Hi avid followers of this blog. I have a lovely post from Rich Fabend today. It is always truly compelling to see how he approaches his life and his experiences in creating adaptive equipment for his personal use. Below is a really neat post from Rich.
Rich Fabend
Would you like to raise some flowers and/or grow some vegetables for your own consumption? Raised bed garden boxes will let you do that and it is great exercise. Each spring the soil must be worked up and planted. During the growing season the vegetables must be weeded and thinned. If the weather is not cooperating the plants must be watered. The wilted flower heads must be picked off the plants (called deadheading) which is great exercise for fingers. A box does not take up much room if space is an issue. Prior to placing a box, the area under it must be prepared. This is not necessary if it will be placed on cement or any other solid surface. If placed on the ground you must assure good drainage.
The height of the box opening should be a few inches taller than the armrests of the wheelchair. The width of the growing area should be several inches less than twice the gardener’s arm length which will allow one to cover the entire planting area. Built from pressure treated lumber, the box is open on two sides so one can drive a wheelchair underneath it and work straight on.
The first year my boxes presented some unique problems because of the construction. The 2” by 8” which made up the planting area did not allow for the soil to be deep enough for vegetables so most of the vegetables planted did not grow very well. The following year, as you can see from the picture, we added about 3 inches to the height of the planting area. This allowed adding another 250 pounds of soil to the bed. Also, in an effort to cut down on moisture evaporation we added Hydro-Sorb to the soil. Hydro-Sorb retains water and releases it a little at a time. These two changes made the boxes much more successful. We did not find it necessary to increase the depth of the flower boxes.
I have 6 boxes, four I plant with vegetables and the other two with annual flowers. I enjoy working these boxes very much. I use adaptive garden tools which can be purchased online. The vegetable boxes can grow salt potatoes, broccoli, onions, baby carrots, beets and garlic. Gardening is good for many different reasons.
Showing posts with label Observation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Observation. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Another fabulous blog post from the amazing Rich Fabend
I am truly excited to be publishing another post from our amazing blogger Rich Fabend. We've been missing his wise words here, I hope you enjoy the next reading from him.
Rich Fabend
If you had your television on during the last five or six weeks, it would be hard to have missed some life lessons that were taking place. We have been able to watch a variety of world-class athletes participating in the sports that they love. Thirty-two of the world's best football (soccer) teams arrived in South Africa to participate in the World Cup. South Africa was a showcase for what can happen when people choose to work together. In the not so distant past South Africa was in the throws of the racial policy called Apartheid. The South Africans obviously have made great strides under the leadership of their new government.
On July 3 another world class sporting event began. The Tour de France is a yearly event which challenges almost 200 top athletes from all over the globe to a grueling bike race which lasts 20 days and covers 3642 kilometers or a little over 2185 miles. Twenty-two teams of nine racers each put their collective and individual skills to the test. On an average day the racers cover over 100 miles. Some stages are flat, some rolling and some are on extremely mountainous terrain. The downhill speeds can exceed 60 miles an hour. The bikers race for personal and team success. This is a great test of human endurance both physical and mental, and if we look carefully there is much to be learned. The race presents different challenges to the participants every day. With the large number of racers moving along in tight proximity to each other there are often crashes. Effects of these can range from “road rash” to broken bones. Even racers with broken bones refused to drop out of the race. This year Cadel Evans, a rider from Australia, rode most of the way with a broken wrist. When mishaps happen to a team leader and he falls behind, his teammates drop back to help him catch back up to the group of riders. The person riding in the front of the line cuts the wind which reduces the work the riders behind him must do by as much as 40%. This is called splitstream or more commonly known as drafting. Team members are constantly changing this front position to keep members fresh. At times racers from different teams will even do this in pursuit of a common goal. Each team has racers called domestiques who keep team members supplied with water. They must drop back to the support cars behind the racers get a number of bottles and then sprint up to the group to hand the bottles out. Everyone works for the good of the team. In the end with the help of his team members Alberto Contador of Spain won the race. However, all the riders were successful just finishing such a grueling race.
Racers also must deal with extreme weather conditions. Over the 21 days in the race riders often struggle with road temperatures that can reach 100°. When they are in the mountains, temperatures can drop as much as 50° from the bottom to the top of the mountain. Often at the summit bystanders will hand them newspapers which the riders place inside their jerseys to help insulate their bodies from windchill experienced on the descent. Sometimes, individual racers will have days when they just are unable to work at professional levels. But like most of the racers on the tour they refuse to give up.
