Yesterday was a good day. After school I saw Frieda from Bloorview. I did a big workout with Frieda. I was pushing my wheelchair. When I’m going up a hill I lean forward and I use quick hands. When I’m going down a hill I lean back and I squeeze the chicken and I slow myself down. When I take a break in my wheelchair I go sideways and I hold on to my wheels. My workout was great. I got tired from all that workout.
(Some explanations: Frieda is an occupational therapist at Holland Bloorview who Jon has been doing wheelchair training sessions with. (Oddly enough, even after years of going to school in a wheelchair Jon’s never been formally trained how to deal with slopes.) “Quick hands” is pushing very quickly, with short, sharp pushes, on the wheel rims. “Squeezing the chicken” is a demonstration technique Frieda used with Jon of squeezing a rubber toy chicken with only a little pressure. In a wheelchair that would translate into putting enough hand pressure on the rims to slow the chair down but not stop it completely. Tricky stuff.—L)
2 comments
David "Impressed As All Hell" Barker says:
December 5, 2010 at 10:54 pm (UTC 0)
Go, Jon!
Patti says:
December 6, 2010 at 12:02 pm (UTC 0)
Wow, what a workout Jon! Can’t wait for you to show me what you have learned.