Sun, Sep-06-15, 10:46
|
|
Senior Member
Posts: 4,347
|
|
Plan: vLC/GF,CF,SF
Stats: 197/136/150
BF:
Progress: 130%
Location: Alberta
|
|
My tiny mother is in a wheelchair full time; it is actually a "child's" size (for someone the size of a 14-yr-old). Nearly every time we are out with her someone asks where we found it, so oversized chairs are obviously a problem for many. It does have 3 heights, but you have to adjust them when you are not in the chair, but no tools are required (you basically take off the removable wheels and reinsert them at a higher or lower position). It can be used without the cushion & in fact this was part of her post-broken-hip physio - to use her feet & legs to help move the chair and use her leg muscles; even in this small chair she could only put her heels on the floor with the seat cushion removed and with the chair at its lowest setting. It folds & goes in the trunk. Also, children's chairs weigh less than adult's chairs and are narrower, so they fit through standard size doorways without marring the trim. The key thing to check would be whether your hips fit comfortably into a child's chair.
Her chair has a fancy gel cushion, but she's in it all the time and has vascular problems, so we need to worry about things like bed sores.
We also have a regular sized "transfer chair" that we've had for several years and used for both parents - these are cheaper and the seats are just a piece of fabric, like a director's chair. Ours is no-frills and not height adjustable. I find it perfectly comfortable to sit on for a hour or two. Also, you could add regular chair cushions if you want. There also may be no-frills "childrens" transfer chairs out there. However, most "transfer/transport" chairs have small wheels and assume someone else is pushing. Look for "self-transporting" chairs with big wheels you rotate with your hands.
Armrests can be a pain in the neck, esp. if they are too high to fit under any of your tables. It does not sound like you'd need them for your arms, but some divider between the big wheels and your clothing is needed.
Before we got the first wheelchair, when Mom still had one foot/knee that worked, she used an office chair to get around her house.
Last edited by deirdra : Sun, Sep-06-15 at 11:25.
|