It has been an interesting start to the year that is for sure, though thankfully not has much of a problem as last year was, which is a blessing, to say the least. Sadly this year we have not been able to attend church as we would have liked for various health and weather reasons, but also early on do to our vehicle becoming unreliable for travel and needing to get an updated one for our own safety. We now have that newer used vehicle, it isn’t perfect or what I really would like to have gotten but it drives and we are hoping that it is trouble-free for a number of years to come.
When it comes to dad, he is now himself in a wheelchair because he can no longer stand by himself and he longer can walk. So he has had to be confined toa wheelchair to be able to get around for the most part. Which he is so NOT a happy camper about what so ever. He isn’t the only one with a new wheelchair, a couple of days ago my temporary chair was delivered to me – without even being consulted with or measured or anything. It just showed up out of the blue without warning or anything. I always wasn’t even home when it was delivered, so they got lucky that I was home (was home because I was not feeling well so I had put off an appointment to a later time to better be able to attend it).
The chair that I have on lone is a Voyager Plus, it is aimed at those who are of weight as it will hold up to 600 pounds, it doesn’t fit me right and it is really really REALLY acquired to maneuver around to any degree, even Norman has issues doing so. So a LOT of adjustments needs to be made to it to make it workable, not to mention lighter as neither of us can lift it fully to load it into our SUV which is one of the deals for having the chair is it needs to be able to go into our SUV so I can transport it for going to appointments, shopping, etc.
The wheels need to be moved forward as they are currently too far back for me to reach comfortable to move myself forwards, also my fingertips don’t even touch much of the top of the hub where I should be able to touch the bolt in the middle of the wheel which I can not even come close to doing. Also, the armrests are too large for me, and to high for my body configuration making them an impossible option to have on the chair if I am too self propel while using it.
The backrest on it as it stands, feels alight it conforms well enough to my back, but something is missing for my lower back, it feels like I need lower back support or something that I just can’t explain what it is. The cushion feels good but isn’t overly comfy for long term sitting at least not currently, been using it while at my computer to get a better feel for it and the chair itself. I am thinking I might need to tilt the chair seating or something to make it more comfortable for my back/spine, but I am not sure 100%. I do know that the cushion needs to be a little shorter as it is hitting the back of my knees and semi interfering with circulation below my knees (which isn’t a good thing at all).
The footplate is impossible to use for me as it currently stands, it puts my legs too far forward for a comfortable fit while sitting and trying to move. If someone is pushing me it isn’t much of a problem but since the point is for me to have independence then the footplates need to be better and closer to the frame, in short, the frame needs to be tapered to slimline things and be less bulky.
I am hoping that the OT will be open to the TiLite that I was looking at as a possible option for my future chair, as even the ones that support 350 pounds are under 20 pounds in weight so are easier to transport to various degrees. Just have to play it by ear and see what can happen. I also need to get the OT on board with getting the Smart Drive so that I can have that for helping me get around when pushing myself becomes a lot to do and having Norman push me isn’t a good option (like when shopping for instance). I also need to have the chair a little more narrow, as it bearly fits though our doors as it stands, thus regular doorways might well be a problem. So have to see how getting things thinner yet workable for my size.
Well, I will post more as time does allow for it, take care, everyone!