2018 People In Motion show moves to Variety Village

Me with the Permobil tech gurus

The biggest thing at this years's People In Motion show is that it moved from the CNE to Variety Village. I live in South Etobicoke so that's a longer trip but I could use the regular TTC. The problem with the CNE is they had to have shuttle buses at Bathurst station because the streetcars aren't accessible. No such problem getting to Variety Village. I took the subway from Kipling to Victoria Park and there was a bus that goes to Variety Village. That same bus goes to Warden station which is not accessible. Someone at the show asked me about that when I told them I took the subway and bus. I always plan in advance if I haven't been somewhere before. And the PIM website had the directions. It seems the TTC is starting a program where someone will travel with a Wheeltrans user and teach that person how to use the regular transit. I stopped using Wheeltrans years ago because of the wait. Not to mention the ODSP discount that City of Toronto has started. Yup, I now have a Presto card. When I get to the show, the show is in the Variety Village gym. I go to Permobil because I need their tech gurus to go over my powerchair. We have had ongoing problems with the rear casters. They tell me these new casters will fix the problem. So far so good. They did a few other things but that was the main thing. I posted the above pic to thank the Permobil guys. I am also talking to their marketing people about doing some demos. The one thing we talked about is the Assisted Device Program hasn't kept up with advancing technology. And I have two new products that use new technology.






Exgel Seat Cushion

Everyone has a preference for seat cushions. I prefer gel but I keep having to massage the gel so it doesn't congeal. With the Exgel cushion from Japan, that will no longer be necessary. The gel will redistribute automatically to its original form. All kinds of products have been developed in recent years to eliminate pressure sores. This looks like a real solution. As I said, this product is made in Japan. And they have several varieties for the chair of your choice. And the cost depends on your choice. The Canadian distributor is LBAC Solutions in Concord. Their rep told me they are working on ADP approval. Who knows if it will ever be approved? If it was, I would order one of these tomorrow. You can contact LBAC at 1-855-275-9711. Their website is currently under construction.





Keeogo exoskeleton

So I'm sure it won't surprise you that I have seen exoskeleton technology at these shows in the past. Usually the ones I have seen are strictly prototypes and are unlikely to ever go into production. So I was very happy to see that Keeogo is trying to take the exoskeleton into production. It's still cost prohibitive but maybe if we can get programs like ADP to embrace taking this technology mainstream instead of worrying so much about nickels and dimes, maybe we can get folks with spinal cord injuries walking again. I would like to do that. The thing that impressed me about Keeogo is they had a Keeogo user demonstrating the product. She isn't a company owner or product developer trying to put on a dog and pony show. That's the kind of practical application I have been looking for in an exoskeleton. While I was at the show, I registered for Keeogo's testing program. And I will likely write about my experiences. I have already spoken to Keeogo and I am very interested in this. You can do that too. Go to keeogo.com and you can register on their homepage. You can also contact them at 1-866-443-1010. They are located in Quebec but they have local care providers for the testing. This should be very interesting.