Wheelchair advice

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RachelErik

New member
Joined
Jan 21, 2011
Messages
5
Reason
CALS
Diagnosis
12/2010
Country
US
State
FL
City
Homosassa
Hi. It has been since May that I have been on here due to my partner Erik retiring from a dream job in Hawaii in June. We moved back to Florida to be close to family and friends, and we are finally settled in a location that Erik is very comfortable with and we are enjoying every single day as much as we possibly can.

Erik has been approved for an electric wheelchair, however he does not want to spend the extra for a seat elevator. His legs are failing him pretty fast and hands some. I'm concerned that his shoulders will be next making it very hard for get out of the chair by himself. I would appreciate any advice for him to make a good decision. Thank you.
Rachel
 
I have a Permobil c-300 and I always need to be tilted for upper body and neck support and I can't use the elevator when the chair is tilted for stability reasons (maybe this can be programed differently I never asked). I would use some if I could but not necessary. I didn't pay extra for the elevator.
 
We also have a Permobil for my husband with the elevator. We have used it everyday for transfers. We now need a lift for chair to bed transfers, but still rely on it for bathroom transfers. He likes to use it when speaking to people, in crowds or to get a better view of something. It has been helpful and a nice convenience for him and me. But not essential.
 
I regret not getting the elevate feature.
 
I echo what KKay says.
We use it all the time for transfers. That has made a huge difference in getting out of the chair.
It has been very convenient in certain circumstances to raise up to get closer to eye level with people, or see better in a crowd. But not absolutely essential.

Brian
 
I would spend the money unless you can't. And sometimes you can get elevation covered by ins. on grounds that you are preventing falls/delaying the need for a lift. Make your DME list everything when filing the claim, include the justification and appeal any denial. If you have a case manager, that will help.

You may be surprised how much use you get for transfers even with weak legs by helping him to rise and it will be helpful after that for matching table/desk/screen height. We use it every day. Oh, and Permobils can definitely be programmed to use all power features (footrests, tilt, recline, elevation) at the same time, though speed may be slowed as a safety feature when chair is not fully low/upright.
 
Check with the MDA they paid for the elevate feature on my husband chair in 2006, we used it all the time for transfers to bed, chairs, the passenger seat of our van, until his trunk and arm weakness made transfers very scary.

penny1
 
Thank you all for your answers. We got the chair without the elevator. He loves his chair, its a Quantum Q6. Hope we are not disappointed at a later time when I/he will wish he had it.
 
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