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boblandstar1

Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2009
Messages
28
Reason
PALS
Diagnosis
01/2005
Country
US
State
OK
City
Tahlequah
Choosing a wheelchair is a major decision. Making the right choices is essential in determining your long term happiness with your chair as well as factors like comfort,maneuverability,dependability and long term usefulness. In my experience most prosthetic people are not educated about the needs of ALS patients.

I have been fortunate in that the V.A. has updated my chair as needed (total cost around $40,000) but if I could do it over I would have ordered the RIGHT chair on the first try.

I have an Invacare Storm TDX3. It was initially ordered with tilt and recline. The gel seat pads proved to be very uncomfortable. As it became more difficult to stand the low seat height made it much harder to get out of the chair unassisted.

Here are my recommendations:

Get a mid wheel drive. It is much easier to maneuver in tight spaces like a van. Or tight doorways.

I prefer a molded seating system with good lumbar support.

Arm troughs will be needed as arms become weaker.

Get a fully adjustable headrest. The wrap around type makes it more comfortable to nap.

Order a vent tray and store it until needed.

Power footrests aid in comfort and toileting.

Tilt and recline allows you to shift pressure points for more comfort. It can also lower your overall height for low van door openings.

Most chairs will only operate in slow mode if it is at more than a 6% tilt/recline or is elevated. Any good dealer can disable this safety feature for a more comfortable ride or for easier loading through low van openings.

Anterior Tilt System and Elevate are essential in the later stages of ALS. It has been an invaluable aid in standing and for transfers. Plan your wheelchair needs for the late stages of ALS.

Plan your electronics to accommodate an alternate control system such as sip/puff or an ASL head array.


Hope this helps someone.

Regards


THERE IS NEVER TIME TO DO IT RIGHT, BUT THERE IS ALWAYS TIME TO DO IT OVER.
 
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My wife was diagnosed in 6/07. We have just begun the process looking at power chairs. Our local medical supplier is directing us to a permobil c300. It seems to have all the same functions, but what I am interesed in is the co-pilot function that they offer. It will allow me to "drive" the chair and operate the functions from behind.

I am trying to plan as you suggest for late stage ALS. I am not sure that we are not there now.

If you have any knowledge about the Permobil chair I would be interested.

Thanks
 
i JUST GOT ONE I LOVE IT. ONE PROBLEM THE GEL CUSHION IS NOT COMFORTABLE
PAT
 
Try to change it for a Roho cushion Pat. Much more comfy for 12-14 hour days in the chair.

AL.
 
Thanks Al
They are very pricie but
 
ALSA or MDA might be able to help pay for the cushion.

AL.
 
FWIW I got my Quantum 6000 last week with a gel cushion and still love them!
 
Articulating leg rests that move up and down help a lot also.
Be careful you do not get the new style Quantum 6000 that has the foot rest together in the center. My legs keep falling off of these and I broke my big toe going through the door when one leg fell off.
They need to redesign the lower leg rests on these.
 
They are really very cheap.


happy.gif
 
Hi MTPockets (Love the name) The Q6000 offers 5 different types of legrests. Midwheel drive wheelchairs must have very small footplates as it must fit in between the front casters. Contact the dealer that delivered the wheelchair and they should be able to change this out at no charge. Check this link: http://www.pridemobility.com/quantum/accessories/front_riggings.asp. Also, if your legs are falling off, the current footplate can be modified by your dealer to provide side supports, footbox, or even ankle straps. Hope his helps!
 
Wheelchair info

Thanks so much for the info. They said they have gotten the side rests in this week and will try to get it out to me soon. My old chair which has almost stopped working, will not climb hills very well, has the Power Articulating Leg Rests and they worked very well for a number of years. I thought they were going to put those on the new chair but instead they went with the center one piece they call a Foot Platform.
Oh well we will get it sorted out eventually.
My advice to anyone buying a chair is go to a store that has models you can try out to see what works best for you.
 
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