I believe there are lessons to be learned for all of us from watching these professional athletes. We can learn commitment, teamwork to achieve common goals, and refusing to allow pain and fatigue to sidetrack us from our purposes even though we could easily find an excuse to give up. My final observation would be that the challenges and subsequent lessons to be learned here are not just challenges faced by athletes but confront all people in day to day situations including people with disabilities.
Rich Fabend
If you had your television on during the last five or six weeks, it would be hard to have missed some life lessons that were taking place. We have been able to watch a variety of world-class athletes participating in the sports that they love. Thirty-two of the world's best football (soccer) teams arrived in South Africa to participate in the World Cup. South Africa was a showcase for what can happen when people choose to work together. In the not so distant past South Africa was in the throws of the racial policy called Apartheid. The South Africans obviously have made great strides under the leadership of their new government.Generally speaking the teams played with great congeniality. Even Spain, the winner of the World Cup, did not win all their games. We must be careful not to define them as the only winner because by doing so we create the implication that the other thirty-one teams were losers. Winning and success are not synonymous; one can be successful without winning, both in athletics and in our personal lives. While there was joy and heartbreak after every individual game, even the players who lost should not be considered losers. The games were refereed by individuals from all over the world. On the whole they did a wonderful job, but some serious errors in judgment were made by a few referees which had monumental effects on some of the teams. Even in the heat of battle the players generally accepted these decisions with little or no protest. We should recognize that the majority of times most people are making decisions to the best of their ability. There were teams in which the star players failed to fulfill expectations and at other times different players unexpectedly stepped up.
On July 3 another world class sporting event began. The Tour de France is a yearly event which challenges almost 200 top athletes from all over the globe to a grueling bike race which lasts 20 days and covers 3642 kilometers or a little over 2185 miles. Twenty-two teams of nine racers each put their collective and individual skills to the test. On an average day the racers cover over 100 miles. Some stages are flat, some rolling and some are on extremely mountainous terrain. The downhill speeds can exceed 60 miles an hour. The bikers race for personal and team success. This is a great test of human endurance both physical and mental, and if we look carefully there is much to be learned. The race presents different challenges to the participants every day. With the large number of racers moving along in tight proximity to each other there are often crashes. Effects of these can range from “road rash” to broken bones. Even racers with broken bones refused to drop out of the race. This year Cadel Evans, a rider from Australia, rode most of the way with a broken wrist. When mishaps happen to a team leader and he falls behind, his teammates drop back to help him catch back up to the group of riders. The person riding in the front of the line cuts the wind which reduces the work the riders behind him must do by as much as 40%. This is called splitstream or more commonly known as drafting. Team members are constantly changing this front position to keep members fresh. At times racers from different teams will even do this in pursuit of a common goal. Each team has racers called domestiques who keep team members supplied with water. They must drop back to the support cars behind the racers get a number of bottles and then sprint up to the group to hand the bottles out. Everyone works for the good of the team. In the end with the help of his team members Alberto Contador of Spain won the race. However, all the riders were successful just finishing such a grueling race.I believe there are lessons to be learned for all of us from watching these professional athletes. We can learn commitment, teamwork to achieve common goals, and refusing to allow pain and fatigue to sidetrack us from our purposes even though we could easily find an excuse to give up. My final observation would be that the challenges and subsequent lessons to be learned here are not just challenges faced by athletes but confront all people in day to day situations including people with disabilities.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Wishes and Daydreams
Rich Fabend
June is the month for high school graduation in the States. Both of my nurses have children graduating from high school this year. My primary nurse has been with me for almost 11 years now. Her children are almost like grandchildren to my wife and me. It is her son Devin who's graduating. When he was young we used to play together. Over the years he has done work around our house, has stayed with me overnight when my wife was away (we call it Adult Sitting) and I've watched him grow up. He is a fine young man, as well as a good soccer player and I've seen him play a number of times. Devin will be going into the United States Navy, after graduation, and will train to be corpsman.
