August 22, 2025 • 15 mins
Thomas Daniel Queter's powerful statement sets the tone for this eye-opening conversation: "When your wheelchair breaks down, you become unseen and unheard." Recording from the Abilities Expo in Chicago, this speedcast features the founder of the Mobility Independence Foundation sharing his revolutionary approach to mobility equipment access.
Born with osteogenesis imperfecta and having experienced approximately 2,000 fractures throughout his life, Thomas found himself trapped in his apartment for five years when the healthcare system offered only wheelchairs that would have led to injury. His solution? Creating an open-source wheelchair design that lasts 30 years, charges in just six hours, and can be built by community members with basic technical skills. The contrast is stark – while people typically wait 1-3 years for wheelchairs through insurance.
The conversation exposes troubling realities about mobility equipment access, including Medicare's "in-home rule" which states equipment only needs to be adequate for moving between bed and bathroom.
Thomas's passionate message resonates throughout: "If you have a problem, there is a solution. Build teams, find your tenacity, do not give up." Check out The Mobility Independence Foundation at THEMIF.org and watch for their documentary "The Power to Move" to learn how you can support this important movement revolutionizing access to mobility equipment.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's up, guys?
As you can see, we're not inthe studio at home.
We're actually at the AbilitiesExpo in Chicago and this
podcast is going to be a littledifferent.
It's going to be like aspeedcast.
The sound is not going to be asgreat because of how wide open
this space is, but I hope youguys enjoy it.
(00:22):
Please enjoy this.
Lif to the Max podcast.
What is up, everybody?
It is Life to the Max podcastand we are at the Ability Saxo
(00:45):
in Shopper, illinois.
Today.
It is June 20th 2025.
It's a Friday and I have theman of the hour.
He can say his name prettyquick.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Thomas Daniel Queter.
Never quitter, rarely quieter.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
So is your real last name quitter, quitter Quitter.
Yes, oh God.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
It's from old French.
It used to be a verb quitter.
It means too free Too free, allright.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Well, tell me a little bit about yourself, man.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
So I'm the founder of the Mobility Independence
Foundation T-H-E-M-I-Forg, and Ifounded it to create open
source hardware for DME, likewheelchairs.
Yes, and I did that because Iwas actually crapped in my
apartment for five years becausethe systems in New York told me
I couldn't have an adequatewheelchair.
(01:40):
It offered me a range ofwheelchairs that would have led
to injury and going to the bedand most of us with disabilities
know, we know what going to thebed means right, that's the end
.
And I wasn't ready for the end,so I created teams.
I created a team of engineersand outreach professionals to
develop what I'm sitting in,which is our flagship prototype.
(02:01):
Professionals to develop whatI'm sitting in, which is our
flagship prototype the EndurancePower Chair Good for 30 years,
completely repairable, made fromoff-the-rack components and
materials, and any communitytypically has the people, the
skills, to put it together.
In fact, in Arizona last yearwe were at a STEM center that
(02:21):
teaches high school and collegestudents tech.
We were at a STEM center thatteaches high school and college
students tech and we're tellingthe president about what goes
into this product, which is openhardware, and he pipes up and
he calls a 16-year-old fromacross the room, tells that
16-year-old everything we justtold him and asked that kid, how
long would it take you to buildthis if you had all the parts
(02:43):
in front of you?
And the kid thinks about it fora minute, shrugs and says three
weeks.
Now, typically, people arewaiting one to three years for a
chair through the system.
That's the average Wow.
And you know, if we can do thisin a matter of weeks, why are we
waiting years?
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Yeah, and I hate that .
I'm very lucky I'm a veteran,so the VA takes care of it.
But I hate when I hear thatabout the disabled community and
how much more you guys areknown, how much the disabled
community is neglected.
It's very sad.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
But the reality is that most of these are pre-made
and sitting in a warehouse andwe're waiting on bureaucracy
approval.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Yeah, there's probably more supply than demand
.
Right, a hundred percent oh.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
And you know the regulations and rules on durable
medical equipment can put thesecompanies in such a box that
they're not able to reachoutside that box and create
better equipment.
We most often hear from them wewish we could do better.
Right, absolutely.
Think about that.
In this realm, you know ourmobility.
These big corporations wishthey could do better.
(04:02):
And the rules that we put infor quote-unquote safety, which
is an oxymoron, becausewheelchairs make the top 30 most
dangerous consumers' goods listguns, don't?
I mean?
That's quite the comparisonright there.
