Jason LefkowitzIf you have someone in your life with mobility limitations, this company in Utah makes great products to help them out.
Sometimes even a small assist can make a big difference.
For instance, Stander makes a product called the Handybar. It's listed at US$40, but you can find it at retail for under $30.
This is a simple metal handle that clips into the latch that holds your car door closed. Pop the Handybar into the latch, and now you have something stable you can lean on when getting in and out of the car.
Getting in and out of the car is harder than it should be for a lot of people! And the Handybar makes it MUCH easier.
Their Couch Cane product does something similar for chairs and sofas. You slide the feet of the device underneath the piece of furniture. The weight of the furniture holds it down firmly. The person sitting in it uses the handle to lever themselves up. Now they don’t have to give up their favorite chair.
This is all stuff you can install yourself without needing special tools or expertise, which is nice.
Karl Auerbach@jalefkowit Looks like a good idea - and if they added a bit of an air-damped piston on the handle it could help gently lower (or raise) a person (although getting the settings right could be hard.)
I wish I had know about this before I equipped my mother's chair with a mini trebuchet. Getting that adjusted right was hard (easy on me, hard on my mother.)
Janne Moren
ocdtrekkie@jalefkowit I've seen one of these sold to help one get to the roof rack easier, meant to be stood on.
slow learner, deep feeler@jalefkowit
I have a friend who uses this off and on. It really helps when they need it.
I have a friend who uses this off and on. It really helps when they need it.
@melanie It really shocked me how much of a quality of life improvement such a small thing could provide!
Dr. Nancy Wayne ✅@jalefkowit My dad could have used this for the last ten years if his life. Wish I knew.
@jalefkowit One of the most educational experiences I have had was after back surgery when I was effectively (but temporarily) disabled - could barely walk (and when I could get up, I had to use a walker.)
I learned the value of simple assists.
I also came away vowing never to violate a handicapped parking space or accommodation. I've kept that vow.
I'm better now. I daily climb and descend hundred of stair steps. But I remember how difficult even simple things were.
Frank@karlauerbach @jalefkowit
When I had severe back pain once for weeks, I could not really use stairs or stand for longer. But I could cycle! So instead of taking the tube or a cab to the physician I took my bicycle. A bicycle is a wonderful mobility aid, maybe even the most used one.
When I had severe back pain once for weeks, I could not really use stairs or stand for longer. But I could cycle! So instead of taking the tube or a cab to the physician I took my bicycle. A bicycle is a wonderful mobility aid, maybe even the most used one.
@footils @jalefkowit I have a nice e-bike, but riding it for exercise is somewhat problematic. As one ages the sense of balance usually worsens. And my e-bike is rather heavier than my older bikes and thus rather less stable on our local bumpy, winding trails and paths (most of which are more attuned to mountain bikers.)
qurlyjoe@jalefkowit
Holy 💩! I’ve never seen this nor even thought of it. Somebody deserves a Nobel Prize or something for this.
Holy 💩! I’ve never seen this nor even thought of it. Somebody deserves a Nobel Prize or something for this.
@qurlyjoe I know, right? I wish I’d thought of it 😆
@jalefkowit
A nice accessory would be a pocket hanging off the door so it’s easy to reach for when you’re getting in the car. Don’t wanna have to be bending over to pick it up off the seat, or have to carry it around.
A nice accessory would be a pocket hanging off the door so it’s easy to reach for when you’re getting in the car. Don’t wanna have to be bending over to pick it up off the seat, or have to carry it around.
cobalt@jalefkowit I got a similar item on Amazon maybe $20. It does the same as a handle. It was sold primarily as a tool to break auto glass out in an emergency and has a cutter to get thru a car seatbelt for emergency. They do very well to provide a handle.
jollyrogue@jalefkowit Higher hip points that made ingress and egress easier for an aging population is one of the suggested reasons CUVs/SUVs took over the car market.
Yarn Dem0n@jalefkowit oh clever! I'll have to keep these in mind for my family. Thank you!
Risotto Bias@jalefkowit how does it prevent rotating from side to side?
@risottobias The geometry of the handle. Once you have it in the door striker, it’s too big to move horizontally. You have to lift the other end to pull it out.
@jalefkowit ah so the pin is like a very thick ruler?
@risottobias It’s a thick steel peg with teeth that lock it in position on the striker.
Video might explain it better.
Stander HandyBar - The Ultimate Auto Safety Tool and Car Handle
S★m V★rm★@jalefkowit @ewen Thanks for sharing this gents I just sent this to my sister-in-law because it might be useful to my mother-in-law…
Diane@jalefkowit shared with the people in my life with mobility issues
Would you happen to know of a source for "wheelchair lifts"?
@alienghic For a while we had a van with a wheelchair lift. The installation was done by a company in Georgia called Adaptive Mobility Systems, and the package was sold to us by a company called MobilityWorks. It all worked as you'd expect.
AMS sells adapted vans directly, and we took an absolute bath on the resale value of ours when we didn't need it anymore, so you might want to cut MobilityWorks out of the middle of the transaction if you can.
@alienghic A couple other companies whose name frequently popped up when I was looking around in that space, though I have less direct experience with them...
Braun: https://www.braunability.com
Driverge: https://www.driverge.com/consumers/
Some cranky old people had previously told me "we don't want a minivan"
And I tried arguing minivans look to have the lowest and widest entry options for a wheel chair.
@alienghic There are companies that will put a lift in an SUV (see for instance https://www.braunability.com/us/en/mobility-products/wheelchair-accessible-vehicles/chevy-traverse-suv-side-entry-power-infloor-ramp.html). But you’re right, vans and minivans are much better suited.
