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sam-the-pancake · 10 months

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Saw a post talking about how you're never too young for a disability or illness or to need a mobility aid and we wanted to talk about our experiences. (It got longer than I was planning. I have more I could say but I managed to fuck up my thumb typing this on my phone and I know if I save this as a draft I'll forget it exists).

We were 8ish the first time we fainted. Nothing was thought of it or done. We fainted twice more between then and when we were 14 and fainted at summer camp. I have a feeling that if it hadn't happened at camp in front of a bunch of adults (who are mandated reporters) that my parents still wouldn't have done anything about it.

Following that time at camp our parents brought us to a bunch of doctors and had tests done. I don't remember much of it, but what I do remember is the neurologist. He was the last doctor we saw and he basically said "nothing's wrong just drink more water and electrolytes". So our mother started buying Gatorade and coconut water for us, but it didn't help much. It stopped it from being terrible, but it didn't make it completely better. By this point I was walking around the house with my vision fully blacking out every time I stood up to go to a different room.

When I was 16 the exercise intolerance was so bad that I couldn't work out anymore. I quit the rowing team that I had loved. I am almost certain that if I had been involved in a different sport that I would have had to quit sooner. I learned just a few years ago that rowing is an exercise that is more tolerable for exercise intolerance, like a recumbent bike. I got "lucky" in a way.

When I was 19? 20? and living alone at college I took matters into my own hands and told the nurse on campus (an amazing woman) that I believe I have EDS and POTS and want to see a specialist. She didn't really know about either disorder but she looked them up with me and decided to refer me to a cardiologist and a neurologist. In the few years since then they've both run many tests and found "nothing wrong". I convinced my cardiologist to send me for a tilt table test and of course that came back inconclusive.

When I was 21 I started using a cane anytime I left the house. I don't actually use it for balance but to reduce pressure on my lower joints when they're in pain, and day-to-day to reduce fatigue. If I don't use my cane I won't make it through the work day without my fatigue and back pain becoming crippling to the point that I can't sit up anymore.

In the last 6months I found an amazing GP who heard my story and decided to get shit done. She sent me to a physical therapist (also an amazing woman), got bloodwork to prescribe me various meds that are actually helping, got me on a waiting list to see an EDS specialist, and sent me to a sleep expert. At my most recent appointment I asked if we could talk about her possibly prescribing a wheelchair and she immediately said yes and wrote the script. Between her, my PT, and Gary the wheelchair guy from NuMotion's help I'm now waiting to hear if insurance is going to cover it.

I'm in my early 20's and I can't cut or mix my own food. I get home from my teaching job and I take a nap then eat the dinner my (also disabled) partner made, and then go to sleep for the night. I don't have a social life. I don't have the energy to do more than one thing in a day. Saturdays we do laundry and Sundays we grocery shop. That's what my weekend is. Sometimes if I have extra energy on a Saturday I can shower too. People don't talk about it much but struggling with personal hygiene is a major issue I have due to my disabilities. I started taking "cat baths" when I was less than 12 (washing the important bits with a washcloth while sitting on the toilet/floor). My sensory issues due to being autistic also affect this and make it hard for me to shower even when I do have the physical energy.

When I started physical therapy, my physical therapist asked what my goals are, long term or short term. I said I want to be able to shred my portion of chicken and mix it into the rice myself when we have dinner. My secret goal is to be able to do it for my partner as well so they can rest after cooking. I said my long term goal is to be able to rock climb again, but I understand that that might never be possible for me again.

I'm not even 25 and I'm mourning the loss of every interest I've ever had other than reading, and even holding a big book open is too much for my hands sometimes. I cannot live independently. I'm lucky that I have a low impact job that pays well enough for me to support myself and my partner. They can't work but they're able to take care of the housework and cooking and moving groceries and other necessities that I can't do myself. I try not to think about the future because I don't know what a progression of my disabilities would mean for our ability to live away from our abusers parents.

#host #pancakes talk #vent #rant

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mobilityscootrike · 1 year

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Electric trikes are considerably easier to manage and balance than standard bicycles, which is especially useful for people with trouble balancing on two wheels. Since electric trikes have no emissions and are fueled by renewable energy sources, they are also excellent for anyone who wants to lessen their carbon footprint.

Like electric trikes, electric trike bikes are three-wheeled vehicles propelled by an electric motor. On the other hand, electric trike bikes resemble standard bicycles more in style and feature pedal-assist technology that enables the user to pedal while also receiving support from the electric motor.

Electric trike bikes are a popular option for those who wish to ride a bike for exercise and health advantages but may need some help pedaling. They are also viable for people who might have trouble balancing on two-wheeled bicycles.

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#2 person electric mobility scooters

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downloadwellness · 1 year

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Tips for Massage Therapists to Provide Massage Therapy to Special Needs Client.

Massage therapists frequently interact with patients who have physical and mental illness issues. Thus, to effectively serve this population, they should be prepared to recognize potential contraindications. It is up to massage therapists to be knowledgeable about scenarios when it is suitable and inappropriate to provide massage therapy services. At Download Wellness, a premier wellness center that is Black-owned, providing massage therapy in Oakland, we understand that special needs clients frequently do not disclose medical conditions or their need for accommodations until they arrive for their appointment.

It’s all About Teaching Yourself

How would you manage clients with unique needs that need a wheelchair for portability? How might you proceed with massage therapy with a patient whose back has a full skin joint? How would you provide kneading therapy to a patient with a history of seizures? Most medical advisers’ solutions to these questions are frequently educated guesses, so learning about potential special requirements situations will help you become informed and prepare for any unexpected requirements and contraindications.

