How to measure Quality of Life?

How do you measure quality of life? It’s a tough question to answer and my guess is that
no two people would answer the same way. At every stage of life our priorities are different.
Those is their twenties might measure it by the next vacation they are planning or the new car they just purchased. A newly retired couple might be happy that those medical test just came back as clear and they can plan a trip to see a new grandchild.

Take that a step further and compare the priorities of someone who is struggling with mobility and independence, at any age, to someone able bodied.

Heading out to the grocery store or the mall can be more important than any vacation, car or material possession . Imagine how life would be different if you could not get out to socialize with friends have a birthday dinner with family, or had not been out of the house for sixteen years, as the result of illness or disability.

Quality of life is not about a new car, a bigger house or a trip to an exotic destination any longer.
It is about buying groceries that you choose yourself at the market, visiting friends and family whenever you feel like it. That is what happened when Carol finally got her scooter, after sixteen years of being housebound. She went to the mall, had dinner with friends and for her, that opened up a world which she had been denied access to for so long.

What do you consider important when you ask yourself how you measure quality of life?

Tax Credit Helps #Seniors Stay Safe at Home

Ontario, Canada is proposing a new tax credit that would help seniors stay in their homes longer and help create jobs. Premier Dalton McGuinty tax credit would make it more affordable for seniors to install lifts and make other improvements to help them stay in their homes more safely and comfortably.

Carol was house bound for 20 years until…

Carol Iocubucci was one of SILVER CROSS’ first clients.  She had not been able to get out of her house for over 20 years.  SILVER CROSS supplied a scooter and it changed her life forever.  I will never forget her call…   Here is the link to her phone call 17 years ago that set the stage for the SILVER CROSS mission to help those in need find a lower cost solution to products that increase their independence. http://www.silvercross.com/Media/CarolScooterAudio.aiff

Ageing in Place – Vision 20 Years Ago Being Realized.

“I formed SILVER CROSS to give families the opportunity to find lower cost solutions to their home health care equipment needs.  What I saw in 1993 was that vendors simply offering new equipment with very few options. In other words, they were getting business by default.  It just made sense to try and recycle home health care  equipment. For the first few years, it was difficult in determining what was economically viable from a business perspective to offer to clients with recycled equipment. Demand always seemed to out  way supply. But over the years, SILVER CROSS has evolved to the most consistent source of recycled equipment in North America. We do not satisfy all requests..  but simply more than anyone else.  More locations are necessary to cover most of both USA and Canada. It my goal to continue to expand our bricks and mortar locations through franchising so that most people in North America have options to solve their desire to maintain their independent life style as they enter their senior years.” Bob Harvey, Founder – SILVER CROSS

Three Comments on Stair Lift Solutions Last Week

“Deborah, we bought one. I turned you over to my husband, Richard. Love it and don’t know what I did without it before. It also means I can have Thanksgiving dinner here this year and my 96 year old aunt can make it upstairs. We are most impressed with you, your product and your company.” Karen S. Garden Valley, CA

“Peter Lamoureux, your sales representative, was here today and I would like to express my gratitude to you in your choice of personnel. Peter is polite, sympathetic, business oriented and very detailed in his description of your stairlifts. Peter made me feel comfortable with his presence immediately, understood my financial plight and extremely helpful. I purchased two lifts from Peter toda…y that will be installed Thursday or Friday and am looking forward to my husband using the lifts to make his homecoming as a parapalegic comfortable and to give him access to his upstairs bedroom and the ability to access the kitchen as he loves to cook. With Peter’s help I was able to purchase two used lifts and be able to operate within a very tight budget. When the time comes that we no longer will need the lifts they will be returned to Silver Cross. Hopefully another deserving person will be able to use them and appreciate them as much as Howard and I will. Howard’s home-coming in a week or so will be much brighter for him, who was an active person and has suddenly lost the use of his lower body. To be able to sleep in his own bedroom, prepare meals as he was accustomed to and to have access to more than one room in our quad level home is truly a Gift from God. Thank you ever so much,”

Connie & Howard De Y. Crete, IL

“Your reps visited us and we were impressed by theirHandling of the situation . They were thoughtful and explained every aspect of the installation to be sure we understood . Jason and Wade get top marks from us . “Victoria, BC.

