I wanted to leave a note letting my listeners know that yes I completely edited this episode with minimal assistance from Sofeya my Teacher of the Visually impaired!
Hello Everyone:
Today we are lit with joy to be joined by Alex Mertens. Alex is a student at Mount Royal University! Congratulations Alex on studying kinesiology to make a difference in people’s lives.
In the podcast Alex will talk about a recent helpful discovery; the of Trexo Robotic Waller. I will end the intro there.
Enjoy the MMP interview!
Alexis: Thank you for agreeing to be interviewed by me today;I first heard of you through word of mouth, and someone at the Alberta Children’s Hospital thought I may be interested in connecting with you. From there, I have always been interested in your personal journey.
Tell us something you are proud of Alex?
Alex: Well when I was in a study with the Trexo; The Trexo is a robotic walker, I did 4, 000 steps in one day!
AlexisAmazing! Walking is always so good for you. Yeah!
Part two of question 1 Alexis :
What was your inspiration?
Alex : It wasn’t really like inspiration. It kind of just happened; I started using Trexo and then I started in the Trexo trial. Then I said hey… I want to make a YouTube and an Instagram series so that my family and friends that don’t see me very often could see my progress.
Alexis : Interesting. I find Trexo very interesting. It makes walking a lot different for people with disabilities. It does. It actually helped me in so many ways, more than what I could even imagine. I couldn’t imagine going back to my life without it., just I also wanna let the people who watch or listen to the podcast know I’m a triplet. What do you find most challenging about Cerebral palsy Palsy and why couldn’t you go back to life without the Trexo?
Alex: What I find most challenging is mostly that some places aren’t up chair accessible. That’s what I find challenging. I don’t really look at myself or Cerebral Palsy as a challenge. I look at it as more of a very special gift that I have that I was born with and I just use it to embrace everything I do.
Alexis : Yes, me too. Some people find it challenging living with a disability. How have you come about to face it, figure out that that’s a blessing throughout your own journey?.
Alex: How I figured that out is actually like how I figured out and how it, what it’s actually like, kinda taught me is You can’t rush, uh, like, if you’re waiting for something to get better.You just have to… Like, you just have to hope that it’ll get better at some point.
Like, I used to have chronic knee pain before using the Trexo And now I don’t have it anymore. That’s interesting. So the Trexo kids don’t have chronic knee pain. Yeah, we When, when I first started using it, we didn’t know that it was going to relieve the knee pain at all.
Alexis : How did you come to discover that? Was there some key that some, uh, made you say, Hey, this is the Trexo right, right away, immediately?
Alex: No. I didn’t, like, I went through one section in the track show. Actually, I said to my mom in the car, when I first went to try the Trexo Robotic Walker , what if the Trexo doesn’t work? Alex : Like, what if it hurts my leg more because I thought I was gonna be weight bearing and standing was really sore when I stand on my legs? To my surprise, It helped them almost immediately.
Alex: So, that’s why I couldn’t go back to life without the TREXO because I was worried that all my pain and like vertigo and stuff like that would come back. And did you end up getting your own TREXO Yes, getting my own TREXO. It was actually a really cool story because my family was trying to keep it like a surprise till I was still in the trial, but it actually didn’t.
work like that because I was actually getting so, like, I was actually getting so anxious about giving it back because my pain was all gone when I had it. So I was like, what am I going to do when we have to give it back? Like, and then they told me, it was supposed to be a Christmas present actually, but didn’t really work out like that.
Alex: They told me about it and my reaction, I was so Happy and so full of joy that I’ve been getting my own Trexo that I actually started crying.
Amazing. I got an anonymous donor for some of it and you order it right from like the Trexo company Awesome. After hearing your story that makes me wonder whether that would be good for me You should try the Trexo first. To see if it actually, like, works for you, because you actually have to let the Trexo help you.