Working with clients who have hearing or vision problems is another illustration. Our massage therapists are always aware of creating a set of hand signals that both parties can use, or have a piece of paper and a pen available to jot down inquiries or statements for clients who have hearing impairments. You should still make an effort to ask special needs clients whether they are too hot or chilly during the massage therapy session even though they might not be able to hear you. How will you talk to your client if they can’t see or hear you well? Is the pressure all right? Are you prepared to roll over now?

Setting up Your Practice

The best massage therapist at Download Wellness will have a room set up with a table, support, extra sheets, candles, and a headrest for a regular back rub therapy session. However, our local massage therapists have a closet full of supports in various shapes. Such as, (three-sided, dainty, thick, round, level), a back-rub seat to accommodate clients who can’t lie recumbent or inclined, lights that can dim or brighten depending on a client’s visual needs, or an erasable board to converse with clients who have hearing impairments.

Handling Clients with Limited Mobility and Reduced Communication

A variety of circumstances can cause mobility restrictions. These include paralysis, disease, aging, and injury, to name a few. There are issues specific to each of these illnesses. In addition, each person has unique problems that need to be addressed, regardless of their disease or handicap, which may or may not be connected to their disability. For instance, people with chronic mobility issues frequently have other medical concerns that make massage inappropriate.

During a thorough client intake and medical history, these concerns can be understood to ensure they receive the maximum benefits of massage therapy.

A customer may require further accommodations if they are unable to communicate adequately. For instance, someone who has cerebral palsy, a closed head injury, or a stroke might not be able to talk. But might, however, be able to comprehend gestures or other forms of communication. Talking with their caregiver about treatment choices would be helpful as well.

If clients cannot communicate verbally, modifications to the treatment plan must be made to remain within their tolerance and comfort. If the client cannot express themselves clearly, the therapist must decipher nonverbal cues and exercise caution.

Paralysis

People with paralysis who receive a therapeutic massage should be given special treatment. Usually, just a tiny area of the body remains paralyzed, which restricts movement or sensation. The muscle and nerve activity in the rest of the body may perform regularly.

Using mobility aids like wheelchairs or crutches, areas not immediately affected by paralysis may develop compensatory habits accompanied by tension or discomfort. Joint stiffness, spasms or contractures, or restricted joint movement can occur together with paralysis. Some additional care is necessary while massaging paralyzed areas.

Although they must be used with extreme caution, range-of-motion exercises and light stretching techniques aid in maintaining flexibility, joint movements must be gentle because osteoporosis may also be present in long-term paralysis patients.

Show Good Judgement

In the same way, if the client’s capacity for communication is impaired, the therapist must be acutely aware of nonverbal cues like body language and facial expressions and exercise sound judgment when delivering services to prevent harm to the client. Doing less is sometimes preferable. More profound mechanical techniques are frequently not as appropriate or supportive of the client as compassionate touch and the presence of another carrying person.

#benefits of massage therapy.#best massage therapist #massage therapy in Oakland

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just-urbanism-montreal · 2 years

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Organizing for Just Urbanism in Montreal

Hello world! I've been living in Montreal for three years now and am hoping to get properly engaged in encouraging urbanism in the city that is also just and accessible. I'd like to make space for similarly interested Montrealers to join in on urbanist advocacy that is rooted in disability justice and other social justice movements.

About me: I'm disabled and have found it basically impossible to use my manual wheelchair in my neighbourhood (the Plateau) because of the poor state of the sidewalks and bike lanes (so many cracks and potholes, etc) and the lack of accessible transit (especially the Metro stations!). As a result, mostly I bike places with my recumbent bicycle, or use different mobility aids (cane, crutches) to walk around my neighbourhood.

I'm an anglophone with decent French comprehension but have found it really hard to figure out the world of municipal activism in the city. So I'd like to document my experiences and the things I'm learning so that other anglophones can join in.

Another disconnect I've felt in Montreal is how Facebook-centric the activism is. There are some lovely and thriving groups on Facebook, like Transport mésadapté and Montreal Mutual Aid, but I for one can't stand Facebook. Hence: trying to make alternatives!

What about you: what do you want to see in Montreal's urban landscape? What do you want for community activism?

#montreal #tiohtià:ke #urban planning #mtl #quebec #disability justice #urbanism

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clatterbane · 4 years

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Coming back from the store up the street a little while ago, and the first time I had tried the new running lights outside!

Some pretty awkward wheeling under scrutiny, but hey. The colors didn't show up super well on the phone camera there, but it should give some idea.

One fun thing: car drivers seem to be looking out for wheelchairs even less than bicycles. 👿 You're at least higher up on a (non-recumbent) bike, closer to where they're looking for pedestrians if not other cars. With as little attention as some of these folks seem to be paying, it makes me more concerned for small children and animals.

Anyway, after one uncomfortably close call with some person turning into that store's parking lot without looking very well--and swiftly heading toward it getting dark at 4 p.m.? 😩 Mr. C suggested at least some reflectors, but adding some lights for visibility seemed like a better plan.

And I am a sucker for the color changing LEDs. So, enter the wheel lights! (They do offer a variety of colors, but I couldn't resist those.)

#video #wheelchairs #wheelchair lights #pimp my ride #new wheels #bicycle wheel lights #new wheelchair user #this latitude though

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jansjourney · 5 years

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Showing off

9/4/19

Mom has been showing off this week, and I love it! Last week she had refused a few therapy sessions due to pain and just overall not feeling well. While I understand that greatly and wish she could just take a break, the insurance company wouldn’t be so sympathetic. Also, I keep hearing that the first 3 months are when huge changes can happen. Beginning Sunday, either I or some of mom’s friends have been with her through at least one therapy a day to pump her up, encourage her, and honestly to be wowed by how amazing she is.

