This is topic power chairs in forum General Support at LymeNet Flash.


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Posted by just don (Member # 1129) on :
 
Any experts on here that can give me been there advice

Mom has a 'scooter' wheel chair since she cant walk.

used to use a manual wheel chair to walk behind or scoot in

but strength is waning and she went back to this bulldozer of a power chair

It wrecks everything it hits which is everything.

The wheels are about a foot back of the base chair and turning they run into and over everything

Thinking those hover round chairs advertised on TV turn better and dont hit stuff

would that be a better chair (for in the house)than what she claims is called the scooter chair???

And best source to get one?? Expensive?

[ 01-30-2014, 01:52 PM: Message edited by: just don ]
 
Posted by kam (Member # 3410) on :
 
JD....power chairs give me more support. I can't do scooters.

Is there a power chair store you can take your mother to in order to try out some chairs?

Hoover rounds are considered a piece of junk by most in the power chair world.

There are good gently used power chairs on the market.

But, you first need to know what it is you want.

The low end invacare chairs are also not worth it.

Comfort is a big consisderation.

Pride mobility has some good products. The edge seems to be the most popular or Quantum Q6.

A power chair that a person has not used long is the best.

I hear purchaing a new one from medicare is possible but the process is long. If the person doesn't have a a seocnd insurance to pick up the balance it is possible to make payments on the part medicare doesn't apy for.

Even with that, there are times that holes and nicks are made. It just comes with the territory.

I put a hole in the bathroom door, the closet door, the kitchen wall and the outside corner coming into my apartment.

I did those when I first moved here. Thankfully I have not put any more holes in the walls.

Ah yes, another corner area as I come into the apartment.

Most of the time, I don't cause problems but every now and then it happens.

Permobile is supposed to be good but expensive if I recall correctly.

Even used.

Something with bigger wheels are also better.

Going to do a search for the pride mobility site.

wheelchair junkie by Mark might also be able to help you out. They have a forum to ask questions.

There also is a section to ask Mark yourself.

Most say to get a professional to help you decide but when I went into the pwoer chair stores, I found they were not very ehlpful.

I ended up with a chair that made the pain worse and was a low end product.

As you may or may not know, I had two power chairs donated to me. One from the Scooter store which has since gone out of business.

The other from a lady who started up a non profit business in the state to recycle power chairs.

Both are Pride Mobility prodcuts. Got them used in 2007 and they are still going strong.

It took a lot of knocking on doors to make the contacts and time as I needed a power chair when I came down sick in 2001.

I did not get the power chairs until 2007.

Then got two. [Smile]

I have seen magazines that advertise gently used power chairs ..mobility magazines.

Stay away from Craig's list or be very cautious.

Ebay has some power chairs for sale too.

The less used the better.

There also is are stores on line who sell used power chairs.

They may be able to work with you as far as weight of your mom, height, etc to help narrow it down.

A neighbor purchased a new hoover round.It was broke more than it ran.

I used a hoover round for a short time on owan from the local thrifts shop when I frist came down sick...I spun out in it and scared the hibby jibbies out of me...couldnt' decide if I had fun or not or was more scared.

Later learned that they are thought of as a piece of junk in the power chair world.

Good advertising though.
 
Posted by kam (Member # 3410) on :
 
http://www.wheelchairjunkie.com/forums/ubbthreads.php
 
Posted by kam (Member # 3410) on :
 
http://www.pridemobility.com/
 
Posted by kam (Member # 3410) on :
 
One chair I have is too big to use in the apartment.

And I am not able to use it on my lift on the car. [Frown]

And it doesnt' work out to go into stores with it.

The smaller one works on my lift and works out to go into the grocery store.

It is tricky business finding one that works best for your uses.

I don't know if I mentioned Amazon also sales power chairs

Pride use to have a section that helps you choose which power chair is best for you.

You could figure out which might work best and then start looking for gently used ones.

There was a guy here who most likely would have benefited from a power chair vs the scooter that he was using to get around.

But, he thought his scooter was best for him although he kept falling out of it and had to have the fire department over frequently to help him get back in it.

A power chair would have given him more support.

Holes in the walls every now and then , etc just kind of go along with driving a power chair or scooter indoors
 
Posted by GretaM (Member # 40917) on :
 
Bless your heart Don.

[group hug]

A man who looks after his mom... Don't be surprised if all us LN women start hittin' on you now we know what a gem you are [Smile]

Tell your mom she drives her power chair like I drive my car.

There ain't nothing wrong with a few dings here and there as long as no one gets hurt [Smile]

Also I could see how her chair could be very handy at clearing the aisles at costco when the sampling stations are set up. Nothing clears a bottleneck faster than a few squished toes!
 
Posted by just don (Member # 1129) on :
 
Its MY toes that get run over all the time. No matter where or what I am doing

Course it doesnt help to be barefoot around that monster either.

Dont think its a real scooter,,,but like I say its too long for INSIDE the house,,,when you turn the back end comes whipping around

And you get stuck in corners cause you cant turn out of them, have to back and mom cant see anyway.

So when she hits something she backs up and takes another whack at it, same place expecting different results.

Its like being blindfolded and driving it,,,or one eye half closed other covered.

Probably would NEVER take it outside,,only INSIDE the house and use this one outside.
 
Posted by lpkayak (Member # 5230) on :
 
Wow kam. You are for sure the power chair expert here!
 
Posted by kam (Member # 3410) on :
 
Don....unless you have home that has wider door ways and wider hallways, etc...

you are going to have problems with power chairs and walls, etc.

The maintenance man has to fix things here at teh apartments all the time for power chair and scooter bumps and bruises and dents and dings.
 


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