Alex : Like, you can’t resist it or else the robot won’t move. So it was actually a total learning curve for my walking ability to actually walk with it but also let my, also let the machine help me, help me move.
Alexis : Yeah, I think that’s the tough part for me, is letting the machine do its work because I don’t feel like I’m doing absolutely nothing.
Alex :Yeah, well that’s how I felt at first. It felt really weird.
Alexis: I always like to ask this question to people. What is their preferred disability language when it comes to referring to people with disabilities? Because some people like to be referred to as disabled person or I am a person with a disability.I find that really interesting.
Alex: I like to actually be called either a person with a disability or a person with special needs because the, the reason I use the person with special needs is it makes me feel special. And a little bit different, and I don’t mind feeling different.
Alexis: What does it make you feel like when you feel. Describe the feeling of feeling different for me.
Alex: It actually makes me feel like I can be like my own unique person. Just do my own. Just do everything like a normal person can do, but a normal person can do, but I just do it in my own unique way, even though I’m in a wheelchair. That’s an interesting perspective, cause for me, special makes me feel like I have special needs and I can only do this much, where as I like the, I’m a diverse person over, other way around. Oh yeah!
Alexis: I like to show that we have unique talents rather than we can’t do things. Yeah. So, that’s, that’s an interesting perspective. Thanks for sharing.
Alex: No problem.
Alexis: Everyone has their different version of independence. What does independence mean to you? And how does accessibility affect your independent self?
Alex: Well, I think using, um, the Trexol has given me a lot of confidence and independence as well, because now, when I go to the mall, people actually talk to me in the mall now, than when I was just in my wheelchair. I can actually feel like a regular person just walking down the road, just with the help of a device.
Alexis: Yes, like we would rather be up and walking through the whole world if I had a choice? Yeah.
Alex: But on the, um, making it difficult to have three wheel policy, if, if places are non accessible, like, we make it work, but it’s very difficult. Yes. And that’s why I actually told them I needed to go to school, because it’s very wheelchair accessible.
Alexis: Tell me a little bit more.
Alex: No, there’s not an adapting class. But there is adaptive gym equipment that you can just wheel your wheelchair right up to, which is great.
Alexis: That sounds like so much more fun. I guess you, uh, the difference is you live in a big city where there’s lots of other seniors and, I don’t know, famous people that make waves in the world.
Alex: But I go to university to use… It’s the wheelchair accessible gym equipment and the whole university is actually very wheelchair accessible.
Alexis: Yes. That’s good to hear. I needed to hear that from somebody with lived experience as I start to think about pursuing psychology 11. And last question, but not least, what do you think makes a mighty person?
Alex: What do you think makes a mighty person? What I think makes a mighty person is, again, even though I’m in a wheelchair, I can still do things just like normal people can do. But I went rock climbing the other day, and that made me feel kind of empowered, and wow, I am strong enough to do this. And, again, the had a big…
The Trexo had a big part in that because the Trexo made me so much stronger than I was before. Yeah. I actually feel like, uh, Superwoman when I’m in the, uh, Trexel. Haha.
Alexis: And That must be a freeing feeling.
Alex: Yeah. And also, um, also, I have a bike that I’m actually Eight seconds faster on than I was before using the Trexo, and I also ride a horse, driving lessons at a therapeutic place.
Alexis: Awesome. They’re probably properly trained and properly equipped. Put you on the horse. Yeah. They’re all set up in when they have a ramp to get up, to get onto the horse. And I also do, uh, I’ve also played power chair hockey before.. I enjoyed Enjoy it. I enjoy it a lot.
Yeah. Well, thank you Alex, for your time and inspiration today. It has been a pleasure speaking to you!
Alex: You’re welcome. Um, if any of your viewers want to follow me on Instagram or YouTube, my YouTube and Instagram handles are in the @ The Alex Scoop
Alexis: Thank you, I’m sure they will look into that.
Meeting Mighty People by Alexis Folk 