Sunday, I was told mom had a great therapy session after some reminders to Fight and a few nudges, but Monday I was downright impressed! Luckily it was Labor Day. I slept in a bit, and went in to mom’s nursing facility not knowing if they were doing any therapy on the holiday. She still got all three, and I was able to help through all of them. She sat up, unassisted, on the therapy table for at least 45 minutes straight through OT and Speech. I watched her do some core and trunk strengthening exercises in OT, and in Speech, she got to eat a bit...yay!!! I had previously told the SLP that my mom had swiped a vanilla wafer from me and had no issues eating it. She wasn’t successful last week with food, but she asked if mom wanted to try some pudding. Mom nodded (yep, she is regularly responding with nods and shakes). The SLP brought back a pudding cup which my mom ate the whole thing. She also brought a cup of thickened apple juice. After one sip/gulp, my mom gave us both a side eye saying, “what the heck is this you gave me?” We asked her if it seemed weird. She nodded. We explained that it was thickened to make sure she could swallow it. She proceeded to finish it off through the session. After Speech, the OT came back and said she was so impressed with mom’s sitting that she wanted to try to see if mom could stand. PT was next so we rolled mom over to the ballet bar and we got her on her feet. With our help, she stood for about a minute and 30 seconds. ::Insert fireworks here::. All of the therapists were excited for mom and they said they needed to go write a novel in the notes.

Tuesday most of PT’s time was taken up by nursing so we got mom up into the wheelchair. One of her friends came to assist with OT and gave a great report of mom standing 3 times, sitting herself up, and moving different parts of her body. Today, Wednesday, I was blown away, yet again! I came early to make sure mom was washed up and ready for the day. Perfect timing because PT walked in as the CNA was walking out. We got mom over to the wheelchair using a slide board (side note: mom is now upgraded to using a slide board to get into the chair instead of nurses having to go get a hoyer lift with swing). So using the slide board, mom assisted with her left side, and did 50% of the work to get into the wheelchair. We rolled down to the therapy room and mom worked out on this stepper machine (similar to a recumbent bike but does a stepping motion instead of pedaling) that her wheelchair could wheel up to. She was trying to get to work before she was even set up. You go girl! So she did that machine for 10 minutes straight using both legs and left arm. When the PT said they needed to go get something and mom could stop if she wanted, she kept going for a few more minutes. After that she was taken over to the ballet bars to practice standing again. She hoisted herself up twice out of the chair, with out help, and stood for almost two minutes both times. Speech also reported to me that they had been practicing writing both my name and her name with the SLP writing and mom copying the letters.

Mom has been trying to talk too! The only full/clear word I can hear is “Allie.” That is music to my ears :-) It is usually followed by her really trying to get some other words out, and then she gets a bit flustered. Each day she is trying to talk more and sometimes, depending on what is going on, you may be able to figure out the message. She is still great at pointing and directing with that left hand.

Now that I’ve written a novel, I am going to go, but I had to document all of this excitement over the last few days after a slightly rough week last week. I kept telling mom how great she’s been doing and either she nods like yep or she smiles and looks proud of herself. I love it.

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mymisfortuneforyourenjoyment · 5 years

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March 8, 2019, 4:31pm

I have a chronic illness called POTS - that’s postural orestatic tachycardia syndrome. In simple words, my nervous system is broken and the biggest problem it causes is with my heart.

My doctors have sent me to cardiac rehab. Which, apparently, is something I’m supposed to be ashamed of? At least that’s the impression that I got when a 60-some year old woman also at the rehab clinic whispered, “Are you here for... cardiac rehab?”

By the way, I’m not ashamed. Not one bit.

I’m annoyed, though. The last time I saw my cardiologist, he said to me, “I can’t prescribe exercise in a pill. It’s up to you. I can’t do anything about it.” True, doc. That’s true. But my good dude, stop acting like I’m not trying. Stop assuming that I’m not doing what I’m supposed to be doing. I have been exercising, to the best of my ability. He doesn’t believe me, though.

I’m also just pissed, frankly. I’m in shape. I can do whatever the exercise doctors asked me to do. It’s the day after that fucks me up. The “postural” in POTS means that my symptoms are tied to what position I’m in - laying, sitting, standing, moving. The “tachycardia” bit means that the more vertical I am, (so the longer I’m standing) the higher my heart rate goes. Anyway, all that to say that the day after exercising, I can’t stand for more than ten seconds without fainting. I started this exercise program twice before, at home. Both times, I ended up in a wheelchair for a month after because when I stood, and sometimes when I sat up, I fainted.

So now I’m going to the hospital each time I exercise. Today was the first day. It’s a 36 week program, three times per week. This is basically how my day went:

Bought a bus ticket on my phone through an app. I rush my service dog to do her business before we got to the bus stop. She nearly makes us late. The bus driver and I make eye contact. The bus driver sees my service dog. I give a “what the fuck” face and throw my hands up because she’s not slowing down. The bus skids to a stop. I get on, show her the ticket on my phone and say, “Thanks.”

I get off at the right stop. I rush to the office - I have anxiety. A man snaps and whistles at my dog. “Please, don’t.” Got there a half hour early like I was told to, perfectly on time. I check in at the front desk. The receptionist calls me by the wrong name, my given name. I cringe and try to correct her, but she doesn’t let me speak. She ogles at my dog. The receptionist says I’m too early. She takes me back to the gym anyway.

She tells me to sit down but then blocks the chairs, talking to a nurse. I feel awkward so I let my dog sniff around the equipment, it’s a new place and all. She’s not very interested.

“Is that a dog we can’t touch?”

“Right.”

“Can we talk to her?”

“No. It distracts her.”

“There’s a new girl here. She has a dog.”

I want to die.

I sit down and tuck my dog under my seat. Good dog. I forgot treats. I feel bad because it’s a new situation and she could use the encouragement. She does wonderfully, though.