Yeah, you know, and the realityis I'm a farm boy, I grew up on
a farm, everything I loved wasoutside and I was trapped in my
(04:24):
apartment for five years.
Everything that was my purposewas on the other side of a wall.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
May I ask what happened to you?
Speaker 2 (04:34):
I was born with a congenital disability known as
osteogenesis imperfecta, orbrittle bones disease is what it
gets called.
A lot, I've had about 2,000fractures in my life, but they
don't hold me back 2,000fractures.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Holy man, dude.
I just talked to someone whohad 100 surgeries.
Yeah, I've only had a handfulof those, that is.
That's insane man, and youstill like persevere, go outside
.
Where did you grow up?
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Upstate, new York, the edge of the Catskill
Mountains.
And that's the interestingthing about this product it's
open hardware.
So when we release thesedesigns at the end of the year,
anybody can go on the internet,our website, get that design and
facilitate the build.
You raise the money to buy theparts.
You work with non-profits thatare already working to repair
wheelchairs.
They can help you.
(05:28):
They have the skills.
Your small fabrication, welding, auto repair all of these shops
that we already have have theability to put this together and
most of them, because they'rein their community, they know
who you are.
They'd be willing to pitch in.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
So what's the difference between your chair
and like Quantum and Permobil?
Speaker 2 (05:49):
I'm glad you said Quantum.
So our mechanical engineer whohas full body CP, by the way, we
were in his shop last year andhe points to the prototype that
he's helped us develop and hesays everywhere, and he points
to a Quantum thatuties whohelped us develop, and he says
everywhere and he points to aquantum that he's got sitting in
his shop because he alsorepairs things for other people
(06:10):
and he says mall Right, andthat's if you can even get there
.
The difference is that I cantreat this chair like a
four-wheeler for three days inthe Catskill Mountains before I
have to charge it, and then itonly takes six hours to charge.
We can use better tech that'soff the shelf and readily
(06:33):
available than what thesecompanies are allowed to use.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Absolutely yeah, and I think it's absurd that you
have to wait three years for awheelchair.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Three years if you're in a Medicaid, Medicare-managed
plan.
Yeah, the interesting thingthere is well, it's black and
white on paper who has to payfor your chair.
They actually spend that extrayear arguing over who pays for
it.
That's bureaucracy.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Yeah, and bureaucracy is terrible.
It really is like it's allabout money and capitalism at
the end of the day.
So I totally understand whereyou're coming from and I think
it's great that you're trying tohelp out everybody out there
who can't get a wheelchair,because no one wants to be bent
(07:21):
down me back down and not justcan't get a wheelchair, but you
know, wbur out of Bostonreported recently that 50% of
all wheelchairs break down in asix-month period.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Yeah, the average wait time for repair is five
months.
So you gain a disability whenyou already have a mortgage and
a spouse and children and as anadvocate for 28 years, I'm
saying you will lose them, youwill lose them.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Yeah.
And then you will lose yourmind right, because it's sad,
you know, when you lose yourspouse, like fortunately for me,
I was in.
My girlfriend left me twomonths into my car accident.
I'm a veteran from the military, yeah, and I was driving home
(08:12):
and I switched seats with mybuddy.
I said, wake me up and we getto Chicago.
I woke up in a hospital likethree days later, couldn't
breathe, couldn't move, couldn'tdo anything.
It was crazy Paradox.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
I'm sorry you went through that, but hey, what
could you know?
Couldn't move, couldn't doanything.
It was crazy.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Paradox.
I'm sorry you went through that, but hey, what could you know?
You're out and you're doing,yeah Right, and I'm happy you're
here.
Man, you're like, really likeputting you know, trying to make
a difference.
I mean, like you mentioned, youeven commanded against Congress
.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
That is the ultimate goal.
So we just released well, wejust started at the film
festival tour with ourdocumentary,
thepowertomovefilmcom, and it'sabout why we can't get
appropriate equipment in termsof today's technology.
Right yeah, everybody has acell phone.
(09:06):
Look at how fast that's movingforward.
Oh.
I know Right 20 years ago, whatwas that cell phone?
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
It was a flippy thing that broke really easily.
And now these Apple smartphones.
You could drop them on theconcrete floor and run them over
with your knobby wheelchairtires and they're fine.
But you know, when yourwheelchair breaks down, you
become unseen and unheard.
(09:33):
And in terms of going up againstCongress.
