s: we had a ramp built in our garage so that when it gets cold
s: we can park the van in there and ... you understand
h: [laughs]
s: it's done, so I'm now going to take the inaugural trip
h: here, I'll get it s: there we go
h: there we go, wow s: alright, here we go
l: want me to film it from the other end? h: it's okay, I'll just stand up here
s: do you want to put a hand on in case I slide?
h: yeah s: I don't think I will, but
s: woah
h: nice s: nice, smooth
y: yeah s: [laughs]
s: awesome, thank you
[intro song] hello, hello, welcome to the show, welcome to the show
welcome to the show, it's time to talk about our lives [Chloe bark]
s: hi everyone h: hello
s: does anyone remember that bookshelf?
h: awww, yeah we're in our new basement where our old livingroom bookshelves are
h: a memory s: kinda like a blast from the past
h: uh huh
s: I'm wearing a hat indoors because our pool
s: has made my hair a new kind of constant curly
h: but only like half of your head, that's the problem
s: it's really weird
h: the front is straight, the back is curly
s: put in that weird photo you took the other day
h: maybe I'll put in a photo of it, it might not be appropriate for viewers, but
s: and it's like permanent, like I wash it, I comb it, my hair's like nope
s: I'm gonna do this now, apparently chlorine and my hair do not get along
h: no, so the hat it is s: today is an exciting day
s: I am going to test out the new wheelchair that I have selected as my front runner
s: to become my new wheelchair h: yeah
s: I don't know how to explain that, I get to demo it
s: before I officially move forward with this one, we'll talk about it more
h: yeah, so if you remember we put up a video a couple weeks ago
h: of Shane and me going through all the options for his new wheelchair
h: there were like 4 or 5 and we went through all of them and their websites
h: and from that Shane picked the Permobil M3
s: yes
h: I think in that video it kinda seemed like the Quantum Edge was leading
h: I think we were like woah, this one's really cool
s: yeah
h: but a lot of people wrote to Shane and gave him advice
h: and talked about their experience with the chairs
h: and he decided to not switch from his Permobil brand
h: he wanted to stick with that
h: so it's just a way newer and cooler version of the chair that he has now
s: yeah, my chair's like 8, 9 nine years old
h: yeah, they don't even make it anymore
s: so this will be a big big improvement, well hopefully it will be
s: I want to just thank everyone that left me those comments
s: and sent me messages about your experiences with the different chairs
s: for pretty much every chair that we talked about
s: I heard dozens and dozens of good things
s: and dozens and dozens of bad things
s: so I reiterate that having to choose a chair based on the looks of it online
h: yeah s: from what they tell you, is really difficult
s: but your opinions and experiences made it a lot easier
h: yeah
s: alright, it's time to go test the Permobil M3
[music]
h: alright, are you excited Shane? s: not really
h: you sounded excited a second ago s: I know, I was pretending
h: why aren't you excited?
s: I'm excited that we're doing the process but in my experience
s: this process has always been really difficult
s: like I expect that I will not fit in the chair
s: it will not have the right supports
s: and that makes sense, because I have very highly customized seating needs
s: but I don't really expect to be able to use the chair
s: in a way that gives me a very good idea of what it will be like
s: to have it for 8 years, you know? h: yeah
s: so I hope it goes well, I'm nervous that it won't but we'll see
[music]
s: this'll be the challenging part
s: because my area of mobility is right around here
m: a little further over? f: there and down
m: and down further? okay
h: right away Shane is excited that he is sitting in this chair so comfortably
s: I'm upright h: yeah
s: not falling over
h: upright, we've got towels in the right spaces
h: and it's just going way better than we thought it would right away
s: and the techs are super willing to make adjustments
s: to get the joystick and the supports everywhere where they need to be
s: like I am already feeling like I can probably drive this chair
s: in a close replica to how I drive this chair now
h: which is amazing and very unexpected
s: did not expect that
s: can you push my hair a little bit over? see? curling
h: oh my god s: my hair is curling
h: probably the biggest change from Shane's old chair to this new chair
h: is the joystick, Shane has been using the same joystick since he was like 2
s: yeah h: he just put it on to every new chair
h: since his first one, he's very attached to it
s: you all know it, you know it and you love it
h: but as he's gotten older it's gotten harder to drive
h: as he's gotten weaker since he was a baby and a child and a teenager
h: this joystick isn't really the best for him
h: he can get tired after a couple of miles of driving it
s: yeah, it's useable h: yeah
s: but there are better options now than there were when I was a kid
h: yes s: much lighter touch joysticks
s: and so I'm nervous again, this whole process is like
s: I'm nervous but I'm excited because there's a lot of new changes
s: and that's scary, but if they all work the right way
s: it'll result in a much more comfortable and useable wheelchair for me
s: and that is exciting h: yup
m: so your joystick was 7.8 ounces to deflect
s: uh huh m: this is 2.5
s: it feels super...
