Re: Medicare and Scooters

[Guest guest]

Hello

1st would a toilet riser similiar to

http://www.techforltc.org/ltc.cfm?pageid=157 & product=2185 & careissue=1892

make it esaier for you.

2nd since you already have a van (I assume a lowered floor with ramp,

etc.) would you find that a power chair gives you greater mobility?

With a scooter you have to swivel the seat to get in close to a table

or desk, the power chair would allow you to stay in a normal seated

position and let motors do the work. Powerchairs can get in much

tighter places than a scooter. IE Public bathrooms, crowded stores,

etc. I have a 4 wheel Rascal Scooter that mainly gets used outdoors

and where the wheels can get dirty because it stays in the garage. It

was a refurbished model that we got in 2000, now I use an Invacare

Pronto M91 power chair, and it gets used unless I am in bed, I have

the cloth Van style set, sores have not been a problem yet, but those

extra spare tires around my waist and butt could be why. LOL!!!!

It took me a little getting used to a joystick control, but you can

drive with hand which is a plus for me because my hands are weak.

The downside is there is no place to put anything when shopping, with

the scooter, the platform was a nice place to carry items.

As for a seat lift you would need to check weight capacities, for

scooters or powerchairs, a medical equipment provider recommended that

I do not get a seat lift because of instability when raised and the

cost of seat lift vs. the gain in height was not feasible.

Something to look at would be to call a good medical equipment

provider that works with Medicare and MDA and go through the pro's and

con's of both a scooter and powerchair and see what the actual cost

would be for your copayment. Since I also have Medicaid, besides

Medicare and MDA my cost was $0.00, because it is a medical necessity

for a powerchair but a scooter is considered more of a luxury by

insurance companies.

I have a ramp at my front door and use the power chair inside as well

as outside (I try to stay on concrete as much as possible to keep the

wheels clean), I don't have to climb the 3 steps anymore, because of

my weight gain. To go somewhere, I just roll in our conversion van,

dock in the ez-lock and away we go, I also have a transfer seat in the

van.

Joystick's have an on/off button, and I either keep my hand on the

joystick or turn it off if there is a danger that someone is going to

bump it, and yes it does make a click when it engages, but so far it

has not been a problem.

I once scared a nurse when adjusting my seat back, it did not lock

into that position and made a loud clicking until the next position.

LOL!!! Aren't nurses supposed to be used to noises from all of the

equipment?

When your legs are hurting, what position is the seat in? I would

guess that the seat is too high and cutting off the circulation. I

have a little extra room from the seat height to the foot plate, I

also can flip up the foot plate and reach the floor without my legs

dangling.