paraded around the house in her candy apple power chair. These days you can read Judith blogging about her experience on many different mobility sites, blogging about the day to days of mobility, introducing new products, and sharing relevant articles. Judith even created a community which uplifts others by giving hope and strength through sharing her personal experiences and stories. I am sure we will hear more from the vivacious redhead in the Candy Apple power chair!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Around the World With My Portable!

California native Lloyd Jensen is a man on the go. A world traveler and a restaurant junkie, nothing has ever kept Lloyd from doing what he loves and desires in life. Lloyd was ready for a change from his local cuisine, and he planned a cruise, but not just any local cruise, Lloyd and his wife Wilma planned to cruise from Italy! However Lloyd’s doctor had put him on oxygen tanks, even though Lloyd fought the idea, as he valued his freedom too much. Lloyd had witnessed first hand as his cousin in-law struggled with tanks for years and he wasn’t going to fall victim to that routine. Travel can be especially difficult for those on o2. Lloyd found a portable oxygen concentrator from Open-Aire, proposed the idea to his doctor, and they finally agreed on how to settle the 'oxygen issue'. No more tanks! A few weeks after receiving his portable concentrator, LLoyd and Wilma, his wife of 49 years, packed their bags and boarded a plane in Los Angeles – destination Italy! It was quite the trip to get to Europe from California, first they landed in Newark, New Jersey and then they boarded another plane to Germany.

The flight was long, but they finally landed in Frankfurt. . . only to catch another plane to Venice, Italy. Lloyd never had to mess with his portable EverGo during the trip; he only had to change the batteries. He will tell you that managing the portable EverGo was the easiest part to the trip. Lloyd’s travel itinerary was a 15 day cruise from Venice back to the US, arriving in South Florida. By the time they boarded the cruise ship in Venice, they were both exhausted, they had flown for days! Overall, it was a great cruise as you can see by their beautiful photo taken aboard the ship on Formal Night. Magnifico! When they returned they were well rested, and ready to return to their local neighborhood restaurant. Lloyd says he ALWAYS sees someone on tanks at the restaurant, and it never fails, each time they ask him about his Open-Aire by EverGo. Lloyd can’t travel too far without getting questions about where he got his portable concentrator including his doctor's office, bingo, cruise vacations and out shopping. Lloyd is definitely changing the way his community is breathing each day. Bravissimo Lloyd!

Friday, March 11, 2011

Push The Button And GO!

Getting from one end of the house to the other are challenges of the past, and so are most mobility issues for Phoenix native, Diane DeMay.  Being a young woman with Peripheral Neuropathy, doing what used to be the simple things such as laundry, cooking and moving around the house became difficult in a manual wheelchair.  When Diane’s power wheel chair from Open-Aire arrived, she was trained on the spot by the friendly technicians on how to use it, and according to Diana seemed simple enough.   She was off! Diane’s days went from ‘inconvenient’ to ‘bring it on!’  Laundry, cooking, cleaning and other household chores are now daily, and non-stop. 

This month Diane’s occupied with her spring cleaning.  She finds it easy to reach hangers, put clothes away on the top shelf and rearrange the closet right from her chair.  She will be the first to admit, she cant sit still!  Entertaining is also a monthly occurrence at the DeMay household.  Lunch and dinner gatherings are frequent, and fun!  Diane can move from one end of the house to the other, with easy maneuverability.  Moving from carpet to tile is no longer part of her daily list of chores, with her new power chair from Open-Aire there is nothing she can’t do.  “Just push the button and GO!”