Hi I got my first wheelchair today and took it out for a test drive. It is self proppellant and extreamly difficult to proppell and stear, has anyone got advice on how to use a wheelchair? I thought this was going to be a great new way for me to be more independant but it is so difficult it has left me dispondant. all comments welcome.
There are loads of videos on Youtube that will give you some tips.
Jane
thanx. x
Wheelchairs are great once you have got a little bit ‘Chair Fit’. The only places I’ve found that are dead flat and good to train on are. There must be others
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Supermarkets
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Shopping malls
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Hospitals
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Airports
All pavements have a slight camber,and that makes the job very hard. What you are feeling is normal,but once you’ve done a bit, things get easier. In the two years I regularly used the chair I went up a bra size and lost a bit from around the middle, and at a guess would have been able to do a couple of miles on the smooth’n’flat.Now all I can do is get my ‘Bathchair’ around my flat and transfer on and off things
Happy rolling, Wb
You’re not alone - I’ve had mine a week now, I veer to the left on a flat surface - I’m right handed anyway and my left side is much weaker than it was - this does not help. I think that soon, I will have shoulders like an olympic swimmer, and my (already great) admiration for paralympians grows every day!
I didn’t realise that all pavements slope (it’s not something you notice when you walk on them!) - so far, I’ve only had the chair on the one to get from my car to my work - it definitely slopes towards the road and makes it very difficult to stay in a straight line.
Corners are interesting - I have to keep reminding myself that leaning to go round corners mainly only works on motorbikes (I was doing my bike lessons when I was diagnosed, haven’t driven a m/bike for years, don’t really know what my subconscious is playing at). Tight corners are negotiated by stopping or reversing the “inside” wheel and using the “outside” wheel to get round (or is it the other way around? I do it instinctively, as you probably will).
You’ll get there - I couldn’t find much on Youtube for self-propelling a wheelchair, but there must be videos there
Luisa x
Hi, I`ve been a full time wheelie user for 8 years and a few years part time prior to that.
So with all these years of experience, why do I still knock chunks out of our doors and walls at home? Last week I demolished a counter in Matalans! They didnt barr me tho!
Hope you`re doing better than me.
luv Pollx