COLCHESTER, Vt. (WCAX) – People are getting out of their wheelchairs, getting into their high-tech adaptive cars and showing off what they can do.
“In Joan’s condition, she would otherwise not have been able to get into a conventional seat or vehicle,” said Guy Kennedy of Underhill.
Guy Kennedy and his wife Joan spend a lot of time traveling and camping in their 1988 Volkswagen.
But the two spent their weekend showing off the van that Kennedy has now made completely wheelchair accessible for his wife, who suffers from multiple sclerosis.
Kennedy has been remodeling the van over the past few years and telling more and more people about it because he believes there are no limits to disability if you’re just creative.
“The most important thing for me is to show that you can move someone with assistive devices from a single point, without the big metal crossbar. Without leaving them dangling in open space. Without straps around their legs,” Kennedy said.
And the Kennedys weren’t the only ones showing off their car at the University of Vermont Medical Center’s Driver Rehabilitation Program’s new adaptive car show.
More than twenty vehicles equipped with adaptive technology were exhibited at the event.
It is the first time that the health network has hosted such a show, demonstrating the vehicles to other people with disabilities who want to start driving, such as wheelchair-bound Virgil Shaw.
“Oh, it’s very, very useful. It’s a good idea for UVM to include it in their driving program. It gives me the information where to start,” Shaw said.
The health network hopes to make this an annual event, as thousands of people in Vermont do not have the means to purchase such technology.
“Sometimes we can make small changes like adding extra mirrors if you can’t turn your neck or very high-tech equipment that can cost a lot of money. Sometimes there are things that cost a lot of money but can make a big difference in getting people back on the road,” said Heather Zuk of the Driver Rehabilitation Program.
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