Welcome to the AbilityVoice blog!

Here, you'll find everything about BraunAbility - from the latest news announcements, to in-depth articles on product design and manufacturing, to the history of the company. You can browse by searching the archives or selecting a category to the left. You can also subscribe to our RSS Feed or choose to receive email updates for all of BraunAbility's future posts. Most importantly, we've created this blog for you, our customers.­ This is your chance to let us know what's important to you! So please give us your thoughts or concerns by commenting. Thank you!

BraunAbility Dealer Steps Up for Rehab Professional

Posted by on January 25th, 2012 in About Our Dealers

BraunAbility dealers have incredibly close relationships with the professionals who help wheelchair users find the mobility products they deserve and the resources to purchase that equipment. A terrific example of that was shared earlier this month when the crew at United Access in Dallas helped the Texas Rehab ACTion Network organize a fundraiser for a [...]

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An End to Transfers for this Texas Family

Posted by on January 24th, 2012 in About Our Dealers, Customer Stories, Wheelchair Vans

Like so many of our customers, getting from Point A to Point B was never easy for Jason Roberts and his mother, Phyllis. Jason was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy at the age of five and began using a wheelchair at nine. Since day one his mother, Phyllis, has been his primary caregiver, and after [...]

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Will an Increase in Wheelchair Users Lead to More Parking Spaces?

Posted by on January 23rd, 2012 in Customer Stories

According to recent statistics, it’s going to get even harder for me to find a handicap parking space for my wheelchair van! The San Francisco Chronicle recently noted that life expectancy has increased to 78.7 years…especially in the disability community. People with middle age disease-related disabilities are living longer – thus increasing their population. Current government statistics indicate [...]

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“I’ve Never Purchased an Investment as Rewarding as This”

Posted by on January 9th, 2012 in About Our Dealers, Customer Stories

Several weeks ago we received a letter from Art Gilman, a retired investment banker from Monterey, CA. According to Art, he had never written a positive testimonial in his 72 years. “I must be getting soft in my old age”, he said, “but I’ve never purchased an investment as rewarding as this.” When his wife [...]

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Vet Finds Freedom After 30 Years of Do-It-Yourself Mobility

Posted by on January 5th, 2012 in About Our Dealers, Customer Stories

Ask Gary Hefty about his new Toyota Rampvan, and you’ll have to give him a minute. “It about brings me to tears to talk about it,” says the 68 year-old. Since he began using a power wheelchair in 1979 – over 32 years ago – he’s made his own transportation. He knew mobility vehicles existed, [...]

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Trooper Surprised With New Wheelchair Van From Fellow Officers

Posted by on December 20th, 2011 in About Our Dealers, Wheelchair Vans

Nearly 40 years ago, Trooper Steward (Glen) Franklin was shot twice during the undercover arrest of a bootlegger in Kentucky. One of those shots pierced his spinal cord and left him paralyzed with no movement in his lower body. It wasn’t until nearly four decades later that he was finally recognized for his bravery in [...]

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One-Stop Calendar for Adaptive Sports Online

Posted by on December 19th, 2011 in Customer Stories

We’ve used the phrase “Necessity is the mother of invention” to describe why Ralph Braun designed his first wheelchair van. The same adage was true for John  Vcelka, creator of Sports Abilities, an online resource and calendar for adaptive athletics across the country. John started promoting local adaptive sports in his home state of Colorado. [...]

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It’s Not About Me in 2012

Posted by on December 12th, 2011 in Customer Stories

Sister Karen Zielinski is a BraunAbility customer and frequent contributor to AbilityVoice. She’s the proud owner of a wheelchair van (a Chrysler Entervan) and contributes frequently to multiple sclerosis publications across the country. I sent an email to a friend recently asking a simple “How ya’ doing?”. Her response was overwhelming – and certainly a bit [...]

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New Infographic Defines Disability in America

Posted by on December 6th, 2011 in News / Announcements

Pictures speak louder than words and numbers talk – put those two adages together, and you have an infographic, the nifty little visual representations of data that you see online and in newspapers from time to time. You’re probably familiar with these illustrative chart hybrids from time-to-time. They’re perfect for giving an at-a-glance look at [...]

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“Magic Carpet is what I have named my vehicle…”

Posted by on December 2nd, 2011 in Customer Stories, Wheelchair Vans

A few weeks ago we received an email from Matt Carroll of Woburn, MA. He’d found a letter that his mother, Roberta, had written four years ago to BraunAbility thanking us for the driving freedom her Chrysler Entervan had given her. The first line of her letter captured her gratitude for her mobility perfectly: “Magic [...]

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