Yeah! Finally am getting my electric wheelchair (some questions)

[Lachesis00]

Hopefully the one ordered for me is a good one. It is 4 (I think) wheels vs 3. She said it will be less likely to tip over. It also works like a 4 wheel drive (going up hills and such). Some how you can flip a switch on the bottom and top 1/2 swivels from the bottom 1/2 to make it easier to get out of a stuck situation. You can drive right out if needed. I think she said it can go up to 12mph.
She said this model runs around $15,000! There is no way I could afford one on my own!!

I am so excited. This will make going out so much easier. I can not push myself in a normal wheelchair (I have shortened arms, missing the radius bones and shortened ulna) so my poor asthmatic husband pushes me. I always feel so guilty.
Not to mention I have to have someone with me no matter where I go if there are no electric scooters (other then grocery stores, they just do not provide them here in AZ). I totally feel like I have lost my independence. Not that I do not love having my husband or son tootle with me! But on occasion, it would be nice to go to the mall by myself or out with girlfriends.

Are there accessories like say a cup holder and if so where would I get one? Can a basket some how be mounted? I always carry a backpack on my manual wheelchair but when I go shopping or say if I was at Disney, I normally would use the scooters with a basket on it.

My biggest question, a lift for my car. I have a Dodge Stratus. I know a mini van would be ideal but there is no way I can afford one right now. My insurance gal told me these lifts for cars start at around $5,000 and go up to over $20,000 depending on what kind of lift, what it's being mounted to. She also told me they are not covered by insurance. Can anyone verify this?

 

[terri01p]

Congrats on your new chair...I know you'll love it, I can tell you our insurance would not pay to have a lift put in our van, the van place wanted 9,200 to put one in for us...my goodness. We ended up having to buy a 1992 ford van with a lift already in it, it was alot cheaper, and I have to say it has suited the purpose ( just to have a wheelchair tie down for the chair in our van would have cost us 700.00 ) go figure. I say keep an eye out in the paper for a wheelchair van it may save you money in the long run. Good luck.

 

[Lachesis00]

Right now I am out on disability and finances are tight. I got to thinking I couldn't even afford (I sure would try though if it came down to it) to pay my co-pays on something valued at $15,000 on top of other co-pays we have for meds and such.

 

[BETTYDISNEY]

Hi Rachel:
I hope you really enjoy your chair, it can make a big difference for you. As far as the list goes I wish you had better news but unfortunately I don't. We just had to purchase a second minivan which had a wheelchair ramp already installed with a lower floor. It cost us $12,000 and we had to travel to New Jersey to pick it up(we live in Massachusetts). The disability dealers wanted $16,000 in order to accommodate our existing van for a wheelchair. What we did is apply for a low interest loan through the Easter Seals people. They can also assist you with the equipment you may want to purchase with very low interest loan.

Good luck and enjoy your chair!
Betty

 

[Lachesis00]

I know I can get a lift or something to hold it on the back of my car. I wonder how good they are. Can you imagine the chair flying off the car cruising down the freeway?
Just seems like a huge chunk of change. How do they expect people to get around. You have the chair but you can not transport it anywhere to use it shouldn't complain. I am thankful to be getting a wheelchair to assist in my daily life. Just frusterated.

I wanted a wheelchair you could take apart but apparently those are not the way to go... they break easy and are the 3 wheel which tend to tip over more.

Hi Rachel:
I hope you really enjoy your chair, it can make a big difference for you. As far as the list goes I wish you had better news but unfortunately I don't. We just had to purchase a second minivan which had a wheelchair ramp already installed with a lower floor. It cost us $12,000 and we had to travel to New Jersey to pick it up(we live in Massachusetts). The disability dealers wanted $16,000 in order to accommodate our existing van for a wheelchair. What we did is apply for a low interest loan through the Easter Seals people. They can also assist you with the equipment you may want to purchase with very low interest loan.

