Wheelchair Status Update

Things have been busy here and I’ve faced some health challenges, but I’m finally able to sit down and bash out a blog post for you. And what better topic to come back with than an update on the current wheelchair status.

If you’ve been anywhere near my blog, YouTube channel or social media accounts, you’ll probably have seen me talking about the issues I’ve had since my referral to wheelchair service in 2016. It’s beyond ridiculous that, in November of 2019, I still don’t have a properly fitting wheelchair.

I’d recommend reading my Active User Wheelchair Product Vs Prescription blog post, if you’re not already up to speed on what’s been going on. This wheelchair status update will explain what is going to be done to ‘fix’ the issues that my new wheelchair was delivered with. I’ve used ‘fix’ in inverted commas because I can’t allow myself to believe that these things will work and my chair will be right. I’ve had my hopes of trampled on too many times. I can’t risk it.

Ok, so…

3 weeks ago (as I write this) I had an appointment with wheelchair service to discuss the issues laid out in my Active User Wheelchair Product Vs Prescription post. I had a very knowledgeable friend with me and we were seen by the rehabilitation engineer and an Invacare (who own Kuschall) representative.

There were two issues we were looking at:

Footplate height
Front seat to floor height

The third issue, the backrest height, had already been dealt with in clinic.

Wheelchair Status Update: Footplate Height

When looking at the footplate height and my prescription, one of the first things the Invacare rep did was to apologise. It turns out that there was an error on the order form that hadn’t been corrected and, while the form did clearly state that my footplate should have come upmounted, this was in fact wrong. I was pleased to learn that Invacare are working to rectify the error on the order form.

When taking a look at me sitting in the new wheelchair, it was noticed that my hands don’t fall where they should on the wheels.

When measured for an active user wheelchair, unless a clinical need means otherwise, the aim is that the users fingers with reach, or almost reach the centre of the main wheel. In most cases, this gives the user the ability to reach the optimal amount of hand rim for self propelling. For reference, my hand was 2 inches away from this optimal position. Funnily enough, that’s the same amount my footplate would need to be raised so I could place my feet flat.

Frustratingly, this means that I’ve spent the past 3 years with a wheelchair that is harder to push. Subsequently, this has put additional strain on my joints and required more energy. All because my wheelchair wasn’t properly fitted.

Wheelchair Status Update: Front Seat To Floor Height

We then looked at the front seat to floor height, there seemed to be some difference of opinion as to whether it was right or not. The up shot is that it doesn’t really matter because the seat needs to be moved down anyway. Because the bucket of the seat definitely isn’t right for me, this is going to be changed.

So the plan at the moment is that the front of the seat will be moved down 1.5 inches and the back will be moved down 2 inches. Though as I type this, I feel like we said 15 and 20 centimeters, but that can’t be right as that wouldn’t move the seat down low enough…

… this is one example of why I can’t trust that my chair will be sorted.

I also learned that, despite agreeing that the seat type should be the same as my old chair, the prescription had been put through with a different one! I thought this was just Kuschall’s new type of that style of seat, given that they’ve changed their standard backrest canvas cover. But no, it’s a different type! I don’t know how we went from “the same please” to “let’s try something different for the fun of it,” but hey, what do I know?! I just sit in the chair. *Face palm*

Knowledgable friend has suggested that it might suit me better, so I’m going to try it and wheelchair service have a greed to change it if needed.

So, you’re probably wondering what the next step is. We’re currently waiting on parts so that the seat can be lowered. We’re also waiting on a new footplate, since the tubing of the original, upmounted one is smaller in width than the frame of the wheelchair. This is supposed to be being rushed through and wheelchair service were going to contact me with an estimated time frame. Surprise, surprise, I hadn’t heard anything after 3 weeks, so phoned wheelchair service who are still waiting for the parts and have no time frame.

It’s exhausting and frustrating, but at least I’m one step closer to having a properly fitting wheelchair. I hope!