Sunday 31 July 2016

We are only human.

The Apple Store helper, I had added a “r” in Mayor Don Iveson name and I can’t seem to be able to fix it with out starting from scratch. So please let that little error side, I’m doing the best i can, with what I have.
Shared by Mightywheels.ca
A wheel accessibility team to help all people who use wheels.

Friday 29 July 2016

Facebook

This is Tim's legalese please that a look at Mightywheels.ca
be all you can be, do all you can do.

Aged.

I'm working ever so hard on this wheel project, because I don't see too many other people doing it, which is really silly cause we all will age and the last time I checked no one has found "The fountain of youth."

Luke.

Luke Anderson, Trailblazer.. A poorly placed automatic door button, a narrow elevator or a single step at the entrance to a shop. The majority of Canadians will navigate these common design flaws without much thought, but for the 11 per cent of the population that lives with a physical disability, they are yet another hurdle.
Luke Anderson has faced many of these obstacles first-hand. While mountain biking in British Columbia in 2002, the avid outdoorsman missed an eight-metre jump and sustained a spinal cord injury that rendered him quadriplegic. “My life changed in a split second when I crashed,” says Anderson, now 38. “And I quickly learned the world isn’t well-suited for someone who uses a mobility aid.”
Anderson moved back home to Toronto following his accident but struggled to recover his old self-confidence. He eventually returned to work as a structural engineer and in 2006 landed a coveted job with a sizable drawback: three tall steps at the building’s entrance. Every time Anderson wanted to enter or exit, a colleague had to set up an unwieldy ramp. It was a logistical nightmare that eliminated any spontaneity from his day.
During his years at the engineering firm, the problem of those steps was never far from Anderson’s mind. But it wasn’t until he heard of the Good Bike Project—where local artists painted broken bicycles vivid hues and used them to mark areas of historical or cultural importance around the city— that Anderson saw an opportunity. Portable, brightly coloured ramps could be a temporary solution, as well as an awareness-raising tool, for the widespread problem of stepped entranceways.
In the fall of 2011, Anderson and a friend solicited donations of wood and paint from hardware stores in the Junction, a neighbourhood in Toronto’s west end, and recruited volunteers by knocking on doors. The pitch: through their Community Ramp Project (which would later become the StopGap Foundation), they would provide shops with lightweight, weatherproof, fully customized ramps, free of charge.
They built 13 ramps in those first few months; once word got out, dozens of businesses across the city began submitting requests. For Attila Szanyi, ordering a ramp for his upscale corner store, Popbox Mrkt., was a no-brainer: “As a business owner, all you want is for people to have easy access to your shop. You don’t want to exclude anyone.”
Dan Harvey, who has used a wheelchair since a trampoline accident in his teens, has frequently felt excluded living in London, Ont. The city’s historic architecture can be challenging for people with disabilities. “That one step is what will prevent me from going out to dinner with my wife, from buying a new pair of pants, from having a drink with friends,” explains Harvey, 30. In 2015, following Anderson’s lead, Harvey brought StopGap to London. In just three months, Harvey and his team of volunteers raised $4,000 for their initiative and provided 59 businesses with accessible entranceways.
Harvey is just one of hundreds of people who have launched StopGap satellites in their communities since the project began: 800 technicolour ramps can now be seen in 34 cities, from Richmond, B.C., to Halifax. The group’s website features a catalogue of free resources to help volunteers conduct outreach, build their ramps and fund-raise (each unit costs upwards of $300 to construct).
As their name suggests, the StopGap ramps aren’t intended to be a permanent solution. Anderson hopes they foster a wider conversation around accommodating people with disabilities in public spaces, and that they put pressure on municipalities to mandate accessible buildings. “We need the places where we live, work and play to be good for everybody,” says Anderson. “At the root of all this is a human right, the right to equal access.”

Thursday 28 July 2016

Speech.