Good luck and enjoy your chair!
Betty

 

[SueM in MN]

I know I can get a lift or something to hold it on the back of my car. I wonder how good they are. Can you imagine the chair flying off the car cruising down the freeway?
Just seems like a huge chunk of change. How do they expect people to get around. You have the chair but you can not transport it anywhere to use it shouldn't complain. I am thankful to be getting a wheelchair to assist in my daily life. Just frusterated.
I wanted a wheelchair you could take apart but apparently those are not the way to go... they break easy and are the 3 wheel which tend to tip over more.

Do you know anything like the brand or model of what you are getting?
I can't figure out from your description (I think the 12 miles you thought was the speed is how long it can go without charging -since most of the faster power wheelchairs don't go more than 7-8 miles per hour; and there are no power wheelchairs with 3 wheels, but there are 3 or 4 wheel scooters).

Knowing a little more would help people to give you suggestions for accessories and also possible ways to get it into a vehicle. I don't know of a way to load a power wheelchair onto a car without something like a lift. Power wheelchairs are very heavy (my DD's weighs over 250 pounds without the batteries).

For example, I know that the people who have delivered the various wheelchairs my DD has had in her life did not have vans with lifts or ramps. They had regular vans with (inexpensive) portable ramps. They just open the back hatch, get out their portable ramp and push the wheelchair in or out of the van. That might work with some wheelchairs, but not with others, depending on how tall they are. And, that usually works best with minivans because they are already lower to the ground than full size vans.

And, last time we were in for service on our van, a man was looking at lifts for full size vans. He got a grant from someplace that would pay for the lift and the installation in a van, but he would have to pay the price of the van. So, he was in the mobility company shop to find out what makes/models/years of used vans would work with the lifts he could buy. Making a minivan accessible is VERY expensive because you have to lower the floor, which involves major work. It's less expensive to put a lift into a full sixe or conversion van and, if you can afford a new van at some point, you can often have them move the lift into the new van.

 

[Lachesis00]

No I am sure she said the battery has a 24 hour charge (and must be 100% drained to keep that full charge) and that it goes 12 mph.

This gal told me there were 3 wheeled wheelchairs :/ Once she told me the cost I blanked everything out. I will talk to them tomorrow and get more info.

 

[shovan]

As SueM said if you could give us more details on the WC perhaps we could help more. I know here in our state, we had to do all of the research ourselves to find out what would fit in what van, how it would fit or be locked or tied down, etc. The state ended up paying for the lift system but it was a long drawn out deal.

 

[SueM in MN]

No I am sure she said the battery has a 24 hour charge (and must be 100% drained to keep that full charge) and that it goes 12 mph.

This gal told me there were 3 wheeled wheelchairs :/ Once she told me the cost I blanked everything out. I will talk to them tomorrow and get more info.

If you can get more information about the brand and model, we can help make sure you have correct information (and refer you to some things in writing). There are power wheelchairs with a total of 4 wheels and ones with 3 sets of wheels, so maybe that is where the 3 wheels came from.

I know how overwhelming things can get when more information is given than you can absorb.
Do you recall any words like 'rear wheel drive' or 'mid wheel drive'? Those would help narrow things down.
My best guess (being 'fluent' in 'wheelchair language') is that what she meant was if the wheelchair is fully charged, you can drive it for up to 24 hours or up to 12 miles. That is usually how the 'driving range' for wheelchairs is reported.

Also, the $15,000 price might not be the price your insurance/payment source actually pays. That is probably the list price and most payers pay a discounted rate. They won't find out the actual price until it's all configured and they fill out the order sheet and you would pay your copay based on what they actually pay.

 

[Lachesis00]

I was looking online and found several that reminded me of it. I KNOW she said it was 4 wheel drive (I am guessing that is a mid-line??). That if you turned the upper 1/2 around, you could continue driving it without changing anything. Somehow it knew to go forward. That I remember clearly.

