In keeping with my desire to use “The Thought Garden” not only as a platform for sharing my personal experiences and stories. I want to also use The Thought Garden to share resources I find interesting and possibly may help people.
I think it was in the early days of the Covid-19 lock down and watching YouTube videos to kill time. I came across a young couple’s channel who go by the name Squirmy and Grubs. What attracted me to watch their channel was the fact that Shane has spinal muscular atrophy or SMA which is a form of muscular dystrophy and Hannah is able-bodied. Shane is an accomplished author and speaker as well has an advocate for people with disabilities. They use their YouTube channel to give viewers a rare look into life where one person is disabled and the other is able-bodied often using humor to show viewers the possibilities and some of the struggles.
One of the struggles people who have muscular dystrophy confront is the slow loss of physical ability and while there is no cure, they have developed drugs and other treatments to slow the progression of muscular dystrophy. It often means people with muscular dystrophy become reliant upon wheelchairs and the use of technology.
In a recent YouTube video Shane and Hannah talked about getting a robotic arm that would allow Shane to program the robotic arm to do things like feeding yourself and so on. After months of red tape and dealing with their insurance company, Shane received a robotic arm that attaches to his wheelchair. While such technology is now extremely expensive as is all medical equipment and devices, I sat in wonder thinking that such equipment is life-changing.
Many able-bodied people take for granted their ability to do the simplest task like filling a glass with water and drinking it. Until that is, they are unable to do so on their own. As Shane and Hannah both remarked this is the first time Shane has been able to feed himself all on his own.
I thought it would be worth writing about because I know many people who struggle with upper body movement and even some with muscular dystrophy who may not know of this amazing piece of technology and while it is expensive it is available. Yet, just knowing that it exists can give hope to people who struggle with their upper body physical movement. I also thought that we need to get the word out on the street about this product and maybe if enough people show an interest the cost will drop and become available to countless others. I will at the bottom give you a link to the Squirmy and Grubs channel so you can see this amazing robotic arm and follow their progress.
Thoughts? E-mail: francisearly@francisearly.com
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