I'm doing a speech for my Mightywheels.ca at the self advocacy federation 
august 2nd at 4:00 please stop by..
18304-105 Avenue, Suite 104, Edmonton, Alberta, T5S 0C6
The Self Advocacy Federation (SAF)

SAF speech
Hello all, I'm Tim the founder of mightywheels dot ca Canada's first wheel accessibility team, raising awareness of the problems that people who use wheels face everyday. I'm very passionate about this, probably because I too use wheels.
Edmonton has poor accessibility and they about 4-5 years behind in their accessibility updates, Edmonton is not the best place for people who use wheels. For an able-bodied person, the journey from my apartment to the closest grocery store is a short, 5-minute walk, they can make it even shorter by cutting through the parking lot of the neighbouring plaza.
For me, that same journey takes an easy 30 minutes. I am forced to wheel over, over size speed bumps, large cracks in the sidewalk, numerous potholes and other horrific obstacles. I have fallen out of my chair from getting my wheels stuck in a crack of the city sidewalk.
These problems do not only affect me, they also affect parents pushing baby strollers, people using walking aids or other people using wheelchairs.
When I first brought my concerns to my local city councilor, Not mentioning any names... I was told that Edmonton didn't have an accessibility problem... And when I requested a meeting with that counselor, I was told that I had already met with him, which I hadn’t. I don't want any enemies, so I'll let that one slide.
But, how can we work together to solve our accessibility issues if the city councilors, the people who have the power to help address these issues, will not listen to our concerns? I came up with an idea to create the "MW Pledge”. The "MW Pledge" lays out the principles of mightywheels dot ca which are to help to create an accessible Edmonton for everyone.
Next year, there will be a city election, with dozens of candidates asking for our support. I will be asking every person running for mayor and council to sign the "MW Pledge" to show their support for an accessible Edmonton. I will make public all the candidates who have signed the "MW pledge" so that other advocates know who they can count on to support the community. After the election, we will hopefully have a council that have all signed the "MW Pledge." That will hopefully ensure that they keep their word to help us create a more accessible Edmonton.
The time for action is now! Let's work together to elect a council that will listen to our needs. We can turn Edmonton into a world leader of accessibility. Thank you for taking the time to hear me out. I am Timothy The founder of mightywheels dot ca
And before I forget please like my group and sign my pledge for a more accessible Edmonton.

Wednesday 27 July 2016

MAD

I don’t want to be treated special, so can you make the playing field equal, and I bet that’s what most people who use wheels would want to.

Shared by Mightywheels.ca
A wheel accessibility team to help all people who use wheels.

I'm still working on it.

https://www.facebook.com/mightywheels.ca/notifications/?section=activity_feed&subsection=mention&target_story=S%3A_I602288686594300%3A650074155149086

Tuesday 26 July 2016

Some teenyboppers,

I was wheeling around at WestEdmMall a few months ago, I know I had dry skin on my thumb, and wheeling around a lot would make it bled, So, I got a push to the security station near the ice rink, to ask for a band-aid. I couldn’t believe how poorly I was treated, I thought things there had improved for people in with challenges. But, I guess I was wrong. The 18 year old girl that was at the front desk, looking all good for the mall, asked me what I wanted (a little rudely, it loud there, lots of noise and my voice ain't the best. Little did I know, shes texting with her friend, who worked in the back. Then she just gets up from the desk, saying that talking with me, made her feel uncomfortable and its her right not to help me. She even yelled out loud "What if I catch what he has."
About 5 years ago, I lived right beside the mall, and I volunteered at both pet stores, did lots of little odd jobs all over the mall. I even have letters stating that on my resume. It took me a long time, to get the people at the mall, to relax enough to trust me.

Friday 22 July 2016

My S.A.F. speech

Hello, let's help Mightywheels to help others.
We're a wheel accessibility team that I created to help people who use wheels. We'll stand up for all people and help them journey through our beautiful city. We will bring attention to problem areas. So everyone can access the city. This organization can be used by anyone from, parents pushing baby strollers, people using walking aids or people like me using a wheelchair. Our mission is to help bring attention to difficulties people face every day, such as poor surface areas, poor city intersections, poor city sidewalks, sidewalk ramps, and non-accessible places of business. We want equal accessibility, so we can all access our city. I am hoping to raise awareness for the struggles that people with wheels have everyday. Thanks for your time and I appreciate any help that may come my way. I will not rest until the government uses a person who uses wheels to evaluate all wheel places we use. The city has improved a lot, but there is still much more to do.

Shared by Mightywheels.ca
A wheel accessibility team to help all people who use wheels.

Wednesday 20 July 2016

Why don't some people understand.

Just because I'm in a wheelchair doesn't mean that, Canada's first wheel accessibility team is only for people in wheelchairs. The team focuses on the surface area, not the wheels. So, all people.. parents pushing baby strollers, people with walking devices or people like me in wheelchairs can use the surface area's more safely.

