I love attending conferences and events, especially the ones with kids and wheelchair users of any age. Since I’m a social butterfly, these events give me the ability to share a part of me, and the part I love to talk about is my iLevel® Wheelchair. iLevel is like the shell of my real body. It secures me and I expect every function of the wheelchair to work properly and move when I need to move. I depend on my chair to help me independently navigate every day. With all the confidence that I have in my wheelchair, I want everyone I know who uses a wheelchair to try out the brand that I sincerely vouch for.
While attending the SMA conference this summer and promoting iLevel, I met and interviewed a kid named Max. He’s had his iLevel Power Wheelchair for two years now and loves it. Some of his functions were designed and specialized just for him. Our chairs are alike and different at the same time. This means the power base on our wheelchairs are the same but some of our needs while using iLevel are different. He needs certain functions that I don’t and vice versa. I asked him: ‘If there was anything you could change about iLevel, what would it be?’ He said he wanted to be able to go at least 20 miles per hour while elevated. I laughed with him and simply said, ‘Oh no! We have to remember safety first.’ Now you know most kids do not understand the concept of safety, right? We want what we want and just need the adults to make it happen! I let him know that I have my own awesome ideas to bring to the table. And, while keeping safety in mind, I know the Quantum team can make it happen.
I also talked to a man who has an older Quantum power wheelchair, yet he has been impressed with iLevel technology. He said he is “old school” and does not want to change because he is comfortable and used to the wheelchair he already has. I’m humorous at times so I simply told him to loosen up some and try something different to get a new spin on life. Some of the “old schoolers” are hard to convince. So, I start to show off my iLevel power wheelchair, my cool functions, my new elevated seating…until he couldn’t take it anymore and finally tried out the new and improved Edge 3 with iLevel. He had me working hard, but it was worth it.
One of the most memorable kids I talked to about iLevel technology was a little girl at a conference last year in 2018. At four years old, she was newly diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy type 2, just like me. She was still in an assistive stroller and her parents didn’t know if she was ready for a power wheelchair yet. I talked with her and the parents for a minute and cracked a few jokes. I showed them how I’m able to be in control of the wheelchair and it does not control me. I gave them a few examples of how the chair works and how it maneuvers well when in crowded places. After hearing this, the little girl became excited to try out one of our iLevel wheelchairs for the first time. You should’ve seen the looks on her parents faces as she drove around as if she had already had one. Her parents started to cry and thanked me for making their daughter and them comfortable about starting her in a power chair.
About Morgan Steward: Morgan is an honorary police officer for the Covington Georgia Police Department. He lives with his mother, father and two siblings. He is an active member in his community and enjoys helping others. Click here to learn more about Morgan.