I’ve been living life at iLevel for over seven years now. Honestly, I do not think I could ever go back to life without iLevel. When I first learned about iLevel technology on power wheelchairs, I thought it was cool but not necessary. After using it every day for the past seven years, however, I can easily admit that I was wrong. I use the elevating technology of iLevel so frequently that I genuinely do not think that I could function in my house without it anymore. In fact, the other day my husband challenged me to spend 30 minutes in our kitchen without elevating. I realized just how much I use iLevel in my kitchen alone. I realized that without iLevel, I cannot:
Wash the Dishes
I can get to the sink and drop a dish into the sink, but I cannot reach to turn on the faucet. I also cannot reach the bottom of the sink, so I cannot grab all the dishes in the sink to wash them even if someone else turns the water on for me.
Put the Dishes Away
We put our dishes in the upper cupboards. Without iLevel, I simply cannot put a single dish away.
Reach Food in Our Cupboards or Fridge
A lot of our food is in our upper cupboards or on the higher shelves in our pantry. Additionally, we utilize our whole refrigerator, including the top shelves! Without iLevel on my power wheelchair, I cannot reach any of these things, which means I cannot make us dinner!
Reach Our Counter Appliances
I do a lot of cooking with our counter appliances, including our rice cooker, our toaster oven, our coffee maker and our air fryer. All these items are on the counter, pushed back against the wall. I can’t reach any of them without using iLevel on my power wheelchair!
Our house is not unique. We have a standard house with standard counter heights and standard cupboards. Any wheelchair user without elevating technology would struggle to access the most basic things in our home, or in any home for that matter because most homes are not built for wheelchair users. It can cost tens of thousands of dollars to remodel a kitchen to make it accessible to a wheelchair user (and also make the home virtually impossible to resell), which is why I am so thankful for my Edge 3 Stretto Power Wheelchair with iLevel technology. Thanks to this technology, I don’t need to spend $50,000+ remodeling my home. I just touch a single button on my wheelchair and I can access my entire kitchen.
About Stephanie Woodward: Stephanie is a brand ambassador advisor for Quantum Rehab® and works as a disability rights activist. She has received many awards for helping communities become more accessible, as well as for her actions in fighting for the rights of disabled individuals as it relates to Medicaid and other support services. Click here to learn more about Stephanie.
For more great blogs from our brand ambassadors and Q Roll Models, visit lifeatilevel.com today!
Return to Wheel Talk
