My first wheelchair

Today I collected my first wheelchair. I have never even sat in one before, so it was an experience wheeling myself in it back to the car. This was made a little more interesting by the fact that one of the first things I had to negotiate after leaving the Wheelchair Services Dept was an uphill slope (bet they laughed themselves silly when deciding where to put the dept), and then I got stuck in a small dip in the car park, but I managed to extricate myself from there and made it back to the car, where I successfully completed a puzzle worthy of The Krypton Factor to make it fit in the boot. All the time fending off but thanking the legions of lovely people (mainly over 60) who wanted to help me. I have to be able to do this by myself.

At some point I’m going to work out how to make the thing go in a straight line, probably when my left arm is of equal strength to my right, and I can feel that my shoulders are going to be built up too if I use it often enough.

The fairy lights and tinsel are in place for it’s first outing to work tomorrow, yay!

Luisa x

Well done Luisa, you must be feeling so proud yet a novice as yet. Yes you will have muscles like popeye when youve finished, hopefully.

When I used to help take apart a friends wheelchair I used to get so confused as to which bits to take off first. You will get there, our brains may have holes in them but repetition works wonders.

Happy motoring in your wheelie, what name have you given it?

bren

x

fancy putting wheelchair dept on a slope, is that to see if you can negotiate such? Bet quite a few have come a cropper.

Thanks Bren - the only vehicle I have ever named was my friend’s mum’s car, when I was 4, I called it Daisy. I don’t tend to name things that don’t have fur (and, as it turns out, things that do have fur get named after film characters - my cats are Smokey and Bandit, my dog is Murphy after one of the characters in The Blues Brothers)

L x

Well done Luisa, sounds like you had a bit of an adventure, I’m with Bren on this,it needs a name, we name everything except my wheelchair doesn’t have a name, maybe I should name mine first, lol. Cheryl:-)

Well done you! Enjoy sparkling back at work

Well done Luisa, hope it goes well at work tomorrow! Teresa xx

Thanks Cheryl - I still don’t feel the need to name stuff, I decorate it. My walking sticks are currently sporting fairy lights, my mobility scooter has chrome effect flames, and my wheelchair has both lights and tinsel (I have a weakness for sparkly things, you could prob sell me anything with sequins on it)

Thanks for the other comments guys

Luisa x

Well, today’s revelation was that my wheelchair is not like a motorbike - leaning does not make it go round corners (I wasn’t leaning consciously, I’m not that daft, but I did have a giggle when I realised what I was doing). It has been a very long time since I drove a motorbike, apparently it’s not something you forget. Doors were interesting, my current procedure for opening swing doors is to ram them, then pull myself through the doorway by grabbing on to the door frame. There must be an easier way.

Luisa x

Hi Luisa

I breath in and tuck my arms in as though that will make my powerchair narrower to fit ithrough small gaps!

I also pulled the rubber off the joystick because I was pulling upwards to get over a steep kerb. Ummmmm.

Jane

I can see me doing the pulling up thing if I get a powerchair - my one’s manual, I’ve got to be able to get it in and out of the car by myself. I noticed I do the leaning thing on my mobility scooter too, and that’s a little silly, but in a manual wheelchair, it’s ridiculous. I’m also one of those people who uses my hands a lot when talking on the phone, my husband used to laugh a lot at me.

L x

Good luck Luisa,

Maybe you should put some L plates on it for your first day at work!!

Jen x

the thought had crossed my mind!