Re: WHEELS!!! Adding to some of Aase Marit's great ideas

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 2/12/2004 10:59:48 AM Eastern Standard Time,

aase.m@... writes:

I am really lucky when it comes to things like this. I live in Norway

and here the state covers such things. We also get the very best

things there are on the market. I am a happy girl having two neat

manual wheelchairs as well as two power wheelchairs. These the guy

who had a wheelchair workshop at the Winston-Salem conference, called the

Mercedes-Benz of wheelchairs.

That's because you are a " Mercedes-Benz " quality gal!

SERIOUSLY, to all of you in the process of looking, I would take what Aase

Marit has said about wheelchair research & purchasing one, as though it was the

gospel (SEE SOME OF HER NOTES, at the bottom, if you didn't see her original

email). Though you may have one challenge (I did) while I was in the

" searching " stage for my own electric wheelchair. And that was, actually

finding an

O.T. that was VERY wheelchair knowledgeable & /or " specialized " in them & knew of

all of the possibilities, the accessories, basically all of the " bells &

whistles " that exist out there. I personally, wound up working very closely

with

the people that owned the surgical supply store that sold it to me.

I do have one tip to add. If you can, depending on the doctor that is

prescribing it for you & whomever you decide to purchase it from, try to work in

reverse. What I mean by that is, do all of your research first, decide on what

you want & then have the supplier actually write up a list, detailing the chair

(accessories included) that you need & then take that list back to your

doctor & ask the Doc to write you an RX for that. Oftentimes doctors will be

happy

to do it, because if you think about it, it actually makes the Doc's job

easier. They don't have to take the time to figure out everything that you

need.

It's a lot easier for them, to take that list & either hand it over to a

secretary to copy & then sign it, or just copy it themselves & sign it. I did

it

with my manual chair years ago & with my electric one recently. Personally,

it worked like a charm.

And even doing it all that way I had to refuse the first 2 chairs that the

store delivered to me, because they weren't what I had ordered. And though it's

tempting to " settle " because the chair is already there & you need it & you

will have to wait longer to get the correct chair, to me it was surely worth the

wait. Because, depending on your situation, you may be spending a lot of time

in the chair & the bottom line is that you really should be as happy &

comfortable with it, as you can be. And even now, as I've used it for a bit, I

can

see that there really are a few little extra things that I wish I had included,

but nothing major. And, when deciding on one, I would suggest not only

taking into account what your needs are today, but what they could perhaps be,

in

the future.

Happy hunting, don't rush into anything & above all, do your homework FIRST.

Luv to all, be well,

AASE MARIT'S NOTES

But you can all do a lot yourself to describe your needs in a good

enough way so that you avoid getting the wrong chair!!!! It is not

just about the needs, but also about pointing out the right things

yourself. The best thing is to get help from an Occupational

Therapist (for adults that is often the best alternative, not a PT)

who specializes in wheelchairs. And if you on top of that learn a bit

yourself, you're set to start your road to get the perfect chair for

yourself.

I need to get one of my manual ones changed to a new one, I think.

Again the frame is bent, thanks to those wonderful airlines.... Next time I

am going to travel, I think I will " bandage " some parts of the chair with

bubble wrap!!! I take such good care of my chairs myself, why can't they?