Tuesday, May 13, 2025 – Day 273

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Good morning everybody!

More ALS adaptive gear is rolling into the house to keep me moving from A to B. Everything is large, heavy-duty, and takes up space. For every new device, a piece of furniture gets the boot. At this rate, we may need a storage shed—or start listing chairs on Craigslist to make room or empty a room.

Yesterday, ALS United delivered the Liftkar—soon to be dubbed the “stair sherpa.” This portable stair climber will get me up and down stairs, primarily at home. We don’t have a bedroom on the main floor, and building one out isn’t an option. So it’s upstairs I go… unless we want to plop a hospital bed in the middle of the living room. We’re not there yet, thankfully, so the Liftkar buys us some time to keep things mostly normal as I travel this ALS journey.

Bonus: it’s portable. We can take it on the road, with our first test case being the trip up north to the pier at Fence Lake. That spot has a long, straight shot of concrete stairs—no handrails, no forgiveness. It’s also one of my seven fall sites since my ALS diagnosis. But now, with the Liftkar and a brave second person, I just sit back and ride. I’ll make it down to the lake in style—as long as I don’t roll off the pier, into the lake. Would that count as a fall or a swim?

Our trainer, Nick, was meticulous. He walked us through how it works and ran a few demos. The basics are simple: three speeds, two rocker switches (one on each handle), and two choices—up or down. Easy enough… until you add a passenger. That’s when things get “interesting.”

Nick kept telling Cindy, “The machine operates by feel.” Possibly the least comforting phrase when you’re about to haul your husband up a flight of stairs. You have to tilt the machine—with me in it—and find the magic balance point where gravity doesn’t take over. If you’ve ever used a hand truck to move a stack of cases or boxes, you can remove weight to get to a “sweet spot”, that feels right. Except in this case “the cargo” weighs 225 pounds (me and the Sherpa) and doesn’t come in smaller portions. Unless I commit to a strict diet of celery sticks, which everybody knows is unlikely.

The handle on this contraption, extends to help with leverage, but only to a point. Finding that balance—that “feel”—is the trick. Nick says it’s all about muscle memory and finesse. Cindy says, “I need to start going to the gym.”

Once you’ve got the balance, the Liftkar climbs one stair at a time, pausing at each one so the operator can assess whether it “feels right.” Then you continue, step by cautious step. It’s like riding a very slow, very deliberate escalator—with no hand rails and a husband on board.

Thankfully, the Liftkar has safety features. If it’s not balanced properly, it simply won’t move. It’s smart enough to say “nope” when you’re about to do something dumb. The one thing it can’t prevent? If it’s tipped too far forward, past the point of equilibrium, then it’s up to gravity to decide what happens. If Cindy ever decides to let go…well, let’s just say I’ll be testing my helmet and maybe bouncing my way into a new adaptive device.

So, bottom line: the Liftkar is great—as long as you can manage the weight, find the balance, and learn to trust “the feel.” If not, there’s always the traditional stairlift… except that one doesn’t travel. For places like Fence Lake, we may need a different strategy. A plastic sled, maybe? Turn the stairs into a toboggan run and just launch me straight into the lake. Honestly, that sounds kind of fun and exciting…some would say, “Andy, you’re being stupid again!”

So stay tuned, it may be a couple of weeks or longer before we have our inaugural ride. Right now…it’s practice, practice, practice!!

Everybody, have a great Tuesday.

Love you guys! ❤️