My husband said it had 6 wheels, so I was mistaken in the 4. The back was set pretty high. And it seems like I had to step on something to get into the seat (I couldn't easily step off the floor onto it). It looked kind of like this http://www.themedsupplyguide.com/electric_wheelchairs/mid.html but with a blue base. Same gear stick. I remember a turtle to rabbit to control the speeds.

I really didn't have much say in what I wanted, of course I know nothing about power chairs...

They are going to do some modifications for me. Bring the joystick closer... I remember that. Seems like she said something else but I can not remember what.

I looked around online to find a picture and no one wheelchair even came close to $15,000! (nor am I seeing the speed she claimed it goes) The most I have seen so far is $10,000. I hope they are not pulling a fast one on the insurance company.

 

[SueM in MN]

Are you working with a therapist or just someone from an equipment company?
If it's just someone from an equipment company, you might want to get input from a therapist to make sure you are getting a wheelchair that will fit your needs, rather than the one the company wants to sell you. You don't want to pay for things you don't need.
If your insurance is paying for a wheelchair, they will most likely pay for a seating evaluation too (which is what the evaluation for a power wheelchair would be called).

A few questions to ask:
What will you be using the wheelchair for (mostly inside or mostly outside)?
Do you need to be using it most of the time or is it mostly for long distances?
If outside, is it mostly level ground/paved or mostly hilly and rough?
Is there a physical reason you can't use an ECV or is your condition going to change so you won't be able to use an ECV (much less expensive and you would not need a lift to transport)?
Do you need any special seating to protect your skin (you might if you will be in the chair a lot)?
How are you going to get it into your house? Do you have a ramp or is it pretty much level to get in? If not, you will need to get a ramp or the wheelchair will have to 'live' either inside or outside because it will be too heavy to lift like you can a manual wheelchair.

If you are mostly going to use it inside, you want a small, manuouverable wheelchair and you might not use any of the features that were mentioned to you (high speed, long range, 4 wheel drive). If you are outside, but it's mostly paved, the small, manouverable wheelchair might be a good choice too.

Some wheelchairs have a very high back. If you don't need that for support, you might not want it because it will make the wheelchair higher and harder to fit into a van if you don't have a lowered floor van or a full size van.

The little 'step' that you can see on the pictures is the footrest. It isn't meant to step on to get into the wheelchair, but that doesn't stop my DD from stepping on hers
The 'step' kind of footrest can be folded up to be close to the wheelchair when you get in and then folded back down to support your feet after you are seated. There are other kinds of footrests too that swing away to the side to get in.

The main companies in the US for power wheelchairs are Invacare, Jazzie (Pride Medical), Permobile, and Quickie (Sunrise Medical). They all have websites with pictures and lots of info.
The only wheelchair I can think of that fits (sort of) some of the things the person told you is the ibot . It doesn't go 15 miles per hour, but it is 4 wheel drive. It is also very expensive. From what I know about it, the driver needs good upper body strength to use some of the features.

The company may (and really should at least in my opinion) have a wheelchair you can see and try before you make your final decision. My DD actually tried 2 before we made our final decision for her new power wheelchair (she was looking at switching from a rear wheel drive wheelchair to a mid wheel and didn't know if that would cause any problems for her). If you have an unusual size or some very specific needs, they might not be able to fit a wheelchair exactly to you, but should be able to get close.

Ask all your questions before they put in the final order. If something doesn't make sense to you, keep asking until it does. They should be able to answer your questions and should be used to people asking (especially if it is a first power wheelchair).

Hope this helps.

 

[Andrew Bichard]

Some wheelchairs have a very high back. If you don't need that for support, you might not want it because it will make the wheelchair higher and harder to fit into a van if you don't have a lowered floor van or a full size van.

If you intend to ride in a van sitting in your chair, you might need a high back anyway to protect your neck from whiplash in the event of being rear-ended. I also find my power recline backrest with high set headrest great for stretching out to relax poolside (with my power footplates raised).

