Hi Cyndi... I'm a C5/6 Q also. When I first began using a power chair (25 yrs ago) my biggest difficulty was keeping my hand on the joystick control. I was in a halo and my hand kept slipping off the joystick in whatever direction I might have been pushing, pulling or whatever.
I asked my PT/OT and/or nurse to help me by fastening a medicine cup upside down on top of my joystick ball -- the type of cup used with Pepto Bismol or used to dispense meds in a hospital. I had a matching cup on the palm of my wrist splint. This was occasionally a problem if I had a spasm but my arms/hands rarely did that. The cup on the splint palm fit perfectly over the one on the joystick... and it slide off. This was occasionally a problem if I had a spasm but my arms/hands rarely did that. Now I use a 'T' style joystick made of metal brake line tubing that we carefully bent to 80-90 degrees about halfway up. (It looks like a "limp T.") I hope that gives you some ideas. Get creative. Use things around the house. Eventually you'll come up with something that works better than anything you could EVER buy. Best wishes & Good Luck! ... and as others have said, Get your husband on this list!! It's a combination of everyone's PT, OT, Docs, Nurses and personal experiences! There's no better place for him to get info and be part of a public, social community! Extremely healthy for a new Quad (aka Q, in my book.) Sincerely, Tod Santee > --- On Fri, 4/17/09, Cyndi Davis <momofmany0...@yahoo.com> wrote: > > > Hi! How do you all drive your power chairs? My husband is a c5,6 quad, 1 > yr. post. He has limited use of some shoulder muscles, but not enough > control of his arm to work the joystick on his power chair. A friend > suggested getting some kind of head control: sip & puff, chin control or > head control. When we had the OT do an evaluation, she said he should get > enough use back to drive with his arm. She suggested a "T" shaped joystick. > We just saw a "U" shaped piece on another quad's joystick (someone made his > 29 yrs ago). He sets his wrist in the opening and goes where he wants to. > The children and I drive my husband around for now (our 2yr. old boy loves > driving his Dad's chair - but he runs into everything! so I don't allow him > to. He only drives when my back is turned!). It would be nice for my > husband to have some independance. Any suggestions? Thanks! > momofmany0...@yahoo.com >
