Seat experiences?

[PhoenixFiresky]

I really hope the Segway works out for me - I'm very excited about it! Right now, I've got basically no independence in moving around the neighborhood. And I'm looking forward to getting away from the looks people give me when they see me get out of my wheelchair to transfer to a desk at school. A couple of weeks ago, I walked in on some of my classmates debating whether I actually NEEDED a wheelchair, since I could walk 10 feet down the hall to the ladies' room without it - as if there's no difference between walking ten feet to the ladies' and walking across the parking lot, into the building, and up three floors to my classroom! Or across campus! Hopefully, getting a Segway will make my disability status a little clearer to those who are judgmental and uninformed. Then they'll be free to dislike me for completely different reasons!

It's not that I wouldn't LIKE to go try the seats in person, it's that it just isn't possible. I'll have to buy a used Segway, due to the price, so there would be the necessity of going to one that had used options available, which might not be the closest one. And the closest dealer is over 400 miles away. Since I can't drive (due to a history of seizures), my husband has to drive me everywhere. And he's working full time plus enrolled in school full time, PLUS driving me to my classes in a city that's an hour each way - there's just no possiblity of managing a trip. Our schedules don't even match. When one of us is on holiday, the other isn't. Add in my other health problems, and we're doing well if we manage to pick up takeout for holidays! LOL! I'm hoping to pick up a Segway for sale online that has been used by a tour group - it seems like my safest option.

Ok, so the SegSaddle is more comfortable than it looks, although it can be hard on the back. And the LeanSeat seems to be less popular here in comparison, at least so far. It sounds like the person who posted about it had been using the high seat, rather than the low one. They're intended to be used differently, according to the website, so I wonder how that would affect reviews - I'm sure I can't manage the high one. It would be too much time spent standing. This is definitely giving me something to think about.

[Lily Kerns]

Don't let the attitudes of your class mates get to you. Sure they will wonder about your disability if it isn't immediately obvious. I suspect we have all done that.... but not all disabilities are obvious--heart, lung, muscular or neurological issues can also be non-obvious factors.

You have two things going for you. The Segway itself creates opportunities for educating people--and that is what is needed. Let the Segway smile be your greatest ally--Let your enjoyment show. Your enjoyment and smiles will create a favorable impression without saying a word. My favorite comments have been two different strangers at a quilt show who said almost exactly the same thing--"You use that thing like it is an extension of your body!" That is exactly how it works and it is as close as most of us will ever come to having a machine that reads our mind...

I assume you have a state issued disability tag for use in a car... Let it peek out of your bag just far enough to be recognizable to reassure doubters without you having to say a word.

I have the Seg Saddle although I have not used it a lot yet. It does take a little different technique to get on and off--but if you start with it, it should never be a problem. I decided to go with this because it can easily be converted to a full wheelchair type seat if that becomes necessary.

Enjoy your Seg! It will give you back the freedom that you have already lost. And you will have a whee of a time!

[Bob.Kerns]

I hear you about people questioning your disability.

I don't understand why anybody would think we'd fake a need for a wheelchair, or a Segway. Yes, I can walk a short distance. It hurts. The more I walk, the more it hurts, and the less well I can walk. I need to save my walking for when I really need it.

But some people look at me, see that I'm tall, and assume, on the basis of no evidence whatsoever, that I'm perfectly healthy. Bleh.

But they're a minority. I've had perfect strangers take on such people on my behalf, on their own initiative.

In a wheelchair, you often feel like you're invisible. People step on you, trip over you, blame you for their own blindness.

That doesn't happen on a Segway. You can't blend in. That can sometimes be advantage, sometimes disadvantage, but at least you can learn to live with it.

[rwoynaro]

Originally Posted by Lily Kerns

Don't let the attitudes of your class mates get to you. Sure they will wonder about your disability if it isn't immediately obvious. I suspect we have all done that.... but not all disabilities are obvious--heart, lung, muscular or neurological issues can also be non-obvious factors.

You have two things going for you. The Segway itself creates opportunities for educating people--and that is what is needed. Let the Segway smile be your greatest ally--Let your enjoyment show. Your enjoyment and smiles will create a favorable impression without saying a word. My favorite comments have been two different strangers at a quilt show who said almost exactly the same thing--"You use that thing like it is an extension of your body!" That is exactly how it works and it is as close as most of us will ever come to having a machine that reads our mind...

I assume you have a state issued disability tag for use in a car... Let it peek out of your bag just far enough to be recognizable to reassure doubters without you having to say a word.

I have the Seg Saddle although I have not used it a lot yet. It does take a little different technique to get on and off--but if you start with it, it should never be a problem. I decided to go with this because it can easily be converted to a full wheelchair type seat if that becomes necessary.

