Wheechairs

[westernind]

Does anyone know about wheelchairs? My mother has asked me to find out prices for 'a bog standard non motorised wheelchair'. The situation is that having lost a huge amount of weight rapidly through undiagnosed diabetes, muscle wastage means that her legs sometimes collapse beneath her without warning and she falls and hurts herself. Although physio makes things a bit better, she wants a wheelchair because she doesn't feel safe. Her arms are also not strong enough for sticks.

Finding out the basics isn't so hard, a google search brings up the Help the Aged site and Wheelchairs-R-Us(!). What I'd like to know is what makes a good wheelchair? Any review sites? She'd be pushed rather than propelling herself. In the meantime, Venice in four weeks' time arrrgggh. Finding a chair that can cope better with cobbles would be good. bigger wheels? But lightweight and transportable also necessary.

PS
Do not go on crash diets, kiddies. :-(

Comments

[bugshaw.livejournal.com]

And my comment was too long for LJ, so here is the rest:

In the meantime, Venice in four weeks' time arrrgggh. Finding a chair that can cope better with cobbles would be good. bigger wheels? But lightweight and transportable also necessary.
Arrgh indeed! I have never found a chair that could cope with cobbles. Huge amounts of pain through the bumping (wheelchairs are not known for their smooth suspension), and hideous lurching as the wheels tip around on the cobbles. Or twist and spin sideways. Sitting in my comfortable office chair, I imagine the jolt I'd feel if the floor on one side suddenly dropped by an inch and half the chair thumped down onto it. Now repeat, in random directions, twice a second. And that's what it's like going over cobbles in a wheelchair ;-) A trick for the pusher to see how smooth the ride is, is to get the sitter to hold a glass of water and watch how turbulently it sloshes.

Wider tyres are better for bumpy surfaces (think "mountain bike" rather than "road bike"), the best bet for Venice may be to hire an electric wheelchair while out there. There may be an organisation which can help with resources for wheelchair-using travellers. Who would be pushing her in Venice? You, or would she rely on fellow travellers?

Don't take an electric chair on a plane! Do ask for wheelchair assistance at the airports. This will save prolonged standing in queues with people bumping luggage into her.

And I think this is quite enough for now! Do let me know if you'd like to borrow my old chair, or to talk about chairs. I live in Cambridge, so just up the road from Ilford.

[westernind.livejournal.com]

Thank-you so much for taking the time to give me all this useful information. A-Level geometry? O-level more like... but people don't think.

She's in Tenerife at the moment and back in a few days time. She lives in Letchworth - also convenient for Cambridge!

btw have had a nose around on your userinfo... what did you do at Manchester? I was there 1992-1997, first doing philosophy, then cognitive science.

[bugshaw.livejournal.com]

Ah, Letchworth, home of Pebble Dashing... we thought about living there, but it was too freaky the way the houses all looked the same.

I did Physics at Manchester, and spent a lot of time with the SF club WARPED. Brief nostalgia attack: the Serpent Bar with cider at 98p a pint, Whitworth Park toblerone-shaped halls of residence, Odyssey 7 where I used to buy Sandman comic, getting burgled 4 times in a year when living in Rusholme.

I'm a Learning Support Assistant now, taking notes in lectures for students with disabilities. I worry sometimes that I'm the one doing all the learning and internalising, and they're missing out by not doing their own notes.

[richc.livejournal.com]

Another ex WARPED chairbeing, from Marcus and my 2nd year IIRC.

Hypothesis

[westernind.livejournal.com]

There are only 10,000 real people in the world and most of them have LJs. The rest are extras.

[westernind.livejournal.com]

Hi again,

My mother is home from Tenerife. If it's OK, then yes she would love to borrow your wheelchair. Is that still possible?

My email is roz at horton dot net, and my phone is 07977 543965.

cheers
Roz