some thoughts on independance day

Theres a big bang in honor of the fourth. Today has got me thinking hard about independance and what it all means. I think for indvidauals with disablities independance and adaptation go hand in hand. This train of thought led me to something startling most Americans know at least a few of the major figures in the fight for independance against Britian. Most African American indviduals that I know know who Harriet Tubman is and so forth. By contrast I have no idea who invented the wheelchair, or the loftstran crutch or the AFO or how bout hand controls for cars? I havent got a clue this is a complete shame the indviduals who invented these types of aides along with the leaders of the deinstutionalization movement are the very people who handed me my freedom. Ive been doing research about the inventors of the wheelchair and will post what i find here as a poor excuse for a tribute

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According to About.com the first dedicated wheelchair was made for Phillip the II of Spain it was called and invalids chair (cringe at some point i will need to post about langage as it relates to disabled society) According to an excerpt from the book entitled Life on Wheels by Gary Karp , " In 1869 wheelchair patent gave rise to a model with rear push wheels and small front casters; it was followed by a variety of more fanciful models, such as tricycle chairs, high-speed hand-cranked models, and wheeled attachments for rocking chairs."

the manual wheelchair of today with a folding tubular metal frame was created in 1933 according to "Everst and Jennings inside Goliath's fall from Grace" by mark smith which can be found in full form at http://www.wheelchairjunkie.com/ej.html

The year was 1933, and two friends, Herbert Everest, a paralyzed mining engineer, and Harry Jennings, a mechanical engineer, prepared to launch the latest innovation in "invalid carriages" from their West Los Angeles garage: A lighter, better-performing version of a tubular steel, folding manual wheelchair previously patented by another inventor in 1909. E&J's version featured an innovative X-frame, allowing the chair to easily fold for transport, yet remain relatively rigid in use - and a patent was granted in 1937 for their improvements.By 1943, E&J's X-frame design was catching on as an industry leader, even with President Roosevelt, whom commissioned E&J to build him a chair for use on his airplane. What's more, in 1953, the Red Cross ordered 5,000 wheelchairs from E&J for returning World War II servicemen, and in 1956, the company released the first mass-market powerchair.

there you have it. dont just enjoy your independence be knowledgeable about it.