Enjoy your Seg! It will give you back the freedom that you have already lost. And you will have a whee of a time!

I agree with Lily's observations... Let your smile be your ally. The segway opens a world up where you will talk to people and they almost exclusively are curious, excited, and supportive. Be prepared though, you cannot segway anonomously. People will want to talk to you everywhere you go. It takes a little getting used to at first, but I find it a nice thing.

[PhoenixFiresky]

I think it's just such a shock for people who don't know about disabilities. They see someone in an electric wheelchair, and then that person just gets up and walks - it makes sense that they'd be curious, and I don't mind that. But I am concerned that other grad students are bad-mouthing me, since that is an indication that I'm likely to get the same reaction from future coworkers. Gossip (and the resentment that goes with it) like that among my coworkers could be a real career problem when I graduate next year.

I think the Segway will be a big help with that. With a seat added, it's sort of a halfway point between able bodied and disabled. I mean, the average person wouldn't see someone on a Segway and assume they can't stand up at all, so in a way, it actually is a more accurate reflection of where I am physically.

[rwoynaro]

Originally Posted by PhoenixFiresky

I think it's just such a shock for people who don't know about disabilities. They see someone in an electric wheelchair, and then that person just gets up and walks - it makes sense that they'd be curious, and I don't mind that. But I am concerned that other grad students are bad-mouthing me, since that is an indication that I'm likely to get the same reaction from future coworkers. Gossip (and the resentment that goes with it) like that among my coworkers could be a real career problem when I graduate next year.

I think the Segway will be a big help with that. With a seat added, it's sort of a halfway point between able bodied and disabled. I mean, the average person wouldn't see someone on a Segway and assume they can't stand up at all, so in a way, it actually is a more accurate reflection of where I am physically.

I really hope you have good luck with your co-workers. Mine have been overwhelmingly supportive. It actually used to get in the way at first as they would go so far out of their way to be extra nice and to try and do things for me. Eventually they learned that I am for the most part just like anybody else and can manage quite nicely, just that I do some things differently than they do and now they all pretty much just ignore the segway, which is how I wanted it.

I do consider myself very fortunate in all respects of my life and my great co-workers are just one of the things that I appreciate and that has made my life fabulous. From my experience, I believe that if its not a problem for you, its generally not a problem for others. There is some awkwardness in how some people interact as they basically dont know what to do. I generally take the lead and ask for help if I need it, or tell them right out that I dont need any help and thank them and eventually they all learned that if I dont ask for anything specific I am fine and just treat me like everyone else. T hat has worked out really well for me.

[vantramp]

Originally Posted by rwoynaro

I agree with Lily's observations... Let your smile be your ally. The segway opens a world up where you will talk to people and they almost exclusively are curious, excited, and supportive. Be prepared though, you cannot segway anonomously. People will want to talk to you everywhere you go. It takes a little getting used to at first, but I find it a nice thing.

That has been my experience so far as well. A lot of pleasant conversations with interested people.

The folks that bother contemplating whether or not a person has a disability and needs some form of aid when it isn't their business, are not worth worrying about. At least to me, those are people I really don't care to know. In that light, I consider the Segway a handy filter to help me identify the busy bodies

-Mike

[Bob.Kerns]

Originally Posted by vantramp

That has been my experience so far as well. A lot of pleasant conversations with interested people.

The folks that bother contemplating whether or not a person has a disability and needs some form of aid when it isn't their business, are not worth worrying about. At least to me, those are people I really don't care to know. In that light, I consider the Segway a handy filter to help me identify the busy bodies

-Mike

That's the spirit!

I find my single biggest issue with people is that people really think they should help me with doors. It becomes a big issue, because it's so ingrained in them; it's hard to deter them from it.

The stronger their desire to be helpful -- the more they get in the way.

[Lily Kerns]

Originally Posted by Bob.Kerns

That's the spirit!

I find my single biggest issue with people is that people really think they should help me with doors. It becomes a big issue, because it's so ingrained in them; it's hard to deter them from it.

The stronger their desire to be helpful -- the more they get in the way.

I usually tell them thank you, then grin and tell them as I glide through that that is one of the first things you have to learn to do...

[rickb]

Originally Posted by Lily Kerns

I usually tell them thank you, then grin and tell them as I glide through that that is one of the first things you have to learn to do...

Lily, I would open and hold the door for you if you were on or off the Segway..........old school courtesy. There are still many courteous people (a surprising number of kids) out there who will hold the door even if I'm entering a building using my cane.........I simply say thank you go on thru and get the next door for them, if there is one, and say now we are even on doors for the day. I still hold the door for women until I'm to old and beat up to do so.

If I think back people offered to hold the door for me when I got to a certain age........no cane........just apparently looking 'old'...........about the same time they start calling you sir or ma'am.