Bradley likes to do things independently. He believes that a person should “do everything and as much as you can do [and] try to be as independent as you can,” before trying assistive devices or asking for help. His outlook on life after his injury has gotten him far: it has been nearly twenty years since his injury, and he has raised two children from a previous marriage on his own and is currently raising six-month-old twins with his wife. He helps maintain his house and yard and he has renovated his basement. Bradley, who is a history buff, has travelled with his wife to many historical sites in North America, usually by driving and camping along the way. He also enjoys boating, parasailing, fishing and wheelchair basketball. He has done all of this with very few assistive devices: a manual wheelchair, hand controls that he made himself for his cars, and some home modifications.
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Bradley decided to put himself through the rehab process as fast as possible. In fact, he stayed at the rehab centre only five weeks. As a single parent at the time, with his young children a 12-hour drive away, he felt that his priority was to “get home for the kids, get home and get on with life.” He believes that he “did everything” and got what he required from the rehab experience. He was cleared to leave by his doctors, but only after he showed that he had found suitable accommodation.
A gentleman from a disability advocacy group based in his home city visited him while he recovered in the acute care hospital, learned of his plans, and helped him find a barrier-free apartment for himself and his children. “We got the place right away, so we got very lucky back then.” He adds, “I might have been up [the waiting list] quickly due to the fact I had two children and required housing.”
Even though he was focused on returning home, Bradley knew that he had to get as much out of his rehab experience as possible. One of his two chief goals while in rehab was to get a wheelchair that suited his needs and to make sure it fit him properly. “Basically that’s about what is was, getting the chair, getting it fitted and what type of chair I required…. I did learn that at [the rehab centre].”
The second goal was to re-learn how to drive and get his driver’s license re-instated. “I learned how to drive using hand controls, which was a one- or two-hour thing. I just went [to the testing centre]. They said, ‘Well, get in the car. Can you operate it?’ I drove around and they said. ‘You’re certified,’ and bang I was out.”
Bradley’s choice of wheelchair type was linked to his choice of vehicle. “All of my vehicles have always been two-door cars, so I needed a folding chair.” He adds, “I got a folding chair, which was easy to manoeuvre into the back seat of a two-door car.”
Bradley started off using manufactured hand controls that mounted permanently to the vehicle, but he soon found that there were limitations to that type of device. “What I found out with those is, because I ended up with three vehicles, I’d have to buy [hand controls] for each one.” He also noticed that his wife banged her knees on the device whenever she drove the car. He borrowed a set of portable hand controls from his friend at the disability advocacy group and found they suited his needs quite well. “I really liked how they worked, because it took about three minutes to screw them onto the pedals and that was it…. So I could move them around from vehicle to vehicle and didn’t have to have those ugly gaudy things in the car. And anybody could use my car then, because [the hand controls] didn’t make them nervous.”
Although he liked the idea of portable hand controls, he didn’t like the price. “So I went out and bought $29 worth of materials and built my own.” His father had an automobile garage where the two of them used to work on cars, so he had access to the tools he needed and had experience working with them as well. He built the controls 15 years ago and still uses the same set today.
Bradley finds cruise control to be an indispensable option on his vehicles. “That’s all I run on … so if I’m taking a trip, you get up to speed, hit the cruise, and you never have to touch it again.” He recalls his experiences with his first car that did not have cruise control: “I love to travel and something I found is that after about five hours of driving, I wound up pretty sore.”
Bradley subscribes to an assistance service that is provided by his vehicle manufacturer. While driving he can push a button on the dashboard that connects him to a person in a call centre who receives information on his position and the condition of his vehicle. The service representative can, among many things, give directions, book hotel rooms and make restaurant reservations, as well as call for roadside assistance if any is needed. He says, “It gives me a sense of security. If I’m driving down the road in the middle of winter by myself and my vehicle goes down, I know there’s somebody there.”
Bradley also purchased a trike that was made from two motorcycles. It has an automatic transmission as well as the throttle and front brake controls in their typical positions on the handlebars, so he only had to install a hand control to operate the rear brake. Usually he leaves his wheelchair at home, but if he goes to a place where he would need his chair, his wife brings it with her in their car. He would like to put a carrier on the trike one day so he can take his chair with him.
Aside from choosing a chair that would fit into his car, Bradley wanted one that was lightweight to ease the chore of pulling the chair into the car. His first four chairs were the same kind, and he switched brands only because he found that his tried and tested chair was getting hard to find. Most people he knew were switching brands as well. As a bonus, he noticed he sat up straighter in the new type of chair, and the footrests didn’t protrude as much, making it more manoeuvrable.
Bradley also noticed that, after awhile, his new type of chair was more durable than the old type. “I was going through frames like crazy … going down stairs … you get to the bottom and a bar is hanging down on the thing, so you tie it up and hopefully you get home.” He admits he has mellowed over the years, but has not broken a frame since switching to his new chair. The old chair frames were guaranteed, but he says it was inconvenient sending the chair away to be repaired.