A woman wheels up and talks to the dog. She doesn’t ask to pet her. Another woman, the one that whispered cardiac rehab, insists on showing me a picture of her daughter because, to her, we look so much alike. We don’t. The daughter has kinda short brown hair that resembles mine. “She has an easy smile, just like you.” I smile and want to say thanks, but choke on my words because I’m anxious.

The woman teases and guesses that my name is Chip. I thought about saying yes, but told her the name I go by instead. Took her three times to hear me right. My name isn’t hard. Just a bit too masculine sounding for her to accept that it’s my name, I think. She introduces me to everyone there. She’s trying so hard to be welcoming, but no one will shut up about my dog and everyone’s assuming I’m a girl and I’m anxious.

A man sits next me. He’s three times my age and reminds me of my grandfather. He asks what breed my dog is, boxer lab mix. I’ve had this conversation with strangers so many times, I swear I need to start counting just so that I can add that bit of information in the conversation so that people can better understand my annoyance. He struggles with his phone, wanting to show me a picture of his dog, a labradoodle. I explain how to get to the picture he wants to show me. The woman from before insists on showing me her dog, a mutt.

Three doctors finally stride into the room perfecting in sync together in a little pack, which is funny to me. I watch them in the mirror. I can’t see around the huddle of ten people waiting for them.

I’m handed a packet of information. I take my time reading it. My doctor is annoyed that I’m actually reading it and taking so long - I’m dyslexic. She sits down and runs over it with me. It’s a lot of information and I can’t remember any of it.

She takes me into the gendered locker room, the women’s, and shows me how to put on the heart monitor. It’s a chest strap that correlates to a watch. I lift my shirt and show my scars from top surgery as she puts it on. I wanted to say that I’m transgender and I use they/them pronouns, but the words catch in my throat and I say nothing.

She walks me through the rest of the process. It’s long and confusing. She teaches me how to use the recumbent bike, with all of its functions on the screen. She’s impressed that I do so well. I told her that exercising is not the problem. It’s the day after. She bids me good wishes for tomorrow as I leave.

I walk to the bus stop. The bus comes very soon after I get there. I am the only one at the bus stop. I make eye contact with the driver. He speeds past. “What the fuck!” I swear more and pace around. I feel bad that I’m acting the way I am around a teen boy that cannot make eye contact with me and sits on the sidewalk with his legs bent up in at weird angles. I think I’m making him nervous.

I look up on my phone when the next bus will come. I sit on a cement base of a flagpole nearby. I take out my phone, texting friends about being passed up completely. That’s the second time it’s ever happened to me. My phone is at 30%. It dies. Probably from the cold. My fucking bus ticket is on my phone.

I try to get into an education building. It’s a Friday, the university campus should be open. The building was locked. I walk back to the hospital in the cold. My dog is shivering.

I ask the concierge if there is a way to charge my phone. He says that there are no charging stations and apologizes. I walk up to a group of four people sitting in a cluster of chairs in a waiting area. A woman is on the phone. I stand awkwardly until I get up the courage to say, “Excuse me, I’m really sorry, but does anyone have an iphone charger?”

The woman on the phone says that she does. Her daughter, sitting next to her, says that her charger won’t work because her mother has an android. The mother pulls out a universal charger. I thank her profusely.

I sit on the floor by a plug. I hold my phone up by the plug that’s 2 feet off the ground. The cord is only 6 inches long. My phone turns back on. It’s at 24%. I want to wait 15 minutes at least and leave in time to walk back to the bus stop. I charge for my phone for 12 minutes. My phone is at 30%. The woman’s car was brought up by the valet and she needed to leave. I thank her profusely.

I rush to the bus stop, even though my dog pulled towards the grass, wanting to do her business. I tell her that we’re in a hurry - I’m anxious. We get to the bus stop ten minutes early. I let the dog pee and sit on the cement block by the flagpole. There are other people around. The bus comes. I pull my phone out and the app actually turns on without loading for 4 minutes. I board the bus.

My phone is at 24%. I turn on music because I’m anxious. My phone dies but I leave my headphones in. I get off at the right stop. I decide to begin chronicling my bad days and my bad thoughts on a public social media platform. I don’t care if anyone read it or if anyone follows me.

#bad day #pots #service dog #bus #exercise #transgender #dyslexic

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cassolotl · 6 years

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I hired a wheelchair

Or, Wheeeeeeeeee! (-lchair)

Some of this will be quite UK-specific, but lots of it is universal.

Here’s some things I learned, in no particular order!

Get cycling gloves first. I knew I’d need them but I didn’t have a chance to get them in advance and like, just do it. I ended up with a sort of hole/blister on the squishy bit at the base of my right thumb after a day of fairly minimal self-wheeling and being pushed around, and putting on cycling gloves was an immediate relief. Get gloves first and then you don’t have to be pushed around because you have blisters on your hands! Get ones that have fingers so your hands stay pretty clean and stuff. When you’re pushing yourself along by something that goes through puddles and over all kinds of floor-mank, your hands get grubby.

You’re gonna go through cycling gloves pretty fast! They were pretty worn down even after two days. I guess they’re kind of like socks on hardwood floors, or ballet slippers.

After a while you get good at putting the brakes on and off automatically and without having to look, so that’s cool.

All pavements slope towards the road for drainage, in a way that is not obvious at all when you’re walking, but when you’re noob-wheelchairing and one arm is knackered and doing all the work to stop you heading into the road it is really obvious.

Councils think they have made pavement kerbs wheelchair accessible but, I mean, they are not always that great, let’s be honest.

You won’t have enough arm strength and stamina to do what you want to do and go where you want to go without assistance for a while probably? I would push myself a bit, and then when I got tired I would ask Jay to push me a bit, and we’d alternate like that. I was usually slower than Jay, but I did get a bit faster, especially after we took the arm rests off.