Shared by Mightywheels.ca
A wheel accessibility team to help all people who use wheels.

Tuesday 19 July 2016

My dream/Goal.

Hi, this is Timothy Maxwell. I was working with Amy but I guess my new project scared her. Hehe I would like to run for a position in politics. The Mla's right hand man Brandon says i should run as Mightywheels.ca That would be part 1 of my life long dreams/goals. I'm asking for some help with it, remember it's all for the people. 

Voting is good.

There are 455 days until Edmontonians go to the polls to vote in the next municipal elections and some candidates are already starting to organize their campaigns.
I dropped by the Office of the City Clerk yesterday and discovered that ten candidates have officially registered their intent to run in Edmonton’s 2017 municipal election. Prospective candidates need to file their intentions to run in order to fundraise for their campaigns but they do not need to identify what position they plan to run for until they submit their papers to the City Clerk on the official nomination day.
Five incumbent city councillors Bev EsslingerDave LokenScott McKeenMichael Walters andMike Nickel have filed their papers. I suspect that the five incumbents will run for re-election in their respective Wards. It was suspected that Mr. Nickel could make a third attempt at running for mayor (he did in 1998 and 2001) but a rape joke published on his now-former online talk show’s Facebook page may have convinced him to focus on re-election in Ward 11.
The five challengers who have filed their intentions are:
  • Kris Andreychuk, a Supervisor of Community Safety with the City of Edmonton and 2015 Avenue Magazine Top 40 Under 40, announced at a BBQ event at his home in Highlands last weekend that he will run as a candidate for City Council in Ward 7. He has previously worked as a social worker with Neighbourhood Empowerment Teams on 118th Avenue.
  • Rob Bernshaw ran for city council in north Edmonton’s Ward 3 in 2013 and in the Public School Board Ward G by-election in 2015.
  • Sam Hachem was the sole candidate to challenge Councillor Ed Gibbons in Ward 4 in 2013. He earned 22.8 percent of the vote.
  • Shelley Tupper has been a candidate for City Council in north west Edmonton wards in 2007, 2010 and 2013. In 2013 she ran in Ward 2, finishing 5th with 9 percent of the vote. She has previously served as president of the Kensington Community League and is the current Secretary of the Edmonton-Griesbach Conservative Association.
  • Matthew (Matty) Wray, about whom I could not find any information online.
The next Municipal Elections will be held on Monday, October 16, 2017.

Monday 18 July 2016

Bus stop.

I'd like to do is goto West Edmonton mall bus stop and film, how easy/hard it is for a person with wheels to a bus while the never ending construction is happening.  

Wednesday 13 July 2016

my book.

The story I'm writing is to tie my thoughts, ideas and projects all together, plus it'll give you, the reader a more concentrated understanding of who I am and what I feel I need to do in my life.
My Book.
I'm sure there are many reasons why you have chosen to pick up this book and read it. Maybe your friend told you should, or maybe you were drawn to the front cover, or maybe I convinced you to read it. Whatever the reason may be, I hope that you finish my book feeling inspired with a refreshing new outlook on your life. We never know where our lives will lead us to, but I am confident we all have a good future ahead of us if that is what we truly want... Hello, my name is Timothy Maxwell. You can call me Tim when we meet in person, it's a little thing I do so I can tell if I know the person or not. I'm working on writing this book to tell my life's story and to help you understand what I had to go through, to become me. When I was 14 years old I was going through a RAMBO phase. The RAMBO movie just came out and everyone wanted to be like RAMBO, well most boys did. I, on the other hand, wanted to be a hero and do something for the world - something important. I was in with the bad apple crowd, and they were planning to steal a car but I wanted to join the army. I knew I could never join the army if I had a criminal record. I wanted to change the world. I remember calling for my mom to come into the living room to watch a television commercial. It was an army commercial telling how Marines could change the world. It also showed a really cool looking Harrier jet take off without needing a runway. At the end of the commercial it said "be a Marine, be a hero." From then on all I ever wanted to be was a Marine and do something about the mess the world had gotten itself into. I wanted to be a Marine, and getting to fly a Harrier jet was just an added bonus. I even started going on survival hikes with a friend, running, playing war, and learning battle tactics. Little did I know at that time that my life would take me in an entirely different direction. Before my accident I was a typical 15 year old teenager living in Nananaimo BC, in Canada. I was going to school and at that time I didn’t really have a girlfriend, I was sort of scared to go down that road. I had more important things to do. On a normal day, I’d ride my BMX bicycle to school, do my school work, and come home. Most days someone would call. On this particular September evening my friend called. He wanted me to come and hang out at his house with another BMX rider dude. In the 80's mostly everyone rode a BMX. My more mature friend Kevin and I were both big time Adrenalin junkies and our plan was to move to Vancouver and live and work with our bookworm friend Darren to keep us out of trouble and become bicycle couriers in the big city. Darren was my friend who I played war with. He wanted Kevin and I to join the Army with him when we got to Vancouver. I still haven't talked about it to my family. Back in my room Jamie and I were on the phone, and we had a brotherly argument. The argument over the phone was about whether the bicycle shop would be open or not. Jamie said the bicycle shop was open, but I swore that it was closed. We nattered back and forth about that for a good ten minutes, until I said "Put your money where your mouth is" and I bet him five bucks that I was right. That sort of shut him up for a bit, but he liked to argue! He said "let’s go down there and see".

