The Things People Say

Over the last 7 years of my Segway use out in public, many comments have been made concerning the device. A few make me somewhat upset while the majority are nice and a few even make me laugh inside.

One of my pet peeves, which just recently happened is when someone refers to my Segway as a 'toy'. Once while leaving Sam's Club in Lexington, a father and daughter were behind me when I heard the daughter say 'Look daddy, what is that thing he's riding?' The father replied 'Oh, that's just a toy for rich boys'.
In Fayette Mall an older man commented 'Man that sure is a neat toy you've got there' to which I instinctively replied, 'To me it's not a toy'.
The first time I was in a store and was slowly gliding along when a family saw me and were making some comments to each other when the father said rather loudly, while looking at me 'Now that's ridiculous'. I thought 'Yep, having MS is ridiculous, you ought to try it sometime'.
As Wanda and I were entering the booth area at a recent festival, I overheard one of the workers in a food booth say 'Hey look, I wonder if he's really handicapped?' I wanted to reply something to the effect of 'Hey, why don't you come over here and ride this thing while I go over to your booth and make stupid comments'.

Most though are very nice. I get asked a lot 'How in the world do you balance that thing?' or, 'I've seen those things on TV but this is the first one I've seen in person'. I also get asked how 'fast will it go?', 'How much does it cost?' and 'Where can I get one of those'. After talking to me for a few minutes several people have said something like 'I sure am glad you've got that thing'. I can tell that they mean it too. Makes me feel real warm inside.
It's not uncommon at all for me to be in a store with the Segway and someone will come up to me and ask 'Do you work here?' I have received many offers to help me load it when I'm getting ready to get it in my vehicle. Makes me see the good side of people.

The funniest thing that someone said was when Wanda and I were at the Brass Band Festival in Danville, Ky and were in a line to get some lemonade from one of the vendors, when a young boy (7th or 8th grade) was right in front of me and turned around and was eyeing the Segway rather closely , saying things like 'Neat, or 'Cool'. I told him that I use it because I'm handicapped, to which he replied, 'Boy, I sure can't wait 'till I get handicapped'.

But the most common reaction I get when a person sees me on the machine is to smile, again giving me a warm feeling inside. And I do get a lot of smiles.

Gilenya After 3 Weeks

I began taking the new drug, Gilenya on December 21, posting a video on Youtube two days later. In the 1st video, I stated that I wanted to include regular videos in order to both share my experience with the very new drug (it was only approved by the FDA on September 27) as well as to provide myself with a recorded version of myself as I was taking Gilenya. The address of the 1st Youtube video is www.youtube.com/watch?v=hduvx-3chqo . The sound and video of this 1st post somehow got screwed up shortly after the video on Youtube was listed. Even then, the quality of my speech can be examined. The second video is included in this post. I do realize that the purpose of the drug is twofold. The first being to significantly reduce the number of exacerbations while the second is to reduce their negative effects on the body. But like Tysabri I have hopes that other areas may also improve. Time will tell.

At I write this, my wife and I are in Nashville where our youngest daughter has delivered our 4th grandchild.

The Segway accompanied us on the trip, but I didn't use it on the night of the birth, although several times I was wishing I had it with me. We brought the cold weather and snow with us and I have been somewhat sedentary the last few days. It felt very good to go out to the grocery today and rely on my Bioness L=300 to walk and stretch my legs.