What About Price?
Nobody seems to address the price of medical marijuana [“Medical Marijuana 2.0 — Stirring the Pot,” July 2016]. How can anyone living on Social Security and Medicaid/Medicare afford it? In Arizona where I live it costs $250 a year just for the card.
Kirk Sketchley
via newmobililty.com

Grateful and Happy
I really appreciated this article [“Learning to Say Yes,” July 2016], especially the parts about one’s life not having to be smaller because of the injury, and the points about post-traumatic growth. I know mentally and spiritually I am different/better because of my injury, and for that I am very grateful. And happy.
Kelly McCall
via newmobility.com

Just in Time
I needed this article [“Learning to Say Yes”] as I’m a T4 para, 11 months post-injury, and recently really struggling with the changes I’m being forced to make. Thank you for sharing this!
Carissa Bennett
via newmobility.com

Right to Drive
The restrictions and costs to vehicles with adaptive driving equipment are directly related to involvement of lawyers and litigation [“Your Right to Drive is Under Attack,” Bully Pulpit, July 2016]. Twenty years ago, a person who owned a vehicle modification business said he could see a day when adaptive driving controls were no longer offered due to liability costs. It seems that that day may be coming soon.
Scott Barr
via newmobility.com

Has 1984 Arrived?
The lack of hand controls on dealership rentals [“Your Right to Drive is Under Attack”] is something that has repeatedly been brought up in my SCI support group: The fact that we drivers whose vehicles are equipped with hand controls need to bring our car to the dealership for service, but are not treated the same as every other driver, in that we cannot drive off the lot in a loaner car that we may wish to purchase.

Just watch someone try and take away my right to drive my car. It will be an extremely and exceedingly bad day for him or her. Last time I checked, this country had not (quite) turned into an Orwellian state.
Beth Wiesner

Roosevelt Estate
I enjoyed reading Matther Castelluccio’s Spotlight: Hudson Valley [July 2016]. I was surprised that he didn’t mention the Roosevelt Estate in Hyde Park. I utilize a mobility scooter (I’m a post-polio survivor) and I visited the estate two years ago. While there are stairs for the front entrance, they have an accessible entrance through the basement and an elevator that takes the visitor to the various floors of the estate.

There is also a bus that takes visitors to Roosevelt’s mountain top cottage; the bus and the cottage are accessible. It is a wonderful part of history, especially since FDR was a polio survivor, and he did so much for those of us with polio.
Bob Andersch
via newmobility.com

Urologic Meds and Brain Damage
I’m 62 with spina bifida and have taken these medications off and on for years [“Anticholinergic Meds May Cause Brain Damage,” May 2016]. The one I’m on now is Enablex and I have taken it for more than five years. Now I have to wonder if my absent-mindedness is just a natural part of aging or caused by the meds I’m taking. I will certainly bring this up at my next urologist appointment. That is, if I remember.
Craig Cappuccilli
via newmobility.com

NM Bias Re: DME
In many articles in newspapers or magazines, the author of the article will make a disclaimer such as “Full disclosure — I own/patronize/whatever the following product.” I have been troubled for some time about the obvious bias that NEW MOBILITY has in regards to durable medical products. In the April issue, I counted the equivalent of at least nine full-page ads for either wheelchair/mobility or seating products. I’m not saying that NM should not be advertising such products, nor should they not write about same. But, I feel that you ought to acknowledge up front that you have another vested interest, a financial interest, apart from having a disability. If you wrote a piece critical of a certain product, would they drop their advertising from NM?
Dan Mayclin
via newmobility.com

Correction:
BraunAbility has advised dealers that installing their products in a vehicle that has not been specifically approved by BraunAbility engineers for such installation will void the warranty on the lift and will require the customer to be given a disclaimer. BraunAbility has informed NM that it has not yet approved the installation in the Mercedes Metris minivan that was reported in our August issue [Motorvation: “What’s new in accessible vehicles”].