At least when you’ve only been doing it a few days, it takes twice as long to get anywhere than you think it will, or more.

Take the arm rests off. They get in the way, you have to hold your arms at a funny angle that stops you getting your strength behind the push, you can't get the best grip on the wheel thingy, and you get tired faster. (Kate found a button that let us pull the armrests off the one I hired and it was great.) If possible, ask the hire people to remove the arm rests for you so you don’t have to worry about them.

Someone needs to invent a periscope so that the person pushing the wheelchair and the person in the wheelchair can see each other. Otherwise you both just feel really weird and impersonal and a bit isolated.

Similarly, when you’re being pushed and then there’s a pause, if there are people with you and they don’t come around to the front of the wheelchair and they just stay behind you that is really weird! So I had to get good at saying stuff like “can you come around this side of the wheelchair?” (if I had not got cycling gloves yet) or just turning around myself. It took a while for my “just turn the wheelchair around” instinct to kick in, I did a lot of twisting and craning for no good reason! :P After a while of being pushed I think inertia happened and I forgot I could move myself. (Another reason I preferred pushing myself, I think.)

Being able to put your stuff on the back of the wheelchair is great, but it does make pushing harder, especially on upward slopes. If you go up quite a steep slope without someone pushing you it feels like you’re going to tip over backwards. (Thankfully this did not happen to me!)

Going downhill is fun.

I was alarmed by everything being so high up in supermarkets, so I just got out and pushed the empty wheelchair around in front of me and put all my shopping in it. It’s kinda nice because it gives you something to lean on a bit while you’re walking.

The world is my bench.

I still wanted to get up and stretch and whatnot every now and again, and that was pretty cool because I was often with someone who appreciated a bit of a sit down in a convenient wheelchair, and maybe a bit of a push around too. So I stretched and pushed someone in a wheelchair for a bit and then sat down again, and they got to have a rest, and it was good.

Another nice thing about needing to stretch is that “do you want to have a go in the wheelchair?” is a great ice-breaker.

If you can get out of your wheelchair and lift it up small steps, you probably don’t need help from train assistance people with that portable ramp kerfuffle.

It was so nice to be like “wow being still is boring, let’s wander around and look at things while I wait” and not be like “that’s going to hurt and make my recovery take longer and severely reduce what I can do today etc.” I wasn’t invisibly trapped in space any more, I could just... go 10 feet over there and look at the newspapers, for no reason, just because! And nothing bad would happen! Incredible. It’s hard to really understand how disabled you are until you have something that takes away your problem. (Sometimes it gives you new problems but like, at least you’ve got the choice, right?) I had no idea that other people can just walk around, for no reason, just because it’s more interesting than not moving around, and there are no bad side effects - and in fact it usually feels nice and good and enhances your life to do so.

It’s also cool because I would like to be able to go to active things (gym? dancing?) and then be able to wheel myself home. At the moment if I do anything active outside of my house I am essentially trapped. One time I got a gym subscription from my GP and by the time I got to the gym I was feeling so bad that I had to go right back home or I would’ve been trapped. If I have a wheelchair then I can do LOTS on my legs and then let my arms take me home while the chair supports my weight! Which could mean that it’s possible for my legs to get stronger with a wheelchair than without, paradoxically.

It’s now two days since I gave back the wheelchair, and I am feeling it in my chest and the front of my shoulders and my upper back and upper arms. Not in a bad way, I can still do stuff, but it’s just the feeling of my muscles breaking down and rebuilding. I feel very lucky that I had someone to push me when my arms got tired, because without that my arms and chest and back would be on fire right now. It’s also amazing to feel like I’ve exerted myself and used my muscles, without the feeling that I’ve totally broken myself??? I can’t even remember a time when I’ve felt like that, because the gap between resting and “oops I’ve overdone it” is so so tiny for me usually! The fact that I have used all those muscles so much over several days and I’m not totally broken is just, wow.

The cost

It cost me £40 to hire a wheelchair for 4-5 days, and that was because the minimum charge was like 2 weeks or something? I paid less because I picked it up from the hire company office instead of having it delivered, which is apparently the standard. It was VERY lucky that the place I was staying was reasonably close to the hire company office, though.

I took the velcro foot straps off the wheelchair and then lost them and had to pay £10 extra, so like, look after the bits you take off!

Things I am looking forward to from an actually good for me wheelchair

Rigid frame. The folding wheelchair frame jiggles about all over the place, and it feels like half my effort at any given moment is rattling out through the joints (of my wheelchair and my body!).

Smaller front wheels? The little ones that help you turn were still just too big. They kept crashing into my feet on the footrest if I went backwards a bit and whatnot.

CUSTOMISING. That’s self-explanatory. I’m thinking embroidered things on the back, and maybe lights on my wheels? >:D Also if there is a good way to carry things easily (pockets? panniers?) then I want it.

Lighter. At least, that’s what I’ve heard? It sounds nice, sometimes I felt like an absolute unit with the backpack on and everything, so every kg helps.

Being a bit higher up maybe or something? I felt quite recumbent in this wheelchair, but when I think of other wheelchairs I’ve seen people using it’s like, your centre of gravity is a bit further up/forward, and that looks more comfortable and like you can use your body strength a bit better.

Overall I just got a feel for how these kinds of standard one-size-fits-all wheelchairs are designed for being pushed around, rather than comfortably wheeling yourself around on the regular. I wanna get a nice cushion and then maybe start going for wheels along cycle paths in the countryside. :)

The Jassian??? (Is that what we called it?)

This is a move that me and Jay have patented.

You’re crossing a road and you’re coming up to a dropped kerb on the other side of the road that isn’t all that dropped, and the usual solution is to get out of the wheelchair and then the pusher gets it up onto the pavement and then you sit back down again.

But that’s slowwww and you have to stand uppppp and it just sort of breaks up an otherwise smooth thing, right?