As much as Bradley likes his wheelchair, he is not happy about the process of acquiring a wheelchair: “I mean being in a chair after nineteen years, this [government program for funding wheelchairs] … why do I need somebody to tell me what I require?” He goes on to say, “Why do you need that bureaucracy in the middle? I could see for the newly injured, … I’ve been in a chair nineteen years. I think I know what I need. I don’t need somebody to tell me what I require or measure me or sit me in a chair … I mean come on … I know the width of my chair—I know what I need.”
Bradley has a ramp that leads from his driveway to the front door of his house. The first one he installed was made of wood. Then he replaced it with one made of concrete. He finds it “a heck of a lot better than wood,” because concrete is virtually maintenance-free. He also feels that the concrete ramp adds to the look of the house, whereas the wood one did not look as nice. He says, “I also find that a ramp’s very useful, even for the able-bodied. I mean people with strollers or guests coming over, they just go up the ramp rather than the stairs and they don’t have to take the kids out and try to find a way to get in.”
Bradley adds that if he were to build another house he would embed wires in the concrete that would heat the ramp to keep it free from snow and ice. Currently, Bradley or his wife shovels the ramp by hand.
Bradley is also able to operate his snow blower and cut the grass in summer with a push mower. He pushes his mower as far as he can, then wheels up to it and repeats. He says, “Somebody said, ‘Why don’t you get a riding mower?’ Well, because this gives me exercise. It strengthens my arms, and it’d really be a big waste of money.”
Bradley also has a stair lift so that he can get to and from his basement with ease. Its platform allows him to wheel on instead of transferring to a seat; the platform stays at the bottom of the stairs, flush with the floor when not in use. The lift is currently not working because he has to complete the electrical work—his former trade. He installed it he says, “because it’s something I can control … it would make my life easier.” For now though, Bradley relies on the help of his wife or son to get up and down the stairs. Bradley and his wife initially considered an elevator, but the potential loss of space for the shaft and the extra expense convinced them to get the lift.
Bradley’s advice to those looking to buy or renovate a house is to make sure that the exterior is as maintenance-free as possible. “Get brick, stucco, vinyl siding…. Get your eaves, soffit and fascia clad [with vinyl or aluminum] rather than painted, because being disabled, you’re not going to be able to get up there and do the work yourself anymore…. It’s going to save you money in the long run.”
Bradley had two young children when he was injured. Now, nearly 20 years later, he and his wife have six-month-old twins. Bradley finds that he doesn’t need specialized equipment to help with the day-to-day activities of raising two young children. When taking them for a walk he holds onto the stroller with one hand and pushes his chair with the other—a method he perfected from pushing a grocery cart.
Instead of using their changing table, which is awkward for him, Bradley simply puts the children on his lap to change their diapers and dress them. Although the twins are too young for him to bathe them safely yet, he recalls how he bathed his other kids when they were young: “I just pulled up to the side of the tub and bathed them there. I can reach over far enough and balance myself. Usually it was a one-handed job…. They were strong enough that they could sit there by themselves.”
On parenting in general, Bradley says, “I mean, I get frustrated like everybody else. My way of looking at things is, before my disability I used to get frustrated in certain areas, so with the disability … you still get frustrated once in awhile.” He continues, “I suppose things would be different if [I] didn’t have a partner. I think all of us that … are married usually have that extra set of hands if they really need them.”
Bradley firmly believes that when it comes to assistive technology, the less specialized equipment he needs, the better off he is. “Basically the way I look at it, all I really lost is my legs. And to me, 99 per cent of the time I’m just shorter. So you can’t reach and you can’t climb the stairs. I built an apartment downstairs myself without any assistive devices, unless you call electric tools like nail guns assistive devices. Which I guess they are. Everybody’s got assistive devices.”
However, Bradley doesn’t think that the feelings he has towards assistive technology should be shared by everyone with a disability: “The way I look at it, it depends on the disability—how disabled you have become or how far your disability limits you…. I look at a lot of individuals out there who have a very high disability compared to mine…. For them, assistive devices probably work very well because they can’t do the things that I can do. So I can’t say that assistive devices are not the way to go [just] because for me they’re not.” He adds, “I believe to maintain your independence is the most important thing…. So if the device helps you, then get it.”
Bradley has a rule of thumb to determine whether he needs help with a task: “My thing is to do everything, and as much as you can do. Don’t try to become dependent on other people. Try to be as independent as you can. And, depending on your disability, know your limitations. Know where you can do and then do it. And if you know where you can’t do it, and there’s just no way, then get somebody in. But always try, is my bottom line. Just to try it. I mean you feel better about yourself and you won’t feel useless sometimes.”
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