Santa Fe man free to move thanks to new Segway
Standing tall and leaning a little forward on the two-wheeled Segway, Hal Kahn swooshed down the street in front of his south-side Santa Fe home looking like an excited kid. "It's an exhilarating experience," Kahn, 58, said as he stepped off the electric contraption.
For Kahn, a former financial editor and writer at the San Jose Mercury News for 25 years, the Segway means a little more freedom. Kahn was diagnosed with mitochondrial myopathy more than a dozen years ago, a condition similar to chronic fatigue that makes it difficult for him to walk anywhere longer than five minutes. His heart and lungs and legs are fine, but the condition leaves him exhausted if he goes too far.
"You don't feel bad until afterward," he said. "Then it feels like a hangover."
Kahn received the Segway on the morning of Dec. 15, an unexpected gift from Jeff Sterba, the retiring chief executive of Public Service Company of New Mexico. Sterba used the Segway the last couple of years to commute the three miles to his Albuquerque office. He's even known for zipping down the PNM hallways on the machine.
A letter and a little serendipity led Sterba to give the Segway to Kahn.
Kahn, highly active during his professional career, suddenly found his body giving out after the mitochondria in his cells were damaged, possibly by a virus. The change came swiftly, and Kahn had to leave his job. During his first years in Santa Fe, he volunteered with several organizations and learned photography. But it was difficult to get out and enjoy his neighborhood or tour attractions, such as Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. He took his family to Bandelier once, and had to sit in the car while they hiked to the national monument's ancient Pueblo dwellings.
Kahn is familiar with the Segway — a self-balancing machine that can go about 20 miles on a battery charge, at speeds up to 12 miles per hour. But the price tag — $5,000 to $7,000 — was too much for his fixed income.
An article about Sterba riding the Segway prompted Kahn to write to him several months ago. "I have tried to make the best of it — tutoring schoolchildren and other pro-bono jobs — but it is soul deadening to be stuck at home so much," Kahn wrote Sterba in September. "My main reason for seeking a Segway is to reduce the isolation."
Sterba will head to Virginia after he retires and won't have use for the Segway. When he received Kahn's letter, it touched him. He sent staff up to interview Kahn, then decided to donate his machine.
Sterba was at Kahn's house recently giving him a few pointers on using the Segway. He pushed a button on the handlebars, and the little motor whirred to life. He hopped on and showed Kahn how to move the Segway forward or in reverse simply by moving his body. He tilted the handlebars and did a smooth 360. He hopped off and had Kahn try it out.
Kahn said he was surprised how smooth and easy the Segway rode. A car accident a couple of years ago has left him with a neck injury that can't take heavy jarring.
Michelle Dube, executive director of Open Hands, a Santa Fe nonprofit that helps disabled and elderly people, watched the demonstration.
"I think this is a fantastic idea," Dube said. "We have a lot of people with disabilities that don't need wheelchairs."
Kahn said if the Segway doesn't work for him, he'll donate it to Open Hands for someone else to use.
Kahn said the Segway gift speaks to Sterba's character.
"He reached out and helped a total stranger," Kahn said. "The lesson I've learned from this (condition) is the kindness of strangers. Time and again I've been helped by people I don't know."
Source: Santa Fe man free to move thanks to new Segway
For Kahn, a former financial editor and writer at the San Jose Mercury News for 25 years, the Segway means a little more freedom. Kahn was diagnosed with mitochondrial myopathy more than a dozen years ago, a condition similar to chronic fatigue that makes it difficult for him to walk anywhere longer than five minutes. His heart and lungs and legs are fine, but the condition leaves him exhausted if he goes too far.
"You don't feel bad until afterward," he said. "Then it feels like a hangover."
Kahn received the Segway on the morning of Dec. 15, an unexpected gift from Jeff Sterba, the retiring chief executive of Public Service Company of New Mexico. Sterba used the Segway the last couple of years to commute the three miles to his Albuquerque office. He's even known for zipping down the PNM hallways on the machine.
A letter and a little serendipity led Sterba to give the Segway to Kahn.
Kahn, highly active during his professional career, suddenly found his body giving out after the mitochondria in his cells were damaged, possibly by a virus. The change came swiftly, and Kahn had to leave his job. During his first years in Santa Fe, he volunteered with several organizations and learned photography. But it was difficult to get out and enjoy his neighborhood or tour attractions, such as Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. He took his family to Bandelier once, and had to sit in the car while they hiked to the national monument's ancient Pueblo dwellings.
Kahn is familiar with the Segway — a self-balancing machine that can go about 20 miles on a battery charge, at speeds up to 12 miles per hour. But the price tag — $5,000 to $7,000 — was too much for his fixed income.
An article about Sterba riding the Segway prompted Kahn to write to him several months ago. "I have tried to make the best of it — tutoring schoolchildren and other pro-bono jobs — but it is soul deadening to be stuck at home so much," Kahn wrote Sterba in September. "My main reason for seeking a Segway is to reduce the isolation."
Sterba will head to Virginia after he retires and won't have use for the Segway. When he received Kahn's letter, it touched him. He sent staff up to interview Kahn, then decided to donate his machine.
Sterba was at Kahn's house recently giving him a few pointers on using the Segway. He pushed a button on the handlebars, and the little motor whirred to life. He hopped on and showed Kahn how to move the Segway forward or in reverse simply by moving his body. He tilted the handlebars and did a smooth 360. He hopped off and had Kahn try it out.
Kahn said he was surprised how smooth and easy the Segway rode. A car accident a couple of years ago has left him with a neck injury that can't take heavy jarring.
Michelle Dube, executive director of Open Hands, a Santa Fe nonprofit that helps disabled and elderly people, watched the demonstration.
"I think this is a fantastic idea," Dube said. "We have a lot of people with disabilities that don't need wheelchairs."
Kahn said if the Segway doesn't work for him, he'll donate it to Open Hands for someone else to use.
Kahn said the Segway gift speaks to Sterba's character.
"He reached out and helped a total stranger," Kahn said. "The lesson I've learned from this (condition) is the kindness of strangers. Time and again I've been helped by people I don't know."
Source: Santa Fe man free to move thanks to new Segway
