Download your copy of the 2012 Spring Newsnotes here]]>Download your copy of the 2012 Spring Newsnotes here]]>Your donation of $800 will cover the cost of one RoughRider® for a veteran and a second RoughRider for someone in the developing world who otherwise could not afford one. Whirlwind will work with VA hospitals to identify well-matched recipients. We expect that the RoughRider will be well received, leading to VA purchases. And, by providing greater access to off-pavement adventures where most conventional wheelchairs cannot go, the RoughRider will open up more opportunities for veterans.
Bob Incerti, Whirlwind's SF Operations ManagerAs Bob Incerti, a Vietnam vet and Whirlwind’s San Francisco Operations Manager, puts it, “Returning to civilian life from the military is challenging. Returning with fewer abilities than you went in with makes the challenge harder. Having the right equipment can help veterans meet that challenge.”
“There are many wheelchair options—light, agile chairs for smooth surfaces, special chairs for various sports—that allow amazing participation. I often explain the RoughRider by saying, if I were to walk down a dirt road to a cabin in the woods with a road bike in one hand and a mountain bike in the other, the person in the cabin wouldn’t have to know anything about bikes to know that the mountain bike was more suited to their area.”
“I think of the RoughRider as the mountain bike of wheelchairs, allowing folks to get further down the road, where the fishing gets good and the woods are quiet.”
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American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) are working with Whirlwind on building a hand-powered front-wheel-drive tricycle as a club project. The club has been responsible for welding, fabricating, and contributing to the iterative design process through testing. “The team of undergraduate students is learning valuable skills to help their eventual careers in engineering,” says club president Nic Celeste, “while seeing first-hand how engineering and design can help make the world a better place for those with limited mobility.” The ASME Trike Project is overseen by Whirlwind product designer Aaron Wieler. It is one of several engineering and entrepreneurship projects that we are currently working on with students at San Francisco State, where our headquarters and shop are located.
Matt McCambridge (in picture on the left), Whirlwind’s Product Development Manager, works with mechanical engineering students Craig Brinton and Nic Celeste on an innovative trike prototype.
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have met some great people through our partnership with United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) Wheels for Humanity in Jogja, Indonesia and our manufacturing partnership with PT Dharma in Jakarta. Recently, Indriyanto and Maria (at right) joined the Whirlwind team to help with engineering and sales. Indriyanto’s background in large-scale manufacturing adds a unique body of knowledge to Whirlwind's technical team, whose experience is in small- to medium-scale shops. His expertise has already been a great help in delivering the quality we demand for our wheelchair users. Maria is helping Whirlwind find buyers in new markets and keeping orders on track.
Indriyanto and Maria (in picture of the right) are setting up a UCP Kids chair during a wheelchair provision training by UCP.
]]>Whirlwind is now taking advance orders for the RoughRider on our Buy One Give One (BOGO) program. Hundreds of wheelchair riders who have contacted us are excited about where they’ll go in their own RoughRiders.
The RoughRider was designed to handle rough outdoor conditions like the broken up sidewalks and dirt paths commonly found in the developing world. Its long wheelbase makes it ultra-stable on uneven ground, making the RoughRider great for touring National Parks or for weekend excursions. Watch videos of people out having fun in their RoughRiders in the San Francisco Bay Area.
"I looked up through the treetops and realized that I was by myself for the very first time, exploring a forest without fear that I would become trapped or that I would fall over on the uneven ground!"
–Bruce Curtis, Manual Wheelchair User for 45+ years
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Lack of mobility is only the first of many barriers that people with disabilities have to overcome in order to be able to fully participate in society. Perhaps no better example of this was on display in La Paz, Bolivia on February 23 when a large group of mobility impaired demonstrators confronted police at the end of a 3-month cross-country march.
The march was in support of their demand that the government comply with a 2006 law that provides 6 million dollars for Bolivians with disabilities annually. They also demanded that people with mobility impairments receive the same monthly stipend that blind people receive. Following the clash, the Bolivian government agreed to the demonstrators’ demands. Whirlwind is pleased to see that our RoughRider wheelchair provided the mobility that demonstrators needed to be able to fight for their rights. Watch a video of the confrontation with police.
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summer in Chinandega, Nicaragua working on, among other things, the “thorny” issue of flat-free tires. Above is a photo of Ralf at work. When traveling, Ralf rides a standard RoughRider off the assembly line and interacts with a diverse group of people with disabilities who trust him well enough to give brutally honest product feedback they might hesitate to share with a foreign donor. By spending at least a quarter of each year in the developing world, Ralf helps ensure that Whirlwind’s designs always meet the real needs of developing world riders.]]>Most people think that providing a wheelchair is a simple matter of buying one and giving it away. But in order to avoid harm to the user and give the user the greatest degree of independence and mobility, wheelchair provision needs to include a whole series of steps starting with an initial screening and assessment and ending with a proper fitting and adjustment. In many cases, follow up soon after provision is also necessary.
Proper provision is important to Whirlwind because it significantly increases the benefit to wheelchair riders, our reason for existence. We do our best to see to it that our chairs are provided in accordance with the World Health Organization’s Guidelines On The Provision Of Manual Wheelchairs In Less-Resourced Settings.
Although thousands of wheelchair riders the world over love our RoughRider® model, there are many people for whom it is not the best option. In fact, no wheelchair is good for every rider. A variety of wheelchair products is important. Every recipient of a wheelchair first needs to be assessed to determine what type and model of wheelchair is appropriate considering their disability, lifestyle, and environment.
A properly fit wheelchair is as important, usually more important, than a properly fit pair of shoes. For example, shoes that are too big are hard to walk in; shoes that are too small or too narrow can hurt and cause blisters. If you want a pair of sneakers but get lumberjack boots instead, it could be hard to play sports. A wheelchair that is too wide can make it impossible for the user to get through narrow doorways, be difficult to push, and in short order can cause shoulder injuries from the user having to push in an awkward position. A chair that is too narrow can tip over sideways on a side slope. A chair with too tall a back can impede the rider’s ability to push the hand rims. A chair with too short a back can provide insufficient support, be uncomfortable, and lead to long term scoliosis (curvature of the spine). And a wheelchair without a proper cushion can cause a pressure sore in a paralyzed rider’s buttocks that can easily lead to life threatening infection.
The outcome of a wheelchair project is most likely to be successful if people experienced in wheelchair service are involved. There is no substitute for partnering with skilled therapists and seating specialists, and highly experienced users. At the same time, Whirlwind recognizes that in some cases wheelchairs are purchased for riders by organizations that do not have access to clinicians or seating specialists or highly experienced users in the remote locations where the RoughRiders will be distributed. In that case, we offer educational resources designed to inform wheelchair providers with an introduction to the basic concepts. With basic training, providers can serve many riders. Wheelchair users who have limited sensation due to spinal cord injuries and other more complex disabilities require special services and training on pressure management. All RoughRider® users should have no severe contractures, good head control and the ability to maintain a sitting position. For more complex seating situations, we recommend that you contact Whirlwind for a referral to a local organization with expertise in wheelchair fitting for complex seating needs. It is our goal that by working with skilled providers, each wheelchair rider can receive a wheelchair that is appropriate for his or her needs as well as the education needed to use the wheelchair safely and optimally.
For more information on Whirlwind's products please visit our Large Volume Orders page or Request a Price Quote.
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