We all see these wonderful pictures of what wheelchairs would look like in the future, going up stairs, traversing outdoor environments, and even futuristic wheelchairs that can hover around. But seeing all this stuff now twenty years after my injury really saddens me. What has happened to the quest for a cure? I remember reading just after my injury how close they were to reconnecting neural pathways and re-establishing some form of normality to our broken and paralysed lives, but that be not so.

I think after you’ve spent more than a century in a wheelchair you start to realise that the possibilities of a cure are so far in the future that we have to rely on modern technology to make our lives easier. And that maybe the futuristic electric wheelchairs that can be controlled by our minds alone is more of a reality then a cure for spinal cord injuries. Please, this does not mean that we completely lose all hope in medical science, but we need to spread our hope into different baskets in order to enjoy and live the most productive lives possible.

Some of these futuristic motorised wheelchairs look so impractical that, as a wheelchair user, you absolutely know that those concepts will not work. But in the same breath, it also gives you a sense of excitement to know that there are people out there that are applying their minds and skills to improving our quality of life with technology. Our company continually strives to improve our current product line, not just with innovative designs, but also practicality to improve everyday life. Our new standing wheelchair range allows you to experience the feeling of standing upright again — it’s those little things!

We have just finished the design of a fully independent suspension system on all our all-terrain wheelchairs so that you can now explore outdoor environments with more comfort. But we are not stopping there — the next concept we would like to incorporate in our wheelchairs is voice-activated environmental control units. So, as you move through your house, you will be able to control your environment and electronic components independently, purely with a simple voice command.

Well, maybe us running around and dancing is still a few centuries away but until then, we will be sitting around in the coolest wheelchairs in the world!