Paris-Nordkapp project

Lundi 24 mars 2008

The wheelchair is part of my life...

Dear all,

Because of the success of my blog I have changed my blog host. From now on, please go to :

www.handikapp-nord.org

On this new version, you will find new features and please let me know how you like it. I wish you to enjoy it and in the meanwhile you will find, hereafter, the last article on this address.

This week, I would like to tackle the topic of wheelchairs. I often compare it to a pair of shoes. Indeed a bad pair of shoes is painful, the same holds true for a bad wheelchair. A back rest which is too high will hinder your arms when pushing your wheelchair, a back rest which is too low will be dangerous as you might risk to fall back. If your foot rest is too high then your knees will knock your chin, if on the opposite it is too low then you will loose control of your chair. Choosing your wheelchair is hard and customization is expensive, so you usually have to cope with standardization.

In France, if a €600 pair of shoes will enable you to be the king of the night, a €600 wheelchair will not lead you very far.

Furthermore, I believe that a wheelchair reflects your inner personality so you do not want your wheelchair to be ugly, you want it to be trendy and fashion like you will do with your shoes. Some carbon there, some aluminum here and some titan over there, expensive materials that are adding up easily and quickly. These materials play in favor of nice wheelchairs but they also contribute to your health and your safety. Indeed titanium hand rims might sound superfluous but it allows your hands to break without overheating. Some carbon and some aluminum decrease the weight and thus diminish your effort to get your chair going. A small reminder, arms are not originally made to play the role of legs and they cannot provide the same level of effort and do not have the same power.

My conclusion is that a good wheelchair, a wheelchair you are proud of, will have a positive influence on your well-being but it will also cost you an eye.

Departure: D-73

par Yves
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Vendredi 7 mars 2008

If you were in a wheelchair... part 3

Dear readers,

Let's go further with those short stories.

7/ - Nowadays, a lot of people use the term “handicapped”, or “crippled” as a “gentle” insult. “Cooking cripple”, “driving cripple”, “love cripple” or even just “cripple”. It appears that we handicapped people are constantly at the centre of debates… If this is the case the number of handicapped people will be rising by the minute. However something that I’ve never heard is “leg cripple”. Probably out of respect :-)

8/- It’s been a few years now that people in wheelchairs have had, like any valid person, the possibility to go to the cinema. The rather limited choice of seat remains a problem. You either have to be in the front row which will guarantee you a free of charge stiff neck, especially if you stay in your wheelchair; or, depending on how the room is, you’ll have to go to the dunces’ row, at the other end of the theatre.

You simply can’t sit wherever you want, just like any other person.

9/- It’s one thing to be sitting all day in your wheelchair, and as soon as you get the chance and depending on the level of your handicap, you’ll want to jump out of it. Be it on a couch, in a nice seat at the cinema, a nice and comfy armchair or on some soft and green grass, any excuse will do (well, that’s my opinion).

par Sophie
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Vendredi 29 février 2008

If you were in a wheelchair... part 2

Dear readers,

This week, I would like to share with you some comical and some less comical aspects of a life in a wheelchair. Some of these little things make me laugh and I hope it will be the same for you.

4/- As you go down the street, you’re constantly inspecting the pavement, just like any valid person, in order to avoid the dejections of man’s best friend. In a wheelchair, you don’t walk, you roll and your feet won’t be the ones to get all sticky with this stinky substance, your hands will.

5/- When you find yourself queuing in a supermarket, people sometimes offer you to get in front of them, which saves me time, although I’m perfectly able to wait in line like most people. But it’s hard to forgive people who use priority checkouts because they are less crowded, especially when they do not pay any attention to you. In certain shops, they are often the only ones you can go through with a wheelchair.

6/- Being in a wheelchair can be a fantastic and strategic weapon if you go to a bar or to a party. Actually, girls regularly want to sit on my lap, which triggers the curiosity of some and the respect of others. Naturally I’m not complaining, just simply sympathizing with the valid who don’t have this – call it what you want – chance or charm. A wheelchair can also bring some good about…

See you next friday some new adventures...

par Sophie & Yann
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Lundi 25 février 2008

The word handicapped

Do you know where the word « handicapped » comes from?

It comes from the English expression “hand in cap” which was a game where one would compete for personal objects whose price will be determined by a referee, the waging will then be put in a cap. Through years “hand in cap” was applied to sport and was transformed to “handicap”. This new word reflects the will to give an equal chance to competitors by imposing added difficulties to the best competitor.

The word handicapped has, depending on the countries, different meanings. This difference in meanings reflects the fact that people perceive and integrate handicapped people in their own way depending on their country of origin. Northern Europe countries for instance are known to better accept handicapped within their society. Will my project confirm this hypothesis?