So if the person in the chair puts their feet on the ground behind the footrests and pushes down, the front of the chair lifts up just enough that you can get the front wheels onto the pavement. And then you quickly pick your feet up and put them on the footrests again, so you don’t stub your toes on the kerb, and you’re sorted!

It’s like, hup!

Edit: I’ve since found out from people with training and/or experience that the good way is to turn around and go up the bump backwards, because the big wheels can handle it better, but the Jassian technique is better because you don’t have to go backwards, in my opinion.

Interesting replies, in order

Popping a wheelchair wheelie (shinycat69)

Writing disabled characters based on my wheelchair post (author-exe)

Kerbs, from an expert (anarmyofawesome)

More on bumps and brakes (phdincrohns)

On vehicles (taxis), models, and public pushback (heartisamusclethesizeofyourfist)

On pushing someone else in a wheelchair (remcoportfolio)

#original posts #wheelchair #disability

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cripplecharacters · 5 years

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Hi! I have had a story in my head for about a decade where characters can slip into another dimension if they run fast enough and then travel through time from that dimension. I have not thought about this story much since I became disabled but now that I think about it this mechanism excludes people with certain disabilities from time travel. Do you have any advice on how I could change the mechanism to get into the other dimension so that i can create a cane/wheelchair user time traveler?

For wheelchair users, you could make it so they go fast enough in the wheelchair to push through dimensions? For canes or crutches, it's hard to work up much speed, but it could be that it's a physically intense activity that makes people go that fast? So they might be able to do it with some other form of vigorous exercise? Alternately, they could get a recumbent bicycle?

-Mod Wolfy

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onfirewhenifoundit · 6 years

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I use a bicycle as a mobility aid. The joints in my feet lock up because of my chronic inflammation, which makes it feel like they’re both sprained; walking ranges from mildly painful to excruciating. But a bicycle allows me to travel without pain. I can also use short bursts of pedaling and coast a lot, which conserves my limited energy. I’ve adapted my bike with a cushy seat and large handlebars to keep the weight off my bad shoulders. Bikes are cheap, easy to repair, and well understood by mechanics and the public. And a side benefit is the gentle low-impact exercise I get.

Unlike some disabled cyclists, I can walk for short distances, and I can lift my bike. I can’t go fast enough to feel safe around traffic, however, and my city lacks dedicated bike paths. I’m just waiting for a cop to tell me to stop riding my bike on the sidewalk - I ride at a walking pace around pedestrians, or idle along with my feet, but rules are rules. It’s just another aspect of my invisible illness that makes me braced for conflict all the time.

Sidewalks are also part of the reason I’m on a two-wheeler. They’re narrow, and in some places barely wide enough to navigate a wheelchair (or not even that). My balance is excellent, but I worry about falls: my inflamed joints take a lot of damage from impacts. I do have a recumbent for wet weather when pavement may be slippery, so that I wouldn’t fall more than a foot, but it’s so long it can be difficult to maneuver, and the tires are suitable only for pavement. If I had access to more dedicated bike paths, not just an incomplete and circuitous network of quiet streets designated “bicycle boulevards”, I might get a trike. For now, though, my trusty upright will have to do. At least it mounts on my car easily.

Disability doesn’t always look like a cane or a wheelchair. Sometimes it looks like someone slowly riding an old bicycle.

#spoonie #disabled #disability #mobility #transportation #accessibility #bicycle #city planning #invisible disability #chronic illness #chronic pain

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mobilityscootrike · 1 year

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Why Buy Electric Mobility Scooters Online USA?

The push and advocacy for greener and cleaner fuel vehicles are louder than ever before in history. Their benefits and effects have now percolated into smarter mobility options and solutions for the elderly or differently abled. Today, electric scooters, wheelchairs, trikes, and tricycles have become common.

That is why choosing to buy electric trikes for adults online is a wonderful, life-changing decision. Electric mobility solutions provide several advantages and benefits to their users. These may include:

- Mobility scooters enable the elderly and differently abled to move freely and easily without much inconvenience or difficulty.

They neither rely on someone else nor need to wait for someone to help them get there when they want to. That gives them the independence and dignity to make decisions that best suit their circumstances and situations.

- Electric wheelchairs are built for the differently-abled and elderly to enable them to carry out other tasks that normal people can do. It is a means of getting to do things regardless of their physical nature. They can do several or multiple tasks of their choice without necessarily resorting to relying on others. It can be liberating, instilling a sense of freedom of choice in decision-making.

- Provide dignity and self-respect to the elderly where they are free to do what they want, when it is appropriate, and whenever they are driven to step out.

The Best Benefits of Choosing to Buy Electric Scooters Online.

Whereas there are several platforms to choose from.

Affordable and Durable: Apart from being highly affordable they are built with sturdy frames and chasis to provide prolonged use. Besides, they can be serviced at a low cost and easily provide mobility to the senior members of society with challenging mobility issues.

Low Maintenance and Cost-Effective: Whether in the short-term or long-term, electric mobility scooters present the lowest figures in manageability. This covers both their running service, spare parts, and insurance. They are cost-effective, as most are tax-exempt in most parts of the USA as a way to encourage cleaner fuel options and mobility solutions.

Zero Pollution and Sustainable: Unlike common fossil fuel scooters, electric-run scooters have zero carbon emissions and footprints. Their compliance with clean-energy goals means they positively contribute to a greener planet and help reduce global warming and climate change.

Prevents Complications from Sedentary Lifestyles: An inactive lifestyle is a threat to physical, emotional, and overall well-being. It can impact your health with the possibility of easy injuries and knots. It improves overall blood circulation, boosts mood and disposition, and increases overall fitness and alertness.

