Wheelchairs Now

In recent months, there have been a number of high-profile cases of airlines damaging wheelchairs. In one case, a wheelchair was reportedly broken in half after being mishandled by an airline. In another case, a wheelchair was damaged so badly that it was unusable.

These incidents are a reminder of the challenges that people with disabilities face when traveling. Wheelchairs are often seen as baggage, and they are often treated with little care. As a result, they are frequently damaged or lost.

This is a serious problem, as wheelchairs are essential for people with disabilities to live independently. When a wheelchair is damaged or lost, it can be a major inconvenience and even a safety hazard.

Airlines need to do more to protect wheelchairs. They should provide more training to their employees on how to handle wheelchairs properly. They should also invest in better equipment to protect wheelchairs from damage.

In addition, airlines should be more responsive to complaints about wheelchair damage. They should work with customers to replace or repair damaged wheelchairs as soon as possible.

By taking these steps, airlines can help to ensure that people with disabilities have a safe and enjoyable travel experience.

Here are some tips for protecting your wheelchair when flying:

• Use a sturdy travel bag. A sturdy travel bag will help to protect your wheelchair from damage.
• Pack your wheelchair with plenty of padding. Use bubble wrap or packing peanuts to protect your wheelchair from bumps and bruises.
• Label your wheelchair. Make sure that your wheelchair is labeled with your name and contact information. This will help to ensure that it is returned to you if it is lost or damaged.
• Check in your wheelchair early. This will give the airline staff more time to handle your wheelchair and less likely to damage it.
• Ask for assistance. If you need help loading or unloading your wheelchair, ask an airline employee for assistance.
• Follow up. If your wheelchair is damaged, be sure to follow up with the airline to get it repaired or replaced.

An amazing story of love, suffering, and overcoming life changing obstacles. The story of Kathering & Jay Wolf. 

Is it possible to embrace suffering as a privilege, rather than a punishment? Beloved authors Katherine and Jay Wolf offer readers the bold invitation to trust a known God with an unknown future, as well as practical insights into surviving anything by redefining how we think about everything.

After miraculously surviving a near-fatal brainstem stroke at age 26, as told in their memoir, Hope Heals, life for Katherine and Jay Wolf changed forever - and so did the way they viewed God, the world, and themselves in it. There was no going back to normal after such a tragedy. Yet Katherine and Jay learned that suffering is not the end, but rather the beginning of a new story. 

In Suffer Strong, they invite us into this new story as they share universal lessons and helpful practices that will help us to:

• Recognize we are being equipped for an uncommon assignment, not cursed by our story.
• Transform our unmet expectations into brave anticipations.
• Disrupt the myth that joy can only be found in a pain-free life.
• Rewrite the narrative of hard circumstances by turning our definitions of suffering into declarations of strength.
• And, ultimately, thrive even in the lives we never imagined living.

An insirational story for anyone but especially for those of us that recently suffered a traumatic event in our life. Please watch Katherine and Jay's story below.  

Katherine is seen sitting on her EZ Lite Cruiser on the cover of her new book. EZ Lite Cruiser is proud that Katherine and Jay Wolf chose the SX12 Model to be their portable foldable electric power wheelchair of choice. 

Stearn Hodge lost his right leg and left arm in a workplace accident in 1984. Due to the risk of infection, he can not wear or use his prosthetic legs for long periods of time. So he uses a scooter powered by lithium batteries. 

When Stearn tried to get on his flight from Calgary Airport, Canada, to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for a holiday to celebrate his 43th wedding anniversary with wife Jan, he was told the batteries were not allowed on board the plane by a security agent at the Calgary International Airport and a representative from United Airlines.

However, that is WRONG.  Stearn Hodge's battery was allowed as long as he brought it onto the plane as a carry on. 

The agent with the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) and a United Airlines official cited fire safety concerns over the potentially volatile batteries - even though the Hodges had secured the required written permission from the airline beforehand. 