One thing that we're really hoton is what's called the
Medicare in-home rule, and thatin-home rule applies to almost
all insurance, because they'reall federally subsidized.
Now, the in-home rule statesthat your equipment only has to
be good enough to get you fromyour bed to your toilet and back
(09:55):
that's so up, yeah the reason Iwas denied inappropriate
wheelchair which was still onthe market at the time I fought
it for five years.
Um was market at the time.
I fought it for five years wasbecause so you're treating us
like aliens?
Going outside was not anadequate justification.
I live in the country we burnwood for heat, and apparently
(10:16):
they thought that house firesdon't happen to people with
disabilities.
I don't know, but you knowthere's another part of this too
.
My father's lifelong farmer.
That's his purpose, right?
You know people's another partof this too.
My father's a lifelong farmer.
That's his purpose, right?
You know, people develop apurpose in life.
They have a goal, they have athing they do.
It's what keeps them going, andliving, yeah, yeah.
And my father had a stroke.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Thank you.
After the stroke he couldmanage a step or two, so they
wouldn't approve him for a powerchair.
They gave him one of thosecrappy hospital-style manual
wheelchairs to go back home andlive on a farm.
Now his purpose just like whenI was trapped for five years was
outside right.
(10:58):
His purpose was managing thefarm.
Yes, and I was his daytimecaregiver because family all
pitched in and I watched thestrongest, hardest working man
also a veteran give up and die.
He gave up and died becausethey wouldn't give him an
(11:19):
adequate wheelchair.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
So I understand you saw a problem and you wanted to
fix it.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
I do believe in solving problems right, and so
does our mechanical engineer,Devin Hamilton.
You can see his company atrapadaptcom.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
I'll make sure to leave everything in the
description below 100%.
I think it's amazing whatyou're doing for the community.
I don't like these big-asscompanies in Quantum and
Permaville no offense, it'snothing against it because
(11:59):
there's a lot of really nicepeople that want to help people
in wheelchairs.
But they just get the.
They get set, you know.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Well, the reality, though, is they want to do
better, but our laws andregulations on this don't allow
them to.
Yeah, and so how are they?
Who are we supposed to be madat here?
Speaker 1 (12:22):
The company or the government.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Congress.
Yes, when the ACA passed, ifyou go back in history and you
look at the stock portfolios ofCongress, that spiked.
And what people forget aboutthe ACA is that it was not
written for us.
Right, I was covered for awheelchair, just not one that
wouldn't kill me.
The reality is that the ACA 85%of it was written by
(12:48):
Republicans in the 80s tobolster profits for insurance
companies, and the Democratscall that their big win.
And so which side are wesupposed to believe in this?
Are any of them on our side?
That's the real question.
Are any of them actually on ourside, as the people of this
country?
Speaker 1 (13:05):
So what I noticed becoming disabled is that the
first people, the firstcommunity that gets hit the most
whenever something happens saythe stock market crashes or like
there's a terrorist attack it'sthe disabled 100%.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
We get forgotten and left behind in natural disasters
.
You see this with hurricanes,Katrina.
All kinds of livinginstitutions full of the elderly
and people with disabilitieswere just forgotten or abandoned
.
It actually happened in Haleen,too, in West Virginia.
A friend of mine wants todevelop a rescue boat for
wheelchairs because of how manypeople he saw in institutions
(13:48):
that weren't being rescued.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Well, there's so much more I could talk to you about.
Are you in the area or do youlive in New York?
Speaker 2 (14:00):
So I still live in upstate New York, but in the
last two years, in the last twoyears I have crossed the
Mississippi 16 times.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Well, my friend, if you ever want to come on the
podcast for a full, fullinterview, like I would have, I
would fly you in, if you're okaywith that.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
I can't fly because wheelchairs are the number one
most damaged luggage item adrive.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
I will pay for your gas and I have a place for you
to sleep and all that stuff.
It's an honor meeting you today.
Well, I wish you no offense.
Sorry, what was your name?
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Thomas Daniel Quader.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Thomas Daniel Quader, who is not a quader, by the way
.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
And rarely quieter.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Rarely, quieter, yep, and he's a far boy at large and
you're going to continue doingthat and I love what you're
doing for the community.
Man, do you have anything youwant to say to the people out
there?
Speaker 2 (14:58):
You know, I say the same thing that I say to anybody
in any place where there mightor is a group of people with
disabilities If you have aproblem, there is a solution,
and the best way to approachthat is to build teams, go after
it, find your tenacity, do notgive up.
