SISTERS, Ore. — Erik Himbert, who was left partially paralyzed by a 2009 snowboarding accident, figured if he was ever going to stand up again, his best bet was to find his own solution.
Himbert has spent the past four years designing and building his own electric, stand-up wheelchair. This month, he was recognized for his efforts, winning the “DIY Legends” competition sponsored by Eastwood, a manufacturer of tools and supplies for do-it-yourself car restoration.
A music teacher at Sisters Christian Academy, Himbert, 38, said his stand-up wheelchair is still a somewhat crude prototype. He’s already got plans to strip down what he’s built and rebuild it lighter and better. His hope is to create a version he can readily duplicate for other wheelchair users who wish to stand again.
“That’s what it’s all about for me,” he said, “being able to do stuff for other people, stuff that will outlive me.”
In February 2009, Himbert was snowboarding at night with friends in California. He went off a jump expecting to come down in powder, but instead landed head first on an icy patch. He broke his vertebrae and ever since has been paralyzed from the midsection down.
A hotrod enthusiast before his accident, Himbert soon turned his talent for tinkering to making his new life easier. He built the hand controls he uses to drive his cars, and in 2012, Himbert began thinking about how he might create a powered stand-up wheelchair.
Such machines exist, but they tend to be expensive, Himbert said. If he had one, he’d have to change nearly everything in his life to work with it — from the way his house is designed to the controls in his car.
Himbert started with a battery-powered electric scooter and added a steering mechanism usable from a standing position, padded braces to secure his knees and an electric winch to pull him into a standing position.
To demonstrate his invention, Himbert wriggled his way into a climbing harness, then moved his everyday wheelchair into position. Using his arms to hoist his legs into position, he clipped the winch cable to the harness, and with the click of a button on a remote-control key fob, the machine dragged him upright, snugging his chest into a padded brace in the shape of a half circle.
As the winner of the competition, Himbert was awarded $2,000 worth of new tools he plans to put to work building an improved prototype stand-up chair.
For Himbert, he said, it’s just another version of the approach he’s had to take since his accident, learning as he goes, and finding out what works.
“It’s not something that people who haven’t been through it can really understand,” he said. “You’re just lying in a hospital bed and wondering what life’s going to be like. Life goes on, it’s just different — you’ve just gotta figure it out.”