While lithium-ion batteries are a potential fire hazard, global standards issued by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) allow people with disabilities to travel with compact lithium batteries for medical devices in carry-on luggage.

Hodge said that neither CATSA or United Airlines officials would listen to or read his written approval from the airline and his IATA documents in support.

Unable to move around without his scooter when they got to their hotel, Hodge was forced to crawl on the floor in front of his wife to use the bathroom.

He spent much of the holiday in bed - something he described as "the most humiliating experience I can think of."  

Now the former contractor wants his case heard by the Canadian Human Rights Commission, and told CBA: "It unmasks how real my disability is… I haven't been the same since."  

To add further insult, after being told he couldn't bring his batteries on board, a CATSA agent suggested he get a wheelchair instead. 

"How's a one-armed guy going to run a wheelchair? How am I going to go down a ramp and brake with one hand? But that shouldn't even have to come up," he said.

Hodge's wife Jan had recently undergone cancer treatment, which affected her spine, meaning she couldn't push a wheelchair for her husband either.

In an email sent to Hodge by a United Airlines complaint resolution official, they said: "it appears we were in violation of federal disability requirements," and offered an $800 travel certificate and apologized for the "inconvenience."  

"Inconvenience is when it rains on your holiday," said Hodge. "This was a… life-changing moment for me and my wife."

On May 9, Hodge's lawyer, John Burns, will ask a Federal Court judge to compel the commission to hear the case.

"It's a failure of the Canadian Human Rights Commission to grant access to the remedy that the statute provides," said Burns.

The Canadian Human Rights Act allows for up to $20,000 in damages for each count of pain and suffering, with a further maximum of $20,000 if the discrimination is 'willful or reckless.'

Please do your due diligence in making sure your product and battery are allowed. Something Mr. Hodges did. We urge anyone flying with a mobility device with a litium battery that are allowed on a commercial airplane to not let airport security or airline representatives to refuse your device or battery. Know your rights!

A diabled teen in a battery powered wheelchair was taken off a Ryanair flight because "there was a danger of explosion", it is claimed.

Noel Diaz, 19, from Aachen in Germany, was traveling to Alicante in Spain to spend time with relatives for Christmas and New Year's.

Noel was already seated on a Ryanair flight in Cologne-Bonn Airport with his dad Jose, but was removed from the flight because of "safety reasons".

Jose said he is "well aware of the rules when it comes to taking his wheelchair on a plane.  Prior to departure, Noel and his dad booked the tickets and cleared the paperwork with the airline where they provided them with the exact type of electric battery that powers the wheelchair.

Jose said: "My severely disabled boy and I just had our seat belts fastened when the flight crew asked us to leave the aircraft.

"They said Noel's wheelchair 'could not be transported because of safety reasons'. They said there was a danger of explosion."

Despite their protests Noel and Jose said they had to leave the flight.

Jose said: "The Ryanair personnel were tough as nails, heaving my defenseless boy out of the plane seat, pushing him onto the tarmac."

The pair had to spend Christmas and New Year's Eve in Aachen, rather than in Alicante.

Noel's mum, Natalia, said her son does not want to board a plane again.

She said: "It will take some time until he has processed this trauma. As usual we had to specify when booking that we travel with electric wheelchair, what kind of wheelchair it is, the weight, size, which battery, etc. I have not experienced anything like this before."

Ryanair say wheelchair batteries must be dry/gel cell or lithium-ion batteries.

It must have its battery disconnected during the flight.

A spokesman for the budget airline said: "All battery operated wheelchairs must be deactivated for the flight duration, in line with safety regulation, and the battery power must be isolated to prevent inadvertent activation.

This incident comes after RyanAir kicked Kathleen Dunne, 81, and her son Gary, 53 from Liverpool flight because his wheelchair would not "fold up".

Check the FAA's Website for Current Rules & Regulations about bringing Hazardous Materials on board an aircraft.

All EZ Lite Cruisers with the 10 Ah Battery are airline FAA & TSA approved in the United States.