According to the French law of February 2005, is considered a handicap everything that limits you in terms of activity or that restrains your participation to life within society because of a substantial, lasting or definitive alteration of one or more of your functions. These functions can be physical, sensory, mental….

Being in a wheelchair, a handicap? Steps are a hassle, any doorstep makes it difficult, social integration is modified and chances to get a job are reduced. To think about the difficulties met by handicapped is already trying to reduce his handicap.

Today almost 10% of the French population says to live with a handicap, more than 40 millions within Europe. This figure is increasing because of the increase of life expectancy.

You are not handicapped today, enjoy, it could happen to you when you become older, think about it! Knowing what being handicapped means, I want to try to reduce the chances for your to know this situation, I will tell you how soon.

Departure: D-93

par Yves
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Vendredi 22 février 2008

If you were in a wheelchair... part 1

This entry is the first of a series of articles that will constitute a new column. It will be published every Friday and will deal - in a humorous way I hope – with all the little anecdotes that make up for the daily life of a person in a wheel chair.

1/- When you run over someone else’s foot (unintentionally, of course) this person will apologize 99% of the time.

The funniest being when it is completely my fault. The person gets rolled over his or her foot by more than 90 kilos (200 pounds) (yes, the chair is much heavier than what it looks like), suffers incredible pain and finds a way to apologize profusely.

2/- As you are going downhill, the chair often dashes at top speed on its own.

This proved to be quite dangerous once. I was going down a mountain road, near Voss in Norway, a road I had found very steep the day before as I was going up in taxi. The way down was vertiginous (well it was to me) and the speed I was going at quite out of the ordinary, and I realized at the last minute that there were logs over the road which went across the pavement (you know one of those things to stop the cattle). I had to slow down with my full hands, put my tendons through a lot of pain, in order to be able to stop just before this « wheel chair trap ». It was really close, and I think that if I hadn’t stopped at all I would have a broken jaw by now, to say the least.

3/- When you want to go clubbing, the bouncer, through compassion or pity, often lets you in for free. I’m not complaining ! But the other side of the coin is when they don’t let you in at all. This becomes truly intolerable when the bouncer (this happened in Rotterdam) tells you that you may go in at the sole condition to leave your wheel chair behind and to sort things out yourself with your legs. This is a true story that I can now relate with humour.

These are the first of long series of articles.

See you next Friday for some new adventures !

par Sophie Dillon
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Lundi 18 février 2008

"Will on Wheels"

Today, I will introduce you to the association « Will on Wheels » that has just been created and that will allow us to get the project going. Here is the story of the association.

A young, 17 years old teenager, sport’s freak with a very strong will that loves adventures and nature. Too young and still uncertain about what he wants to do, he knows what he does not want to do. Not being alone, not being dependant and not being driven by others.

Monotonous, apathy, repetition and hypocrisy are terms to be banned in his presence.

An accident puts his vision of the future and the foundations of his life, upside down. How can life go on when you lost the only thing that allows you to run, walk, climb mountains, play football, seduce, be human. It is like pulling the rug from under his feet, that same rug that you enjoyed fouling for its warmth, softness and coziness when touching it with your feet. You need, to find a new meaning to “motion” and “live”, to relearn every day moves, to learn how to roll down the streets, to stand the staring of others and to learn how to wake up every morning with unusual difference.

Since, many years have passed; with loads of surprises and deceptions, but one always find his path again.

The young 17 years old teenager is gone but a new man, that has decided to drive his life once again, has come back.

Today the wheels of his wheelchair help him to move around, they turn amazingly fast with the same speed as his new and stronger will – “Will on Wheels”.

Departure : D-100

par Yves
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Lundi 11 février 2008

The project: an idea, a concept, a good cause

Paris Nordkapp that is 4650 kilometers with a handbike plus 2500 with a car

Paris Nordkapp that is 5 Northern Europe capital cities in 90 days (Copenhagen, Oslo, Helsinki, Stockholm and Paris)
Paris Nordkapp is an adventure

Paris Nordkapp is also a blog with photos, videos, comments, a lot of emotions and a noble gesture.

When:

Departure from Paris on June 3^rd and arrival in Paris on August 31^st

How:

With a handbike

Why:

- To collect funds for the spinal cord research

- A physical and a mental challenge

- To draw the attention of the public around the topic of mobility

Who:

A paraplegic along with a whole team of volunteers

Departure: D-107

Would you wish to have more details concerning this project, I would gladly send more information on the topic.

par Sophie Dillon
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The wheelchair is part of my life...

If you were in a wheelchair... part 3

If you were in a wheelchair... part 2

The word handicapped

If you were in a wheelchair... part 1

"Will on Wheels"

The project: an idea, a concept, a good cause

Yves, 27 yo, here's my project

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