Dwayne Wilson, of Irvine, California, was diagnosed with late-onset Pompe disease in November 2018 at 50 years old. He shares about tools he uses creatively to make travel, mobility, and picking things up much easier.

When I’m using my electric wheelchair, I have these four big, giant hooks on the back and I’m able to hook up backpacks or water bottles. Even when I use the electric wheelchair when I go on the airplane, I can hook up my suitcase to the back and roll it behind me so my wife doesn’t have to bother carrying all of our suitcases all at once — little things that make things easier.

I at times use a hiking stick or a short cane to help me out and about when I’m walking on uneven territory. It gives me more stability when I’m walking, and sometimes I find myself in an area where I might have a few steps to climb up, my hiking stick really helps out to just get up those one or two steps without having to worry about falling or tripping down.

Besides using the hiking stick at a park or something, I use a ski pole when I go to the beach. I don’t necessarily use a ski pole skiing. I got rid of my skis a long time ago. But I have a ski pole that I use that digs down into sand and helps me to walk along the sand when I go to the beach. So something that helps with my stability.

I haven’t gotten to the stage quite yet where maybe I need a grabber to pick stuff up. But that’s something I have in case of an emergency, when at a time when I might be home by myself and I drop something and I can’t pick something up — having a grabber.