Say what!? Segway.

Finally, as promised, a video of me on the Segway:

It can go faster than that, but I stay at what feels like a reasonable speed given pedestrian traffic, visibility around corners, etc. And yes, I do have to wear a helmet – it is recommended by the Segway company, and required by University health and safety as a condition of my using the Segway on campus. So far it's been great – I am much less tired at the end of each day, and have enough energy to engage in some focused exercise, like walking on the treadmill or doing balance and core strength exercises, after work. It is doing its job of allowing me to do mine in a way that is more effective and better for me personally.

I struggle a bit with the idea of having to rely on aids, and there is this back and forth between not wanting to add a new accessibility aid to my life and wanting to be able to do as much as possible. It took quite a while before we installed permanent grab bars in the shower, because I kept having this idea that eventually I wouldn't need them, and then there they would be, hard to remove. So for about 5 or 6 months after we moved into our new house, I was using these unsafe suction cups grab bars that are not very reliable, and was pretty much always worried about falling when I was in the shower. I finally gave in and had permanent bars installed, and it is much better. I am less worried about falling because I know I have something to grab onto if I need it, and being more relaxed means that I'm relying on the bars less (because being tense and rigid makes a person more likely to fall). I think in some ways it is the same way with the Segway – giving in and using the help I need frees me up to do things that will actually advance my rehabilitation. I feel like this is a lesson that I will need to learn many times over, and I imagine that I will write about learning it again sometime soon!