John Lawton

Lansing

Seth Warschausky, PhD
University of Michigan

For the past 20 years, Tearlach Sinclair never felt quite comfortable at his own home.

Sinclair, an incomplete paraplegic, typically uses a wheelchair or braces to get around. He needed help getting in and out of his Menominee home, a job that usually rested with his wife, Siubhan.

But getting into and out of his home independently is now possible for Sinclair, now that he has had a ramp installed with the help of United Cerebral Palsy's Elsie S. Bellows Fund - and after 20 years of his wife's prodding.

"I finally realized she was telling the truth," he recalled with a laugh. "I couldn't get the chair in and out of the house; my wife had to do it. If she was at work, I was stuck. It didn't make her happy, and it didn't make me happy."

It was finally clear to Sinclair he needed a ramp - and he needed some help, too.

Sinclair, 60, immediately started looking for grant money, and came across the Bellows fund online. Working with staff from the UCP Michigan Assistive Technology Center in Marquette, Sinclair applied for a grant from the Bellows Fund and received $900 toward the cost of materials for a ramp. When he heard that the grant had been approved, he was thrilled. "I was like, wow!" he said. "I was absolutely astounded."

Check in hand, he set off to purchase the materials at a local hardware store. "I got the check and immediately converted it from one kind of paper to another kind of paper," Sinclair said with a laugh. "I traded the $900 for wood, screws, nails, etc." At first he was told that the materials would cost $1,800, twice the amount of his grant. "I said, 'I need wood, not gold blocks,' " he laughed. He took a piece of scrap paper and drew out what he needed. "I told them I'm basically building Ramp 101," he said.

Habitat for Humanity and local church volunteers did most of the installation, although Sinclair said he ended up doing some of the work himself since the Habitat volunteers were simultaneously working on a home-building project. "I was out of the chair, screwing on boards," he explained.

Sinclair also said that in addition to two coats of primer and paint, he applied an anti-slip coat on top, much needed due to the Menominee winters. He enjoyed testing it out, as well. "I went to the top of the ramp and went down to the first turn and stopped- no squealing, no slipping, I just stopped," he said.

He's not the only one who enjoys the ramp: he said when he was recently handing out candy on Halloween, the trick-or-treaters made use of it as well. "Every kid that came had to run up and down the ramp - they didn't make the turn, they

just jumped off the end," he said with a laugh. "It was fun to see."

In addition to making his own home accessible, Sinclair is an advocate for making his town more accessible, as well, working with local politicians and committees to try to improve sidewalks and make curb cuts on the corners. "Moms pushing strollers, the elderly ... universal design helps everyone," he explained. "I'm trying to make things better."  

United Cerebral Palsy established the Bellows Fund in 1995 to provide assistive technology equipment to financially challenged individuals with disabilities. Assistive technology includes ramps, adaptable lifts for vehicles, communications tools, mobility aids and home modifications. The Bellows Fund provides funds to UCP affiliates across the country to purchase such equipment.

UCP Michigan also offers the Assistive Technology Loan Fund, which helps people with disabilities enhance their quality of life by providing low-cost access to assistive technology they might not otherwise be able to afford.

Sinclair is extremely happy with the new ramp: "For the first time in many years, I have absolute liberty and control over when I enter and exit my home," he said. "I don't have to run my schedule based on my wife's schedule. She doesn't have to feel bad if I want to go somewhere and she's not home. It takes the burden off her. To me, that's worth all the time and money that was spent."