Power recline is also good for riding in 'wheelchair taxis' with reduced height in the back.

I gather from your post that you are unlikely to be sitting in your wheelchair when riding in a car or van, so perhaps this is irrelevant.

Andrew

 

[Barbday62]

My husband is in a wheel chair part time due to Muscular Dystrophy, We have a power chair and lift on the back of our truck. He simply drives on to the pad and a strap comes over to hold it in place. The strap tightens as it lifts. Then when no wheel chair is on it the deck folds up. We have never had the wheel chair so much as budge on the back of the car. It came with a cover for when its raining out. The cover goes over the chair and ties down.

 

[shovan]

Lachesis00,
My DH has a new Invacare Pronto M61 midwheel drive chair & he really likes it. It has an elevating seat & the midwheel drive spins on a dime! I think it cost about $5000. We have been able to get a lift van for transporting him in his chair. However before the van came in, we did find out that this chair could also be lifted with the correct size crane type lift. But we couldn't afford to make the changes while waiting for approval on the new van, so we were unable to transport the new chair for quite a while.

I'm sorry to tell you that all of this equipment the chairs & lifting systems are very expensive. My suggestions would be to contact someone about vehicle lifts for the wheelchair you are getting. You really need to be asking lots & lots of questions before you get the chair. The wheelchair rep. that we used sent out several demos for my DH to try before he found one he liked. It also had to have several modifications before it was right for him.

I cannot stress how important it is for you to be pro-active in this decision. We have found that the therapist & wheelchair reps. are very quick to make recommendations but not really take the time to be sure if it's the right system for you. We also found that the wheelchair rep. does not consider how you are going to carry this new (usually big & heavy) chair around. They will make recommendations without even asking about the vehicle you have or the size of your home etc..

My husband also did a test-drive on the IBOT. It was really amazing, it really did climb curbs & steps! It was crash tested but not approved for an easy lock system (the quick lock system on the floor, which allows one to ride in & lock without tiedowns). The IBOT was also selling for $23,000!! and that was a SALE price!!! What we didn't like about it was the size, & that when the seat rises it also starts to recline. So that if you wanted to raise the seat to different table heights (like a counter bar) you couldn't do so without reclining.

Good Luck with all of this. I know it's exciting to get the new stuff, but it can also be very challenging to figure it all out. If I can help you any further, don't hesitate to ask.

 

[shovan]

If you intend to ride in a van sitting in your chair, you might need a high back anyway to protect your neck from whiplash in the event of being rear-ended. I also find my power recline backrest with high set headrest great for stretching out to relax poolside (with my power footplates raised).

Power recline is also good for riding in 'wheelchair taxis' with reduced height in the back.

I gather from your post that you are unlikely to be sitting in your wheelchair when riding in a car or van, so perhaps this is irrelevant.

Andrew

Andrew, We have found that wheelchairs here in the US are not as evolved as what you have in the UK. Surprisingly there are very few regulations for WC use in vehicles. When we were researching chairs, we mistakenly thought it would be easy to find a crash tested WC that was meant for vehicular use. Not true, almost everything we found on the web was in the UK! We wanted something that would work with the easy-lock system for our new van, unfortunately that really limited our choices. My DH would love to have a wheelchair with those great Ricarro seats that you guys have but that was not even available for us.

 

[Lachesis00]

