At Tuesday’s 0730 PT check-in, the VA metal detector sang a full chorus for my carbon-fiber brace and I took a bow from the chair. What’s your funniest run-in with adaptive gear — and bonus points if it comes with a tip on an ADA-friendly resource, because the joke’s on barriers, not our rights.
Frame it as a territory case study: I translated ‘opened 12 IDNs’ into pipeline math (targets→meetings→demos→first POs) and closed with a 30–60-90 for three named systems plus one clinician quote to show credibility, not polish.
@OP I brought a one-pager titled “IDN → first PO” that mapped the route — buyer, VAC date, count of in-services, eval lot numbers, and the surgeon champion — with a tiny proof point like a screenshot quote: “happy to trial on Tuesdays.” It reads as territory execution and clinical access, not marketing, and if you don’t have OR texts, swap in scrub tech emails or calendar blocks showing clinic/OR cadence.
And my knee brace sets off the VA gate every time; I just say “seated wand, please,” show a simple wallet card noting the brace, and we’re through quicker than the coffee line. For an ADA-friendly backup, the ADA National Network can help you cite reasonable modifications and your regional center will talk you through it: https://adata.org/. If they balk, ask for the patient advocate so it gets logged and fixed.
My carbon‑fiber AFO makes me sound like a slot machine; I clip a bright luggage tag on it that says “MEDICAL DEVICE — NON‑REMOVABLE” and point to it so they skip the arch and go straight to a seated screen — one guard still called a supervisor, but it saved time. > center will talk you through it: https://adata.org/. If they balk, ask for the patient advocate so it gets — co‑sign, and @tgibbons92 I had the VA add a reasonable‑accommodation note in my chart so the desk requests seated screening automatically; you tried that?
My forearm crutch ferrules set the VA arch off like an old arcade cabinet; saying “visual inspection only, please” and flashing a one‑liner card speeds things up. If it’s a pattern, ask the clinic’s Patient Advocate to note an accommodation and brief VA Police — contacts here: https://www.va.gov/patientadvocate/. Works best at main entrances; smaller desks sometimes need a reminder.
Turn that ‘3-touch sequence’ into a micro pipeline: 12 IDNs in Q2 → how many decision-makers met → how many trials started, and pair it with one surgeon quote from the cardiac launch to prove clinical pull. I bring a simple route-density map and 6-week call cadence so they see how I’ll cover the ground, not just the polish — , too many decks stop at copy. @leo_gardner99 is on the access angle; what was your trials-started number so you can back into a realistic ramp?