I was hoping it wouldn’t take long because I was invited to the girl next door's house at 5:30. I was so excited because she and I were finally going to watch some television alone. I thought I could speed up our bet by calling the shop to find out if they were really open or closed but nobody answered the phone. I was convinced that they were closed. Not telling Jamie that I called, I rode over to his place anyways to pick him up. I told him if the store is closed we would turn around and come right back, he agreed. I also told him that I was going to Cindy's house and how I didn’t want anything to mess it up. She hardly ever had the house to herself, someone was usually there. Jamie said, "let’s go then". He made it there in a land speed record time just to find the shop was closed for the evening. By the time I made it there I laughed and laughed at him. He got off his bike for a little rest, he leaned his bike up against the storefront window to wipe his sweaty hands off. Because I listened to what Cindy said and didn’t ride like I was on fire, I didn't need to rest. As we were preparing to ride back, the train went by a block away. It must have sent fierce vibrations out because it shook Jamie's bike so hard that the store front window shattered from the metal handlebar being against the window. We didn't have time to think about what to do because out of nowhere, the shop owner pulled up in his van. Jamie hopped on his bike pointing downhill. I was pointing up towards my Mom's work, which was two blocks away. The van roared its engine 2-3 times, as if he was trying to scare us away. He didn't try talking to us or anything. Jamie took off like a rocket downhill. Without thinking, I just took off too, taking on the steep hill. My adrenaline was pumping so hard that I could feel it throbbing in my ears. My 185mm crank set and my enlarged front sprocket allowed me to manual ¾ the way up the hill. The van chose to follow me. I tried to use my crazy maneuvering techniques to escape the van. It was getting too tough to get up that hill, so I decided to turn around and go down the hill. As I was peddling down the steep hill with gravity on my side I found myself peddling for my life. I frantically made a wrong turn and found myself going up another steep hill. By this time I was getting tired and my legs wouldn’t move as fast as I wanted them to. Suddenly my rear wheel was nudged. I couldn't believe that the fool could keep up with my extreme peddling and power turns. By the time those thoughts were finished running through my head, he hit my back bike tire again from behind. I was catapulted into the back of a large parked car, hitting the bumper and the back of the car very hard. All I could see was a really bright light, it engulfed everything. I couldn't move, it felt like I was not even in my own body. I could hear the van stop and him getting out. I could sense him around me. Then it felt like I was flying. He rolled me over to take my wallet to find out who I was and then he was gone; he probably went to report the situation and just let the ambulance take care of the clean-up. All of this seemed like it took forever, but it was only a matter of seconds. Still to this day, I never got my wallet back. It baffles me as to why he felt the need to steal my wallet. Maybe he was trying to be Big Time serial killer and wanted a trophy to remember this event.

