SPINALpedia Adapted Lawn Mowing

Mowing the grass is definitely one of those love it or hate it things. For those who find it unendingly satisfying and refuse to walk away from it just because they can’t do it how “they used to” anymore, those are the people who invent some pretty spectacular stuff.

It’s summer, the grass is growing like crazy and you’re still paralyzed. What better way to show a handful of awesome wheelchair grass mowing videos from SPINALpedia? Check out four unforgettable ones below.

Our first mowing-vid is direct from a really cool ex-Marine from Indiana. He is a T6 para and the king of transferring into any contraption, including a riding lawn mower; his preferred way of still getting the job done. What he does is prop up his manual chair to transfer himself up and into the mower – a crazy hard transfer. Check out his mower transfer

Our second video is my personal favorite – wheelchair expert Mark E. Smith’s method of mowing his massive back yard, and it he does it at high speed while staying in his suped-up powerchair. What he does is tie a power push mower behind him as drives up and down his lawn. He does it fast, and he does it in perfect alignment. He is like the artiste of lawn mower lines. This video is so worth the 50 seconds. Check it out

Even vent-dependent quads can get in on the action. College students at Grand Valley State University created a remote-controlled lawn mower that can be controlled by a sip ‘n puff mechanism. They created it for Jim, a quad from Grand Rapids, MI. When you can’t mow the lawn yourself, this is one super cool alternative. I could even see some lazy rich guys getting in on this too. Watch an overview of the design

And our last video is for the buffest of the buff; for those who want to man-handle a push mower. The results – it can be done. A paraplegic demonstrates from beginning to end how he mows his back lawn with a regular push power motor, pushing it in front of him as if he were walking, and no surprise, this takes some *major* strength. Wondering how he pushes himself while pushing a power mower? Watch and find out

The grass is ‘a growing, and you better get a mowin’. Now you have no excuse. Just watch out for the rocks and sticks as you’re mowing, people. Scariest. Thing. Ever.

Do you still mow your lawn?

Watch the videos on SPINALpedia!

– Para shows how to transfer onto his lawn mower

– Wheelchair expert Mark E. Smith mowing his lawn by pulling w/ a power mower behind him

– Sip ‘n puff mower

– Buff para mowing his lawn use a regular old push mower