I'm envious! He's young and I'm old. He's got his life ahead of him; most of mine is behind me. He's fit and I am not. I want to be him, young, healthy, virile with so much to look forward to. Just the other night I was thinking it is too bad life doesn’t begin at old age and go backward to childhood. However, wishing and daydreaming isn't going to change my situation. But what it does do is help me look at my life and put things in perspective. People come and go every day and little changes in the grand scheme of things. All this is wishful thinking, I guess, but the reality is only the earth goes on. It reminds me of part of the Serenity Poem which was stuck on a bulletin board in the kitchen at my best friend’s house. God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Reinhold Niebuhr
So, all things considered, what is the lesson to be learned? Deal in reality, enjoy your life as it is, change what you can and take time each day to smell the roses. We are not here very long so we should make the best of our situation.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Dealing with Risk
Rich Fabend
If you read my other two blog entries Attitude, Attitude, Attitude and Attitude Adjustment, hopefully you are beginning to understand that it is a combination of your attitude and an ongoing process that are necessary to begin to deal with some of your daily frustrations. There is another barrier to some people’s efforts to think beyond traditional methods of accomplishing an objective. That obstacle is the concept of failure. Dealing with life's adversities often involves risk and along with risk comes the idea of success or failure. We are often reluctant to take a risk for fear we may not be able to accomplish what we are trying to do and that implies failure. First of all, nobody always achieves what they set out to do. Secondly, many individuals have the misconception that failure is bad. However, failure if approached with a positive attitude, provides opportunity for learning and hence for growth. In a “60 Minutes” interview LeBron James, the famous NBA basketball player, was asked what advice he would give to young kids, his response was not to be afraid to fail. LeBron James said, “Don’t be afraid of failure".
Making adaptive equipment often involves a learning process that includes a change in attitude. If you have an idea for creating a piece of adaptive equipment, pursue it. Remember for all of us, thinking out of the box is a strategy that can lead us down the road to success. When making adaptive equipment try to keep things simple. Use materials that are readily available and make the tools multifunctional if possible. Do not let yourself become discouraged for very few things happen quickly. Learning to approach a task with a new outlook will take time. However, success breeds success and after awhile you will look at things differently. Look at a new situation not as a problem, but as a challenge needing to be addressed. Set your mind free of the cultural restraints which may prevent you from finding a solution. The following poem hung on the wall in my classroom for years.
ONLY A PERSON WHO RISKS IS FREE
Author Unknown
To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach for another is to risk involvement.
To expose your ideas, your dreams, before a crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To believe is to risk despair.
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The people who risk nothing, do nothing, have nothing, are nothing.
They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live.
Chained by their attitudes they are slaves; they have forfeited their freedom.
Only a person who risks is free.
If you read my other two blog entries Attitude, Attitude, Attitude and Attitude Adjustment, hopefully you are beginning to understand that it is a combination of your attitude and an ongoing process that are necessary to begin to deal with some of your daily frustrations. There is another barrier to some people’s efforts to think beyond traditional methods of accomplishing an objective. That obstacle is the concept of failure. Dealing with life's adversities often involves risk and along with risk comes the idea of success or failure. We are often reluctant to take a risk for fear we may not be able to accomplish what we are trying to do and that implies failure. First of all, nobody always achieves what they set out to do. Secondly, many individuals have the misconception that failure is bad. However, failure if approached with a positive attitude, provides opportunity for learning and hence for growth. In a “60 Minutes” interview LeBron James, the famous NBA basketball player, was asked what advice he would give to young kids, his response was not to be afraid to fail. LeBron James said, “Don’t be afraid of failure".
Making adaptive equipment often involves a learning process that includes a change in attitude. If you have an idea for creating a piece of adaptive equipment, pursue it. Remember for all of us, thinking out of the box is a strategy that can lead us down the road to success. When making adaptive equipment try to keep things simple. Use materials that are readily available and make the tools multifunctional if possible. Do not let yourself become discouraged for very few things happen quickly. Learning to approach a task with a new outlook will take time. However, success breeds success and after awhile you will look at things differently. Look at a new situation not as a problem, but as a challenge needing to be addressed. Set your mind free of the cultural restraints which may prevent you from finding a solution. The following poem hung on the wall in my classroom for years.
ONLY A PERSON WHO RISKS IS FREE
Author Unknown
To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach for another is to risk involvement.
To expose your ideas, your dreams, before a crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To believe is to risk despair.
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The people who risk nothing, do nothing, have nothing, are nothing.
They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live.
Chained by their attitudes they are slaves; they have forfeited their freedom.
Only a person who risks is free.
~ from page 147 of the book "Addiction by Prescription" by Joan Gadsby
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