Cody,
Thanks for all the good info. I already have a transfer board and yes, we
use a pillow case for the wet shower thing. It does really help! We got all
the info. at Baylor. It was such a great place to be. I'm glad we left
Arkansas and went there (I thought of it after being in 2 bad and small
rehabs.) I think God put the name Baylor in my head. I just wished I had
thought of it sooner. But hindsight, well you know. Anyways, I have a
transfer board that is a super slick one. They use this kind at Baylor. Mums
the word, but a Physical Therapist on my last day at Baylor gave me the one I
was using on my last session at like 4:30 pm when everyone else was gone from
the mat room. They are like $100.00 a piece I was told. Then I have a longer
one from another rehab. here in Ark. that I use for the car. It is better for
car transfers. Today a cable man was at the door and he ranged the doorbell.
Well, I was rushing to get into my chair. My husband says, "Get the
board under your butt", well, I use to put it under my legs, which is easier.
Anyways, I can only get it like 6 inches under my bootie and it was caught on
the cotton pads that had moved w/ me. Between rushing and the shortened board
under me, I went down. This new w/c is short in the front. Well, I went to a
Spinal Cord dr. who is really big in Little Rock, ARk. & he said the chair
could be raised & that would prob. help. I think that was the reason my old
one, I didn't have these problems with. So, I called the man in L.R. who I got
my chair from & he is coming next week to check it out. And my right leg was
caught on the lever that parks it so, I had to get my pants off that and they
were tight on it. What a mess!!!! I had falling. Thanks again for the tips,
Natalie M.
Cody <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Natalie....We actually live about ten
miles west of Austin in Bee Caves which is at the intersection of Highway 71
and FM 2244(Bee Caves Road) if you remember.
I thought I would just share a few things with you since I have been in a
manual chair for just over six years now.
Transfers to and from your chair are easier if you have the right tools. One
is a lamminated wooden sliding board rather than a plastic one. There is a
disabled fellow in San Antonio that sells them for about $20.00 each. Also when
you are transferring without clothes on, like out of the shower, you can put a
pillow case over the board and you can slide right across even if your skin is
wet. The company in San antonio is Accessible Designs. I can get his phone
number if you need me to.
A couple of points on wheelchairs. The rigid frame seems to be a little more
stable than a folding chair. However I must say that my second chair was a
folding Ultra Lite and I have no desire to switch back to the rigid. Primarily
because the folding is much easier for my wife to load and unload and it will
fit into most regular size car trunks. It will definitely fit in the Avalon. We
have a Buick LeSabre and my wife puts it in the trunk with a basketful of
groceries. (She is a good packer.) I have also loaded the chair into the inside
of the car by myself. You get in the car, then first lean out and remove the
wheels and seat cushion and load them in the back seat. You will also need to
remove the support back unless you just have the canvass back that comes
standard with the chair. Then the most difficult part, you snap the rest of the
chair including the foot rest together and pull it into the car over your chest
and into the back seat. You must have the seat pushed
back as far as possible to give you plenty of room. You need to do this slowly
so you don't scratch or mess up the interior of the car. Needless to say my
wife does most of the driving because loading that chair into the car is just
to difficult. The next point is the tires. They make a wheel with solid rubber
tires. It is not the old standard gray wheel chair tires but it is a black soft
rubber tire. Inflatable tires are just another aggravation you don't need.
Also I am curious if you are Russian because of your name. I lived in Russia
for three years and worked with several Natalya's (Natasha for short).
I hope some of the information is helpful to you especially on the transfers
because you can be so much more independent if you can transfer by
yourself.........Cody in Austin
----- Original Message -----
From: natalie mizenko
To: Cody
Sent: Sunday, July 29, 2007 8:35 PM
Subject: Re: [TMIC] Wheelchairs
Hi Cody in Austin,
Our daughter was born there in 1981. She is an Architect and her husband is
also living in Springfield, MO now. I know Austin has grown leaps and bounds
since we've been there. We went back 4 years later to possibly move back & it
was too big then already. Construction was everywhere. A nice city back then.
Has lots to offer. Natalie M. in Arkansas
Cody <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: I am about to switch to an electric
chair from a manual chair. I have so far narrowed my choice down to a Shoprider
10Runner. The primary reasons are, it has a very tight turning radius
21.5inches. It only weighs 192 lbs so I can lift it with the crane in my
pick-up which I use for my my manual chair. The crane will lift 250 Lbs. Also,
the chair has a weight capacity of 300Lbs so I will have some growing room
which hopefully I want use. The other thing is this chair disassembles into
three parts with the heaviest part being about 35lbs for the batteries. This
will allow my wife to put it into the car if necessary. However, the salesman
told us that taking it apart and reassembling is much harder than it looks i.e
he does it all the time so he tends to make it look easy. If anyone has any
feedback negative or positive I would be interested in hearing from you. They
are supposed to bring it to me on Monday so I can try it out in my
home before I purchase it. By the way it is Medicare approved subject to a
prescription from a doctor. For any of the chairs I would recommend that you go
to the manufacturer's website and read the specifications for the chair and if
available the owners manual. I know I learned a lot about the Shoprider by
reading the owners maual. Things like battery maintenance and charging, the
limits on inclines and curbs the chair could negotiate safely, off-road use,
and etc............Cody in Austin
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