My father loved to walk. I especially remember walking
through the woods on our camping vacations. At Charlestown we walked on the
many paths outside in clear weather. Or we walked for a mile inside, without
doubling back. Pop greeted people along the way, often small groups walking
together – Charlestown is great for that.
As Nancy’s Parkinson’s advanced, she didn’t
want to walk much, so she didn’t get out as much. So Pop didn’t
walk as often either when I wasn’t there. Not being able to walk easily is a problem because it’s about
¼ mile to the library, the infirmary, and the pharmacy.
Charlestown has over 3,000 residents so you see all kinds of
walking aids: canes, 4-footed canes, walkers of all sorts, wheelchairs, and
motorized chairs. Have you ever tried to
drive one of those motorized chairs?
I had a friend at church with MS, so I sometimes
moved her vehicle for her – it’s quite a challenge because they are tricky to
maneuver. I am always nervous to have these heavy machines driving around my
ankles and knees.
Unfortunately, it’s hard for people with different walking
abilities to walk together. Thus people who have walked together for years,
suddenly have to stop because one of them can no longer keep pace with the
others.
What we need is a solution that allows everyone to move around
easily, inexpensively, and safely. I believe there are already thousands of vehicles in
production and already running, but they are moving packages, not people. I’ll
describe these in the next post.
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