At the site of the accident I felt so alone, it seemed like it took forever for the ambulance to get there. I vaguely remember the ambulance drivers picking up my limp body from the cold cement. That night the Nanananaimo hospital was full and staff redirected me to a hospital in Victoria that was also better equipped to handle my injury. Later on, my mom said it was a blessing in disguise. The hospital is farther but I’m sure I could handle the drive. The drivers sounded pretty cool, laughing with each other saying that they hit 210 coming down off the hill. We were going so fast it felt like we were airborne. I wish I was more conscious then, I would have enjoyed the ride much more. I can’t remember too much of my stay at the Vic. General. I do remember a little bit, like my first drink of Coke or my first cheeseburger. My Mom was always there for me, I’m really thanking my lucky stars for that, but I don't know if she really realizes how grateful I am. I suffered from a brain stem injury. As a result, my voice was gone. It was really hard for people to understand me. I also struggled from not having balance. I could sit for 2-3 hours at first, but my back wasn't strong enough to keep me upright. After awhile of fighting for my life at the Vic. General and scaring the hell out of the nurses by getting out of bed and attempting to walk out of my room. I soon left the hospital for rehabilitation. One thing I learned early on in my injury is that you have to be able to do what you say, because with this injury people don't believe what you say anymore. I should rename my injury and call it "The Pinocchio injury" because it makes some/most people lie like a carpet. I was home for about 4 weeks, and after that I was on my way to the Gorge Road Rehabilitation hospital, in Victoria. It was mainly to work on my physical body, my brain was all there, thank Goodness. However, I did do some speech and voice lessons there. My mom was there all the time at first, but as I got more comfortable and independent in the hospital she came to visit me about 3-4 times per week. A nurse wanted me to learn to car-transfer, she said it was really important. A car transfer is just sliding your butt from your wheelchair seat over to the seat of the car. I told her that I could already transfer from my chair to a bench with no problems and that I was convinced I could manage a car-transfer. But she needed to see it herself, so I showed her a number of times in the gym. Back in my room I had a roommate in my room for the first time ever since my injury. I didn't really like the idea of having to share, but it turned out to be good. Morgan and I became inseparable; we even started smoking together, something I never ever wanted to do before. It was not good for my breathing while I was racing BMX and I was told that it stunted my growth. I always wanted to be a big boy so that I could stick up for all my smaller friends and be the hero. One day I sweet talked my Mom into buying Morgan and I pack of smokes each. I didn't like having her helping me kill myself, as Morgan and I were outside smoking. We met up with this hardcore patient named Darren. He refused all of his recommended therapies and that's why we referred to him as being Hard Core.
You'll have to wait till the book comes out to read the rest.

We can do it.

Meeting with Mightywheels.ca and Mla Lorne Dach. https://t.co/WZ4dl2eAG4

Get the whole picture - and other photos from Mightywheels.ca
PIC.TWITTER.COM/WZ4DL2EAG4|BY MIGHTYWHEELS.C

Sunday 10 July 2016

My passion.

My passion is Mightywheels.ca probably, because I live with wheels and that I see other people who use wheels everyday, not having a successful time with intersections, sidewalks and sidewalk ramps. We need to get the problem fixed before those problems become are problems.

What I'm saying is that we all, are growing older..

Saturday 9 July 2016

Ok, I get it now.

Why don't some people understand, just because I'm in a wheelchair doesn't mean that, the wheel accessibility team I run is only for people in wheelchair. Our team focuses on the surface area. So parents pushing baby strollers, people with walking devices, or people like me in wheelchairs can use the surface area more safely.

Wow.

I Timothy Maxwell, have many more ideas to improve accessibility for my wheeled friends. I just need to earn more popularity for my larger ideas to work better. So please "like" my page.
Shared by Mightywheels.ca
A wheel accessibility team to help all people who use wheels.

Thursday 7 July 2016

For tomorrow's walk.

I'm Timothy Maxwell and Mightywheels the wheel accessibility team with Lorne Dach the Mla In my community. Today we're filming me, myself wheeling from his office in Callingwood market place mall where I enjoy hanging out at. To my house 20 minutes away trying to show the city the difficulties I have going there on the city sidewalks.
Now, I can difficulty manouver though all the poor surface areas but, what about other people who use wheels.

Shared by Mightywheels.ca 
A wheel accessibility team to help all people who use wheels.

Wednesday 6 July 2016

A deal for the city,

I'm willing to donate Mightywheels.ca and all its idea's to the city, as long as they agree to keep moving forward with the project and keep me on its board. The city's 10 years behind in there accessibility projects and Mightywheels.ca can help.

Shared by Mightywheels.ca 
A wheel accessibility team to help all people who use wheels.

Sunday 3 July 2016

If its not raining.

Tomorrow if it is not raining MLA Lorne Dach his assistant and I, will be walking to my home, taking pictures of all the good and bad surface areas we find on our 20min. walk from his office to my house.


Shared by Mightywheels.ca
A wheel accessibility team to help all people who use wheels.