Wheelchair help

[jkbd03]

My daughter uses a wheelchair for longer outings (i.e. the park, malls, amusement parks etc) due to her connective tissue disorder, POTS and struggles with fatigue.
We have a Drive Medical Blue Streak that we use for this purpose. Last year she complained of the vibrations/roughness when riding in the chair. Is there anyway to help lessen that for her or is there a recommendation on a different wheelchair that we could get for our next trip this year. Any help/advice/tips would be very appreciated.

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[SueM in MN]

The fairly inexpensive wheelchairs don’t usually have a lot of features or options for comfort (the $150- 300 wheelchairs). Most of them are pretty much the same and don’t include ability to change out wheels, which does help the ride (or have better tires). The more expensive ‘generic’ chairs have more features, but cost more ($450-700). If she sees any therapists, they may have recommendations or might be able to help with getting insurance coverage for an upgraded chair (Might not be possible if she just needs it sporadically).

The biggest thing you can get that will make it more comfortable in her current chair would be a cushioned seat pad and possibly backrest.
Amazon has a lot of well rated seat cushions. The gel ones are going to be most comfortable; here are a couple links.
- gel memory foam cushion
- Vive gel seat cushion
- Purple ultimate seat cushion
- ROHO air seat cushion; this type needs periodic checking for leaks

 

[mamabunny]

I second the upgraded cushion - it can really make a big difference.

 

[sarabguerra]

My daughter uses a wheelchair for longer outings (i.e. the park, malls, amusement parks etc) due to her connective tissue disorder, POTS and struggles with fatigue.
We have a Drive Medical Blue Streak that we use for this purpose. Last year she complained of the vibrations/roughness when riding in the chair. Is there anyway to help lessen that for her or is there a recommendation on a different wheelchair that we could get for our next trip this year. Any help/advice/tips would be very appreciated.

​

Thank you for asking this. I was literally about to come asking for some suggestions on if the less expensive wheelchairs are reliable, comfortable etc for use at the parks. My DX has the same challenges, although we are currently awaiting official diagnoses after wading through the insurance red tape. We always rent a WC, or borrow from our amazing senior center lending library when at home. But I think we will look to purchasing to make it easier on us all.

 

[Groot]

My daughter uses a wheelchair for longer outings (i.e. the park, malls, amusement parks etc) due to her connective tissue disorder, POTS and struggles with fatigue.
We have a Drive Medical Blue Streak that we use for this purpose. Last year she complained of the vibrations/roughness when riding in the chair. Is there anyway to help lessen that for her or is there a recommendation on a different wheelchair that we could get for our next trip this year. Any help/advice/tips would be very appreciated.

Does she have a cushion? IIRC many of the basic wheelchairs DON’T come with cushions and either the person has to buy their own or sit on the sling seat.

 

[jkbd03]

Does she have a cushion? IIRC many of the basic wheelchairs DON’T come with cushions and either the person has to buy their own or sit on the sling seat.

No she does not, but I will look into getting one for her.

Thank you.

 

[jkbd03]

The fairly inexpensive wheelchairs don’t usually have a lot of features or options for comfort (the $150- 300 wheelchairs). Most of them are pretty much the same and don’t include ability to change out wheels, which does help the ride (or have better tires). The more expensive ‘generic’ chairs have more features, but cost more ($450-700). If she sees any therapists, they may have recommendations or might be able to help with getting insurance coverage for an upgraded chair (Might not be possible if she just needs it sporadically).

The biggest thing you can get that will make it more comfortable in her current chair would be a cushioned seat pad and possibly backrest.
Amazon has a lot of well rated seat cushions. The gel ones are going to be most comfortable; here are a couple links.
- gel memory foam cushion
- Vive gel seat cushion
- Purple ultimate seat cushion
- ROHO air seat cushion; this type needs periodic checking for leaks

Thanks for the links I will look into them.

We are not opposed to investing in a more moderately priced wheelchair, we just don't know where to start as far as what to look for. We got a lot of push back from her specialist when we suggested one for her to use on long outings. So we just dropped it and figured we would do it on our own as we know her best.

 

[Doofenshmirtz513]

My daughter uses a wheelchair for longer outings (i.e. the park, malls, amusement parks etc) due to her connective tissue disorder, POTS and struggles with fatigue.
We have a Drive Medical Blue Streak that we use for this purpose. Last year she complained of the vibrations/roughness when riding in the chair. Is there anyway to help lessen that for her or is there a recommendation on a different wheelchair that we could get for our next trip this year. Any help/advice/tips would be very appreciated.

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Just wanted to say good luck and send best wishes. We're making our first trip to the parks later this summer since my wife was diagnosed with POTS and will be using a wheelchair to make that possible. I hope all goes well and that you and your daughter have a great time.

 

[jkbd03]

Just wanted to say good luck and send best wishes. We're making our first trip to the parks later this summer since my wife was diagnosed with POTS and will be using a wheelchair to make that possible. I hope all goes well and that you and your daughter have a great time.

Thank you
Good Luck to her as well, it is challenging, but it can be done as long as you are prepared (or over prepared in our case).