Medically Customized Pickup Gives The Freedom To Travel

2009 - Volume #33, Issue #4, Page #26

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People with serious respiratory problems don't have to stay home to be near their oxygen bottle supplier. Roy McLachlin proved that it's possible to head out across country with a pickup and travel trailer and enjoy life to the fullest.
    Several years before he passed away, the Fairview, Alberta, man customized his truck to provide a steady oxygen supply while traveling, as well as easy access to his scooter mobility device while stopped. He and his wife, Lorraine enjoyed several years of life on the road as a result.
    "Many people have serious respiratory problems, and some of them just closet themselves away, missing out on most of what life has to offer," says brother Barry McLachlan. "But Roy was the opposite. He wanted to enjoy as much as he could."            McLachlan, who passed away six years ago, installed an "oxygen concentrator" in the box of his pickup. The portable concentrator produced some heat and required a little space, so the truck box was an ideal place for it. A clear oxygen line ran up through the pickup's back window, where Roy could then hook himself to it while traveling.
    The advantage of using the 12-volt concentrator is that it uses bottles of distilled water in its process of producing moisturized oxygen. They're much more readily available and safer to transport than oxygen bottle refills.
    According to Lorraine, her husband brought along a few oxygen bottles for use while driving his scooter, but otherwise, the concentrator was his main oxygen supply.
    "A bottle of oxygen doesn't last long, but a bottle of distilled water seemed to run the concentrator forever," Lorraine says. "Having this system wired into the truck opened up a lot of doors for my husband and gave him a lot of freedom and independence. He always said, where there's a will, there's a way, and he was right."
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Lorraine McLachlan, 4309 33 St., Apt. 115, Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada T7Z 0C4 (ph 780 963-3857).

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Medically Customized Pickup Gives The Freedom To Travel PICKUPS Miscellaneous 33-4-26 People with serious respiratory problems don't have to stay home to be near their oxygen bottle supplier. Roy McLachlin proved that it's possible to head out across country with a pickup and travel trailer and enjoy life to the fullest. Several years before he passed away, the Fairview, Alberta, man customized his truck to provide a steady oxygen supply while traveling, as well as easy access to his scooter mobility device while stopped. He and his wife, Lorraine enjoyed several years of life on the road as a result. "Many people have serious respiratory problems, and some of them just closet themselves away, missing out on most of what life has to offer," says brother Barry McLachlan. "But Roy was the opposite. He wanted to enjoy as much as he could." McLachlan, who passed away six years ago, installed an "oxygen concentrator" in the box of his pickup. The portable concentrator produced some heat and required a little space, so the truck box was an ideal place for it. A clear oxygen line ran up through the pickup's back window, where Roy could then hook himself to it while traveling. The advantage of using the 12-volt concentrator is that it uses bottles of distilled water in its process of producing moisturized oxygen. They're much more readily available and safer to transport than oxygen bottle refills. According to Lorraine, her husband brought along a few oxygen bottles for use while driving his scooter, but otherwise, the concentrator was his main oxygen supply. "A bottle of oxygen doesn't last long, but a bottle of distilled water seemed to run the concentrator forever," Lorraine says. "Having this system wired into the truck opened up a lot of doors for my husband and gave him a lot of freedom and independence. He always said, where there's a will, there's a way, and he was right." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Lorraine McLachlan, 4309 û 33 St., Apt. 115, Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada T7Z 0C4 (ph 780 963-3857).

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