Keeps Elderly on A Socially Active Lifestyle: It is possible to keep an active lifestyle with a mobility scooter or wheelchair. The point with independence and freedom it brings, the elderly can keep relations whether in public park or any other place they feel obliged and comfortable to meet.

In conclusion, a decision to buy electric mobility wheelchairs online USA is an investment to good health of the elderly and differently abled. The scooters, tricycles, and wheelchairs are sleek and modern, bult to last with amazing service records.

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#Electric trike bikes for sale

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robertpatrick-12 · 3 years

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How to Choose the Right Patient Transfer Lift System

Patient Transfer Lift Systems

According to lift experts, there are three types of patient transfer lifts. Traditional vs. Recumbent Lift Recumbent lifts are more commonly used by patients and healthcare professionals. This type of lift is typically used for elderly patients, who experience decreased muscle mass and lower bone density. It involves lying on your back on a specialized platform. The patient is then rolled over onto the transfer seat, which will be lowered to the floor. If the lift is equipped with a hydraulic pump, a physical therapist can activate the equipment using a remote control. Conventional vs. Vertical vs. Surface Lift Conventional lifts are the most common. A doctor will guide the patient down to the platform. The patient is then rolled onto the transfer seat, which is placed on the floor.

Training for Patient Transfer Lift Systems

There are a number of ways to go about training for a patient transfer lift system. You can find training materials online or you can get a good level of training from a trainer. However, if you don’t have time to schedule a training, then you can always take classes on your own or find an instructor who will give you a one-on-one training. Some places that offer patients training include local hospitals, physical therapy centers, medical supply stores, and vocational rehab centers. How to Use a Patient Transfer Lift System Once you’ve completed your training, there’s a number of ways you can use your patient transfer lift system. You can have a personal trainer or therapist help you.

When is a Patient Transfer Required?

The main consideration in which patients you need to transfer is if you need to move a patient to a second level of care such as ICU. ICU patients have special requirements for moving, such as their use of ventilators. Remember, you must follow all the right transfer requirements for each transfer, including the setup and training. For example, if you’re transferring an emaciated patient, it may be best to not use a traditional transfer platform. Instead, you might use a family member’s bedside commode to transfer your patient. The importance of this requirement is that a person who has recently lost a great deal of weight needs special consideration.

How to Choose the Right Lifting Tool

When selecting a lifting tool, safety is a priority. There are different models that are used for different Residential lifts. The right lifting tool should be strong enough to lift a patient from a wheelchair into a bed or wheelchair. The lift tool should be lightweight so that it can be moved from one area to the next. It should also be lightweight and easy to transport so you can move the lift from a medical facility to a home or a nursing home. Also make sure the lifting tool is easy to use so that you are comfortable moving the tool from one place to another. How to Choose the Right Patient Carrying Lifts When it comes to using a patient carrying lift system safely, it’s critical that you have training on how to do the car seat.

Conclusion

NEVER perform a transfer if you believe there is anything wrong with the transfer lift system. Before starting a transfer, check the sling to be sure it can handle the patient’s weight and is properly attached. It’s also important to perform regular maintenance and cleaning on your transfer lift system that is in line with the manufacturer-recommended maintenance schedule.

EZ-ACCESS designed the ORBIT for ease of use. But if you have any questions about how to safely use the ORBIT, our team can answer those questions.

Please contact us - we’d be happy to help you.

#Residential lift #lifts #health #services #Patient Transfer Lifts #Patient Transfer

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marcymaloy · 3 years

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Before you read this I’d like to warn you that there are a lot of punctuation and spelling mistakes. I dictate what I want to say and sometimes it comes out all wrong hopefully there are no grammatical mistakes. My mother was an English teacher she taught me to cringe when something was wrong..I take a hell of a lot of pills. about 35 a day. I used to not be able to swallow pillsat but and I’ve gotten used to it. it’s so much easier with applesauce I can take four or five at a time if they are sitting in applesauce. I always get a visionl of Jonah the whale with his mouth wide opem and the pills and everything elsw going down with them. I jave pills for keeping my legs from going spastic, pills to relieve the tingling feeling that I get from the nerves. I have pills to relax the muscles in my back and I have pills to increase my thyroid. I have Hills to decrease my anxiety and I have pills to increase my mood. pill’s to soften mystool and piu;;s how to regulate vitamin D in my body. It’s kind of a drag having to remember them after each meal and it’s a little irritating to have to take them but Ron and my two nurses never forget so I’ve let the responsibility go. You’re probably curious about what they do. one of them comes at 7:15 Monday through Friday and the other one comes on the weekends.I wake up at 5:30 and Ron brings me my coffee and cereal. then Daniella arrives at 7:15 They work for 1 hour … They wash my face and give me a lovely face massage and apply morning creams and make my bed .it’s really quite nice. then they ask me what outfit I would like to wear for the day and that’s a laugh because I have a stack of t-shirts and a stack of sweatpants so it doesn’t really matter to me what I wear. then I get on the floor and do crunches and bridges with them. in the remaining time I usually practice walking a few laps around the living room Before they go they take my blood pressure and give me my morning pills. After they leave I do squats and toe raises and I sometimes practice getting up out of my wheelchair without using my hands. I also do 30 minutes on my recumbent bike Then I have physical therapy, occupational therapy, and psychological therapy on different days of the week. For 7 days a week I get up at the same time and go to sleep at the same time. I Used to absolutely hate ritual but I’ve gotten used to it and it does get me up and get me going in the morning whether I like it or not. tomorrow I’m going to write about accepting myself as a quadriplegic. thank you for reading

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diaspora9ja · 3 years

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Adaptive sports program helps veterans stay connected through outdoor recreation

Within the 20 years since he retired from the Military due to a number of sclerosis, Karl Smith has handled emotions of isolation.