s: [voiceover] so the joystick that I'm trying now is much lighter touch
s: like I barely need to move my hand to make it move
s: the positive is that it'll be a lot easier for me
s: the downside is that it will take a lot of getting used to
s: because it is very sensitive
s: if I lose control... h: okay, don't lose control
h: [laughs] s: oh that's so weird
h: [laughs] okay
s: woah
h: it's so small, it looks small
s: it's bigger
h: you feel like you're right in the front
s: what? f: drive in a really tight circle
h: woah s: that's awesome
f: isn't that awesome? h: woah
h: the other huge difference with this chair is that it's mid wheel drive
h: instead of rear...rear...I can't s: rear rear rear
h: I can't say rear, wheel drive, rear is a hard word
s: rear rear h: rear wheel drive
s: it's a rear rear...oh, I spit
s: I got so excited, I spittled h: okay
s: a rear rear drive h: alright, it's a rear wheel drive
h: anyway, the big difference is that this is a mid wheel drive
h: and so as you can see Shane is able to turn on a dime which is really cool
h: the other thing about that is that it'll be hard to get used to
h: because it's so different than what he's always driven
s: yeah, when I am driving straight in the M5
s: I feel like I'm kind of drifting h: yeah
s: I don't know if that makes sense, but you know..
h: yeah, because on all six wheels you can kind of go forward but also..
s: you might also be like... I don't know how to describe it
s: I felt like I was on ice, kind of, and not in a bad way
s: just in a different way h: yeah
s: but turning on a dime was so cool, I felt like a tornado
s: that is so helpful h: that's amazing
s: oh my god
h: do you like the joystick, like the ease of it?
s: yeah, I mean, it's really easy h: real easy, yeah
f: if you want to go outside or anything just let us know
s: later
f: you can definitely go outside
s: [voiceover] they let me test the chair outside which I've never been able to do
s: at any other wheelchair appointment ever
s: this is so helpful because I can get a real feel for what the chair handles like
s: on all different types of environments
s: I can go over bumps, on gravel, grass, sidewalk
h: yeah s: and it is so smooth
s: I barely feel the bumps
s: [voiceover] now I'm gonna try out one more joystick
s: this one is even lighter than the first one I tried out
h: yeah, this one requires a quarter of the pressure of the first one
h: so it's like unbelievably light
s: the first one felt like I barely needed to move my hand to move the chair
s: this one, I barely need to move one finger to move the chair
s: oh m: you wanna give it a whirl?
m: alright, remember we're not sure that forward's forward right now
s: okay [laughs]
s: close h: wow
f: it's a learning curve
m: I'm gonna be next to you in case that falls off
m: and drives you somewhere we don't want it to go to
h: [laughs] s: that's smart
s: honestly, it's a little bit too sensitive for me
s: I felt like I was jolting all over the place
s: and couldn't really get a smooth path, you know?
s: I don't know, maybe I could get used to it
s: but the first one was so easy that I don't think I need that much more sensitivity
h: yeah
s: I wonder if I'll be as tall as you h: I don't think so
h: you'd need more than 12 inches or 14 inches or whatever
s: now I'm gonna try the elevation feature on the M5 which raises me 14 inches in the air
s: this chair only raises me 8 inches h: yeah
s: those extra 6 inches will be amazing
s: I mean, I've never even seen my wife's face close up
s: so now I'll be that much closer to seeing what she looks like
s: and that's really exciting for me
h: cue all the comments from people that don't understand
h: being like, he's never seen her face? s: how close have they gotten?
s: don't they share a bed?
s: not but for real like, when I am out in public, at restaurants
h: even like checking into the doctors office
h: places where you need to be above a certain desk
s: higher, yeah, those extra inches will be really cool I think
h: yeah
m: alright, fully elevated, so you could be at full walking speed
s: yeah h: that's nice
s: one of my favorite features of this chair
s: is that while I'm raised up that high, I can drive at a regular walking speed
h: yeah, I think it's like 3.2 miles per hour or something
s: this one I think only goes 1, 1.5 when I'm raised up
s: so that's a big improvement there
s: and I can walk around outside with Hannah while I'm raised up at her level
h: yeah s: so that will be cool as well
s: maybe the biggest surprise of the whole day was that
s: when I was done I was like, great, I like it a lot
s: I still felt unsure about, do I want to commit to this chair for 8 years?
s: but then they were like, well why don't we bring it to your house
s: and leave it with you for a few days
s: and I was like uhhh, what, you can't do that
s: they were like, yeah we can, we'll bring it over
s: and you can try it out for a few days
s: so that is going to be so helpful and I've never been able to do that obviously
s: so they are coming this week h: yeah
s: and dropping the chair off and I will have it for a few days
s: to get to know and hopefully love it
s: before making the big decision h: yeah
h: so we'll keep you updated on how that goes, hopefully it'll go well
s: overall I'm feeling good, like very positive about it
h: yeah, this all went way better than Shane expected it to
s: uh huh, I went into it thinking like, I'm going to be falling over
s: you're going to be like, holding me up the whole time
s: I doubted I'd be able to drive it, it all worked out
s: and I like it a lot h: uh huh
s: we'll see
h: alright s: alright everyone, bye
h: bye
[music]