A few questions to ask:
What will you be using the wheelchair for (mostly inside or mostly outside)? Outside the home, malls, shopping at the store, any place I need to walk or stand for more then average amounts of time...
Do you need to be using it most of the time or is it mostly for long distances? Long distances. Some days I can walk a good distance (this is rare now days), other days I can not. It's not only my hips and knees, but my back is curved and for some reason, at times it is in severe pain from walking. I think one leg is longer then the other, but why it is only sometimes this happens I have no idea. The pain shoots from my back into my hips.
If outside, is it mostly level ground/paved or mostly hilly and rough? Both. The places I see using it the most is the zoo, the grocery store, (for some reason some places affect me more then others, like I do fine in Walmart, but Kmart or even Fry's I almost immediately start hurting. My girlfriend who works with floors said there may be some kind of padding under some floors even if it is concrete or the floor may be made out of something different.
Is there a physical reason you can't use an ECV or is your condition going to change so you won't be able to use an ECV (much less expensive and you would not need a lift to transport)? Here in Arizona, the only place there is a EVC are the stores. We go to the mall or the zoo, we also do a lot of traveling (San Diego is a fav place-- Balboa Park, We also like San Fran-- places we travel to often do not have EVC). I am also finding I am needing assistance more and more as the arthritis gets worse.
Do you need any special seating to protect your skin (you might if you will be in the chair a lot)? Not that I am aware of. I do not use anything when using a normal wheelchair right now.
How are you going to get it into your house? Do you have a ramp or is it pretty much level to get in? If not, you will need to get a ramp or the wheelchair will have to 'live' either inside or outside because it will be too heavy to lift like you can a manual wheelchair. We live on a ground floor. I am very limited to going up and down stairs. My mom's stairs kill me

I have severe arthritis in my hips and knees. My hips pop out of socket *owch* a lot when I walk especially going up stairs or inclines. I was born with my knees backwards (fixed with corrective surgery as a baby) and my hips dislocated. I am bowlegged and you can see it looking at me. (I had no idea until I saw recent photos of me). My legs are almost (whats the word....??) to the point where I have very little bending ability. There is a word for it, I forget what now.
Walking makes my legs stiffen really bad and it is hard to get them to un-stiffen.
As I get older and older the arthritis and dislocation gets worse and worse which I knew but hate accepting. Even being in AZ doesn't help much. I have been doped up on tylonal the past 2 days. The weather fronts must be freaking out... our high for 2 days was like 56, the low in the low 30's. :/

It stinks. I knew by the time I was 40 this would be an issue. I kept hoping I would be able to over come it.

 

[SueM in MN]

From the answers you gave to my questions, you might want to look into getting your own ECV compared to a power wheelchair. There are a number of people who post on this board who own ECVs (Cheshire Figment is one and Haley Whippet is another).

Advantages of an ECV include:
- they are less expensive than power wheelchairs
- they are lighter than power wheelchairs in most cases and would be easier to transport

Disadvantages (which might not actually apply to you) include:
- the seating is usually pretty standard (kind of look like cushioned office type chairs)
- some people don't have the strength or ability to move that are needed to drive an ECV and need to use a joystick or other ways to steer. It take little strength or ability to move to drive an ECVn compared to a power wheelchair.

Even if you do decide to go for the power wheelchair, it doesn't sound like you would need a lot of added features (which end up adding cost). If the wheelchair equipment person is talking about features that you son't think you need, it's a good idea to ask why the feature is being recommended.

 

[mamajoan]

Hi guys...

I utilize a powerchair for many of the same reason's OP is going to use hers.
Different Diagnosis of course... but my mobility is severly limited.
I had a number of reasons for choosing it over an ECV... one being bathroom transfers. Much easier in public restrooms from a powerchair! I have a van and an interior VMI lift. (looks like a mini crane) It is great!

OP.. since you live in Arizona you will be able to use a lift that attaches to the back of your car (external lift). I have seen many used by my patients.. no one has had any problems..
Here is a link
http://www.vantagemobility.com/products/scooter_wheelchair_lifts.aspx

The people purchasing the chair SHOULD have a clue where to get a lift installed. If you contact VMI or Bruno directly they will give you a list of vendors in your area.

Extra's you can have installed on your power chair.. a cane holder -fits on the back, cup holder.. I thought that would be helpful.. but I tore mine off during my first shopping trip, Oxygen tank holder?, also a backpack.. works much better than the baskets they can provide.

I hope you enjoy your chair and the freedom it will allow you!
Best wishes!