When you stop, that's when itends.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
Yes, that was beautiful.
Thanks so much, man.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
I appreciate it.
Podcast everyone like commentsubscribe.
That's beautiful Thanks.
Thanks so much.
Thank you for having me.
I appreciate you.
I appreciate you.
I appreciate you.
I appreciate you.
I appreciate you.
I appreciate you, I appreciateyou, I appreciate you, I
appreciate you, I appreciate you, I appreciate you, I appreciate
you, I appreciate you, Iappreciate you, I appreciate you
, I appreciate you, I appreciateyou, I appreciate you.
What's up, guys?
As you can see, we're not inthe studio at home.
We're actually at the AbilitiesExpo in Chicago and this
podcast is going to be a littledifferent.
It's going to be like aspeedcast.
The sound is not going to be asgreat because of how wide open
this space is, but I hope youguys enjoy it.
(00:22):
Please enjoy this.
Lif to the Max podcast.
What is up, everybody?
It is Life to the Max podcastand we are at the Ability Saxo
(00:45):
in Shopper, illinois.
Today.
It is June 20th 2025.
It's a Friday and I have theman of the hour.
He can say his name prettyquick.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Thomas Daniel Queter.
Never quitter, rarely quieter.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
So is your real last name quitter, quitter Quitter.
Yes, oh God.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
It's from old French.
It used to be a verb quitter.
It means too free Too free, allright.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Well, tell me a little bit about yourself, man.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
So I'm the founder of the Mobility Independence
Foundation T-H-E-M-I-Forg, and Ifounded it to create open
source hardware for DME, likewheelchairs.
Yes, and I did that because Iwas actually crapped in my
apartment for five years becausethe systems in New York told me
I couldn't have an adequatewheelchair.
(01:40):
It offered me a range ofwheelchairs that would have led
to injury and going to the bedand most of us with disabilities
know, we know what going to thebed means right, that's the end
.
And I wasn't ready for the end,so I created teams.
I created a team of engineersand outreach professionals to
develop what I'm sitting in,which is our flagship prototype.
(02:01):
Professionals to develop whatI'm sitting in, which is our
flagship prototype the EndurancePower Chair Good for 30 years,
completely repairable, made fromoff-the-rack components and
materials, and any communitytypically has the people, the
skills, to put it together.
In fact, in Arizona last yearwe were at a STEM center that
(02:21):
teaches high school and collegestudents tech.
We were at a STEM center thatteaches high school and college
students tech and we're tellingthe president about what goes
into this product, which is openhardware, and he pipes up and
he calls a 16-year-old fromacross the room, tells that
16-year-old everything we justtold him and asked that kid, how
long would it take you to buildthis if you had all the parts
(02:43):
in front of you?
And the kid thinks about it fora minute, shrugs and says three
weeks.
Now, typically, people arewaiting one to three years for a
chair through the system.
That's the average Wow.
And you know, if we can do thisin a matter of weeks, why are we
waiting years?
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Yeah, and I hate that .
I'm very lucky I'm a veteran,so the VA takes care of it.
But I hate when I hear thatabout the disabled community and
how much more you guys areknown, how much the disabled
community is neglected.
It's very sad.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
But the reality is that most of these are pre-made
and sitting in a warehouse andwe're waiting on bureaucracy
approval.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Yeah, there's probably more supply than demand
.
Right, a hundred percent oh.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
And you know the regulations and rules on durable
medical equipment can put thesecompanies in such a box that
they're not able to reachoutside that box and create
better equipment.
We most often hear from them wewish we could do better.
Right, absolutely.
Think about that.
In this realm, you know ourmobility.
These big corporations wishthey could do better.
(04:02):
And the rules that we put infor quote-unquote safety, which
is an oxymoron, becausewheelchairs make the top 30 most
dangerous consumers' goods listguns, don't?
I mean?
That's quite the comparisonright there.
Yeah, you know, and the realityis I'm a farm boy, I grew up on
a farm, everything I loved wasoutside and I was trapped in my
(04:24):
apartment for five years.
Everything that was my purposewas on the other side of a wall.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
May I ask what happened to you?
Speaker 2 (04:34):
I was born with a congenital disability known as
osteogenesis imperfecta, orbrittle bones disease is what it
gets called.
A lot, I've had about 2,000fractures in my life, but they
don't hold me back 2,000fractures.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Holy man, dude.
I just talked to someone whohad 100 surgeries.
Yeah, I've only had a handfulof those, that is.
