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

[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.