She doesn't need any support really. She can walk. She walks around the house all day. But for anything out of the house she uses her walker. Her issue is mainly balance. And she has low muscle tone in her legs so she uses AFO leg braces. But her strength and stamina is ok. She only uses the Convaid a few times a year. Like if we go to a big mall or something with a lot of walking. The only reason we even have it is someone in the neighborhood was having a garage sale and I drove by and saw it sitting there. I stopped to inquire about it. They wanted $200 for it. I said I'd think about it. Came home and asked dh what he thought then looked it up online and saw that that particular chair is over $2,000. Ran back and bought it. Figured we'd use occasionally, couldn't pass up a deal like that! I really am not crazy about the chair though. It's SO heavy! So I was thinking a lightweight foldable wheelchair would be so much easier at the parks. I'm also going to contact my insurance company and see what their policy is for paying for wheelchairs. If it's considered durable medical equipment. I've never put through any walkers or anything through our insurance because they were so awful. But now we have Blue Cross Blue Shield and I think they just may pick up some portion of it.
Most policies will not pay to rent.
Some policies dont cover purchasing durable medical equipment (although Im not really sure if that is legal). A typical number for those that do is the insurance pays 80% and you are left paying 20% of the total.
If you decide to purchase one, you will need a seating evaluation in order to get recommendations for the best chair for her and also to get the documentation for the insurance company that shows she needs the chair.
If she is seen in any type of specialty clinic, you could check with someone there to find out if there are any equipment lending closets in your area where you might be able to borrow a pediatric wheelchair for your trip.
I dont know where you live, but if school is still in session (we dont have year round school here, but I know some do), you could check with the school people too.
Also, if she has some specific diagnosis (like cerebral palsy) that there is a local or state organization for, they may also be aware of lending closets in the area.
It may also be less expensive to rent a correct size wheelchair in your local area and bring it with you. If you are flying, you would be able to bring both the walker and the wheelchair at no charge since they are necessary medical equipment.
For a transport chair, as was mentioned, the seats are not that comfortable. Whether or not one would fit her is going to depend on how big she is. If she is 5 feet tall or less, an adult size chair will be too big and would probably not be that comfortable.
Sometimes they have wheelchairs on bay for sale, but watch the shipping costs.
to disABILITIES!
