Editor's Note

Turn, Turn, Turn*

• By Laurie Watanabe
• Jun 01, 2021

The book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 3, famously notes that to everything there is a season, including “a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance… a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing.”

We have certainly had our time to refrain from embracing, as well as our time to weep and mourn loved ones lost to a pandemic that has gone on for so long that, consciously and subconsciously, we created new strategies, new routines, and a new normal to live in.

Thanks to COVID-19 vaccines and other safeguards, change is coming again.

Change is hard for me. I adapt, but at my own, rather plodding pace. Spontaneity is unsettling, even when the changes are for the better.

So I can relate to our feature stories this issue. Our cover story (page 10) is on power assist, specifically the advantages of proactively considering power assist. Power assist has long been seen as a remedy for injuries born from years of self propelling. And power assist has been thought of as technology mainly for long hauls. But what if power assist were integrated in more environments and used earlier in life? What benefits could be reaped? What surgeries, hospitalizations, and bouts of immobility could be avoided?

On page 18, you’ll find our Aging with Cerebral Palsy feature, another story that’s about change. Clinicians discuss how the natural aging process — from childhood through middle age and on — can impact people who have CP. Not all physical changes, it turns out, can be attributed to the primary diagnosis. And presentations change over clients’ lifetimes, even if their conditions aren’t progressive.

On page 28, we glimpse the future in the present with a story on smart and smarter technology. It’s inspiring to see that innovation goes beyond just the clinical considerations and mechanics of seating and wheeled mobility. Engineers keep looking for ways to improve the entire experience, whether that means working to ease a consumer’s doubts or preserve that consumer’s dignity and independence.

Not all change is bad. But it is constant, and even good changes take time to get used to. So as spring turns to summer and we emerge from our physical and social cocoons, I’m working on recalibrating my thinking: With the right precautions, being in larger crowds is much safer now. I’m fully vaccinated, so I don’t have to double-mask absolutely everywhere anymore.

I look forward to seeing you again soon.

*Yes, I’m showing my age with this reference to the Byrds. I bought that K-Tel album at Thrifty Drug Store, along with a double-scoop Rocky Road ice cream cone. And yes, once I got that album home, it was a time to dance.

This article originally appeared in the May/Jun 2021 issue of Mobility Management.