That's insane man, and youstill like persevere, go outside
.
Where did you grow up?
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Upstate, new York, the edge of the Catskill
Mountains.
And that's the interestingthing about this product it's
open hardware.
So when we release thesedesigns at the end of the year,
anybody can go on the internet,our website, get that design and
facilitate the build.
You raise the money to buy theparts.
You work with non-profits thatare already working to repair
wheelchairs.
They can help you.
(05:28):
They have the skills.
Your small fabrication, welding, auto repair all of these shops
that we already have have theability to put this together and
most of them, because they'rein their community, they know
who you are.
They'd be willing to pitch in.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
So what's the difference between your chair
and like Quantum and Permobil?
Speaker 2 (05:49):
I'm glad you said Quantum.
So our mechanical engineer whohas full body CP, by the way, we
were in his shop last year andhe points to the prototype that
he's helped us develop and hesays everywhere, and he points
to a Quantum thatuties whohelped us develop, and he says
everywhere and he points to aquantum that he's got sitting in
his shop because he alsorepairs things for other people
(06:10):
and he says mall Right, andthat's if you can even get there
.
The difference is that I cantreat this chair like a
four-wheeler for three days inthe Catskill Mountains before I
have to charge it, and then itonly takes six hours to charge.
We can use better tech that'soff the shelf and readily
(06:33):
available than what thesecompanies are allowed to use.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Absolutely yeah, and I think it's absurd that you
have to wait three years for awheelchair.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Three years if you're in a Medicaid, Medicare-managed
plan.
Yeah, the interesting thingthere is well, it's black and
white on paper who has to payfor your chair.
They actually spend that extrayear arguing over who pays for
it.
That's bureaucracy.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Yeah, and bureaucracy is terrible.
It really is like it's allabout money and capitalism at
the end of the day.
So I totally understand whereyou're coming from and I think
it's great that you're trying tohelp out everybody out there
who can't get a wheelchair,because no one wants to be bent
(07:21):
down me back down and not justcan't get a wheelchair, but you
know, wbur out of Bostonreported recently that 50% of
all wheelchairs break down in asix-month period.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Yeah, the average wait time for repair is five
months.
So you gain a disability whenyou already have a mortgage and
a spouse and children and as anadvocate for 28 years, I'm
saying you will lose them, youwill lose them.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Yeah.
And then you will lose yourmind right, because it's sad,
you know, when you lose yourspouse, like fortunately for me,
I was in.
My girlfriend left me twomonths into my car accident.
I'm a veteran from the military, yeah, and I was driving home
(08:12):
and I switched seats with mybuddy.
I said, wake me up and we getto Chicago.
I woke up in a hospital likethree days later, couldn't
breathe, couldn't move, couldn'tdo anything.
It was crazy Paradox.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
I'm sorry you went through that, but hey, what
could you know?
Couldn't move, couldn't doanything.
It was crazy.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Paradox.
I'm sorry you went through that, but hey, what could you know?
You're out and you're doing,yeah Right, and I'm happy you're
here.
Man, you're like, really likeputting you know, trying to make
a difference.
I mean, like you mentioned, youeven commanded against Congress
.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
That is the ultimate goal.
So we just released well, wejust started at the film
festival tour with ourdocumentary,
thepowertomovefilmcom, and it'sabout why we can't get
appropriate equipment in termsof today's technology.
Right yeah, everybody has acell phone.
(09:06):
Look at how fast that's movingforward.
Oh.
I know Right 20 years ago, whatwas that cell phone?
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
It was a flippy thing that broke really easily.
And now these Apple smartphones.
You could drop them on theconcrete floor and run them over
with your knobby wheelchairtires and they're fine.
But you know, when yourwheelchair breaks down, you
become unseen and unheard.
(09:33):
And in terms of going up againstCongress.
One thing that we're really hoton is what's called the
Medicare in-home rule, and thatin-home rule applies to almost
all insurance, because they'reall federally subsidized.
Now, the in-home rule statesthat your equipment only has to
be good enough to get you fromyour bed to your toilet and back
(09:55):
that's so up, yeah the reason Iwas denied inappropriate
wheelchair which was still onthe market at the time I fought
it for five years.
Um was market at the time.
I fought it for five years wasbecause so you're treating us
like aliens?
Going outside was not anadequate justification.
I live in the country we burnwood for heat, and apparently
(10:16):
they thought that house firesdon't happen to people with
disabilities.
I don't know, but you knowthere's another part of this too
.