For years, the 72-year-old Vietnam veteran from Falmouth didn’t get out of the home a lot, not figuring out when his stamina and skill to stroll would fail him. Final winter, he heard about Veterans Adaptive Sports activities & Coaching in New Gloucester, a program began by fellow Military veteran and Olympic biathlete Kristina Sabasteanski. Smith was shortly capable of make connections with folks and get outside for hikes, biking and archery – generally utilizing a three-wheel walker and a recumbent bike.

Karl Smith practices archery with Veterans Adaptive Sports activities Coaching on Oct. 14. Derek Davis/Employees Photographer

In March, because the pandemic restricted gatherings and compelled Mainers to remain residence, his reference to different veterans in this system solely grew. Although he was unable to get collectively bodily with different veterans for some time, he didn’t really feel remoted.

Sabasteanski stored the group related nearly, with weekly Zoom chats, which grew to become lifelines for Smith and different vets.

Karl Smith holds {a photograph} of himself taken in 1969 at his base in Vietnam. Within the {photograph}, 21-year-old Smith holds a pet. Derek Davis/Employees Photographer

“I believe I spent extra time speaking to different veterans on Zoom than I had earlier than,” Smith mentioned. Speaking to others was snug and helped Smith settle for and “extra simply dwell with” what he describes as a long-standing ambivalence towards his service in Vietnam.

Although Sabasteanski has run VAST for eight years, on the campus of the nonprofit Pineland Farms, this system has been particularly essential to its members through the pandemic. They stored related nearly through the first few months of shutdowns, in March and April. After they resumed this system’s weekly actions – together with archery, bocce and biking – it was whereas sporting masks and retaining 6 ft aside.

Greater than 160 veterans took half in this system this fiscal 12 months, down from about 230 the 12 months earlier than, a drop attributable to COVID-19, Sabasteanski says. The contributors – who come after they can, or need – vary in age from about 30 to 91. They embrace amputees, veterans coping with mind accidents, post-traumatic stress dysfunction, dementia and a number of different challenges. Actions embrace archery, biking, fishing, orienteering, wheelchair basketball and tennis, bowling, disc golf and mountain climbing journeys. This system meets each Wednesday, and varied different days through the week.

“It’s so essential for them to have the ability to hang around with different veterans and share tales, and pleasure, doing one thing enjoyable,” mentioned Sabasteanski, 51. “When the pandemic hit, I believed it was actually essential to maintain folks related.”

This system is funded by a Veterans Administration Adaptive Sports activities Grant, in addition to particular person donations, an Avangrid Basis Grant and by Pineland Farms. The nonprofit Pineland Farms is a 5,000-acre working farm, with grounds that additionally home training and recreation applications, in addition to a number of companies.

VAST contributors, together with Carmine Melito and VAST director Kristina Sabasteanski, collect on the bocce courtroom Oct. 7 at Pineland Farms. Ben McCanna/Employees Photographer

Sabasteanski spent 10 years within the Vermont Nationwide Guard, becoming a member of when she was 25. She additionally competed as a biathlete – Nordic snowboarding and capturing – for the Military and in two Olympics. Whereas within the Military, she bought an opportunity to look at a Paralympic competitors and was impressed with the highly effective emotional impression bodily exercise with adaptive gear had on folks.

“I noticed folks with no arms and no legs, competing and carrying out a lot. Proper then, I mentioned I need to be a part of that,” Sabasteanski mentioned.

She used her G.I. Invoice advantages to go to varsity for occupational remedy. Whereas working within the area, she started working with veterans and moved to Maine along with her husband, Matt Sabasteanski, a Maine native who served with the Military in Iraq. Matt bought a job as director of outside recreation at Pineland Farms in 2002, and in 2012, Sabasteanski started operating VAST by means of the nonprofit.

Having the ability to join with different veterans, and listen to about their army service, has been essential to Smith as he’s tried to know his time in Vietnam. He grew up in Waterville and Bar Harbor and joined the Military when he was 18. His base, in Lai Khê, was fired upon on an “virtually day by day foundation,” he mentioned.

VAST participant Carmine Melito throws a bocce ball whereas program director Kristina Sabasteanski stands by to help. Ben McCanna/Employees Photographer

“On the one hand, I’m happy with my service, that I selected to serve, nevertheless it was a fairly adverse expertise. I misplaced too many good pals,” mentioned Smith, who spent 15 months in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969, working as an organization clerk for an Military aviation unit. “It was not a well-chosen battle, and people of us who served weren’t well-regarded once we got here again.”

After leaving the Military, Smith went to varsity and labored as a counselor and instructor for some time. However in 1981, he joined the Military’s Lively Guard Reserve program, working full time for the Maine Military Nationwide Guard. After being recognized with relapsing-remitting MS – the place sufferers have intervals of stability between relapses – he took a medical retirement in 1999 on the age of 51. He lives in Falmouth together with his spouse.

Smith has been attending VAST actions nearly weekly this summer season and fall. On a current Wednesday morning, he was amongst a dozen veterans utilizing an out of doors archery vary, masks on. However he’s additionally gone bowling with different veterans, performed bocce and hiked. His MS impacts his steadiness and causes dizziness, so he makes use of strolling poles and generally a three-wheeled walker that VAST offers. He hoped this fall to go on a mountain biking journey with this system.

Karl Smith practices archery with Veterans Adaptive Sports activities Coaching on Oct. 14. Derek Davis/Employees Photographer

He says VAST has given him “a sense of accomplishment and shared enjoyment in bodily exercise,” one thing that’s arduous to realize with a bodily incapacity that’s generally extreme. VAST additionally provides him the chance, and the motivation, to do extra and keep related with different veterans.

“We’ve got lots in frequent,” Smith mentioned. “Being veterans, there’s an acceptance of one another’s experiences and that everybody has totally different limitations. It may be inspiring.”

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