Top 5 things to consider in selecting a wheelchair ramp

1. Slope – one foot of ramp for each inch of height drop.  An example would be if you had a 12″ drop in height then the ramp should be 12 feet long.  This is especially important to adhere to this rule if they wheelchair user is self propelling the chair.  If you have a 36″ drop in height then usually a porch lift would be a better alternative than a wheelchair ramp.  In addition, a ramp that is more that 15 ft. long should be followed by a 5 ft landing.  The purpose of this landing is permit the wheelchair user or the person pushing the wheelchair a chance to rest before pushing the wheelchair up the balance of the ramp.

2. Transition to Ramp – Many wheelchair ramp builders do not pay attention to the need for a smooth transition as the  wheelchair meets the beginning of the ramp.  It is absolutely critical to have NO bump whatsoever.  If you ever want to prove the importance of this fact get in a wheelchair and try and drive it over any bump.  It is extremely difficult to do.  The reason many ramp builders do not pay attention to this detail is usually because it is difficult for them to build a wheelchair ramp with absolutely no bump. There are basically two ways to do this. One is to submerge the first 2″x6″ into the ground which could take an extra hour or two of work.  If the base of the ramp is concrete then this task could take more time.  The other way to eliminate any bump is cut the 2″x6″ on a “cant” angle which is an angle cut that will result in no bump in the ramp transition.

3. Ramp  Edge – It is important to border the edge each side of the ramp with a 2″x4″ so as to prevent the front casters of the wheelchair from being falling over the ramp side.  This is simple to do yet many ramp builders do not follow this step in the ramp construction.

4. Threshold Height – If you have an existing porch at the upper level, it is critical to increase the porch deck level to be the same height as the door threshold.  Many home owners eliminate this step and do not include their deck as part of the ramp project.  Using a short aluminum ramp to gain entrance to the house is not good solution and defeats the purpose of the entire ramp goal.

5. Non Slip Surface – A ramp must have a non slip surface so that both the wheelchair user and the caregiver can safely propel the wheelchair under rain or snow weather conditions.

Another solution to a ramp may be an exterior stair lift.

SILVER CROSS Locations Meet In Burlington, Ontario

SILVER CROSS surpasses 195,000 client milestone

Bob Harvey, SILVER CROSS founder, is pleased to announce that since 1993 over 195,000 clients have been assisted with the SILVER CROSS service. The SILVER CROSS mandate since inception 18 years ago has been to assist the physically challenged find a lower cost source for home health care equipment.

Stair lifts, scooters, wheelchairs, rollators, hospital beds, patient lifts, lift chairs, roll in showers, home elevators, ceiling lifts and wheelchair ramps are some of the products offered.

The SILVER CROSS service continues to offer more recycled equipment than any other source in North America. Combining new with used, accepting trade ins of common/current models and offering buy backs on many products are the key features of the SILVER CROSS service.

Television Interview of Tom Holz – SILVER CROSS

Top 15 iPhone Apps for People with Physical Challenges

Although many iPhone developers spend their time working on apps that entertain and amuse, there are many apps that have a job to do. For the disabled, iPhone apps can be a way to connect with others and their world in a new way.

Check out these Top 15 iPhone Apps for the Disabled which have helped people from all walks of life overcome their daily limitations.

1. iComm – Free (iPhone)

This picture and voice communication aid was designed by a father for his disabled daughter. It’s ideal for toddlers who can’t yet speak and children with disabilities. The child can indicate what they need by looking at one of four panels, and then selecting which panel they’d like from the set. Each panel breaks down into more specific categories. For example, the child can indicate that he is hungry, and then that he wants a banana.

Finding disabled parking places has never been easier! Parking Mobility can clue you into disabled parking places around you by using iPhone’s GPS capabilities. You can also leave notes for other travelers or residents about disabled parking spots that you’ve located that aren’t currently on the map. The more you use it and update it, the more it helps others. In addition, the app allows you to report disabled parking place violations in under two minutes so that those who abuse the spaces get what they deserve.

 

3. Sign Smith ASL Essential – $.99 (iPhone)

This is the mid-level version of this helpful ASL app (there are also a Lite and Ultimate versions). Along with the low price, the essential version has over 100 signs for ASL words that you can use to learn sign language. Each word is accompanied by an animated person showing how to complete the sign movement. The Lite version is free and includes 20 popular words, and the Ultimate version offers 1200 words for $4.99.

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