My father's lifelong farmer.
That's his purpose, right?
You know people's another partof this too.
My father's a lifelong farmer.
That's his purpose, right?
You know, people develop apurpose in life.
They have a goal, they have athing they do.
It's what keeps them going, andliving, yeah, yeah.
And my father had a stroke.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Thank you.
After the stroke he couldmanage a step or two, so they
wouldn't approve him for a powerchair.
They gave him one of thosecrappy hospital-style manual
wheelchairs to go back home andlive on a farm.
Now his purpose just like whenI was trapped for five years was
outside right.
(10:58):
His purpose was managing thefarm.
Yes, and I was his daytimecaregiver because family all
pitched in and I watched thestrongest, hardest working man
also a veteran give up and die.
He gave up and died becausethey wouldn't give him an
(11:19):
adequate wheelchair.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
So I understand you saw a problem and you wanted to
fix it.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
I do believe in solving problems right, and so
does our mechanical engineer,Devin Hamilton.
You can see his company atrapadaptcom.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
I'll make sure to leave everything in the
description below 100%.
I think it's amazing whatyou're doing for the community.
I don't like these big-asscompanies in Quantum and
Permaville no offense, it'snothing against it because
(11:59):
there's a lot of really nicepeople that want to help people
in wheelchairs.
But they just get the.
They get set, you know.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Well, the reality, though, is they want to do
better, but our laws andregulations on this don't allow
them to.
Yeah, and so how are they?
Who are we supposed to be madat here?
Speaker 1 (12:22):
The company or the government.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Congress.
Yes, when the ACA passed, ifyou go back in history and you
look at the stock portfolios ofCongress, that spiked.
And what people forget aboutthe ACA is that it was not
written for us.
Right, I was covered for awheelchair, just not one that
wouldn't kill me.
The reality is that the ACA 85%of it was written by
(12:48):
Republicans in the 80s tobolster profits for insurance
companies, and the Democratscall that their big win.
And so which side are wesupposed to believe in this?
Are any of them on our side?
That's the real question.
Are any of them actually on ourside, as the people of this
country?
Speaker 1 (13:05):
So what I noticed becoming disabled is that the
first people, the firstcommunity that gets hit the most
whenever something happens saythe stock market crashes or like
there's a terrorist attack it'sthe disabled 100%.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
We get forgotten and left behind in natural disasters
.
You see this with hurricanes,Katrina.
All kinds of livinginstitutions full of the elderly
and people with disabilitieswere just forgotten or abandoned
.
It actually happened in Haleen,too, in West Virginia.
A friend of mine wants todevelop a rescue boat for
wheelchairs because of how manypeople he saw in institutions
(13:48):
that weren't being rescued.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Well, there's so much more I could talk to you about.
Are you in the area or do youlive in New York?
Speaker 2 (14:00):
So I still live in upstate New York, but in the
last two years, in the last twoyears I have crossed the
Mississippi 16 times.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Well, my friend, if you ever want to come on the
podcast for a full, fullinterview, like I would have, I
would fly you in, if you're okaywith that.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
I can't fly because wheelchairs are the number one
most damaged luggage item adrive.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
I will pay for your gas and I have a place for you
to sleep and all that stuff.
It's an honor meeting you today.
Well, I wish you no offense.
Sorry, what was your name?
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Thomas Daniel Quader.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Thomas Daniel Quader, who is not a quader, by the way
.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
And rarely quieter.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Rarely, quieter, yep, and he's a far boy at large and
you're going to continue doingthat and I love what you're
doing for the community.
Man, do you have anything youwant to say to the people out
there?
Speaker 2 (14:58):
You know, I say the same thing that I say to anybody
in any place where there mightor is a group of people with
disabilities If you have aproblem, there is a solution,
and the best way to approachthat is to build teams, go after
it, find your tenacity, do notgive up.
When you stop, that's when itends.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
Yes, that was beautiful.
Thanks so much, man.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
I appreciate it.
Podcast everyone like commentsubscribe.
That's beautiful Thanks.
Thanks so much.
Thank you for having me.
I appreciate you.
I appreciate you.
I appreciate you.
I appreciate you.
I appreciate you.
I appreciate you, I appreciateyou, I appreciate you, I
appreciate you, I appreciate you, I appreciate you, I appreciate
you, I appreciate you, Iappreciate you, I appreciate you
, I appreciate you, I appreciateyou, I appreciate you.
Popular Podcasts
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com