♿️TOP TIPS CHOOSING A WHEELCHAIR.

Have you made a costly mistake? Or have a tip to share? Comment bellow. Make sure to subscribe for next weeks video on how to pop wheelies. I have some amazing tips for you. :)

I waited several years too long because my doctors have this idea that once people use wheelchairs it’s the end of my life as a person. I waited til age 30 and still they act like they’ve failed as doctors. I’ve been disabled since I was thirteen! I’ve missed out on so much in life because I felt pressured by the medical community to “push through my pain” when that made me housebound when I could have been using a chair to go outside. The United States is stuck in the 1950’s medically.

Bring different types of shoes you normally wear with you to the fitting!

I got my first wheelchair last summer and asked for adjustable push handles but was told I wouldn’t need them. I wish I had advocated for myself because I really regret having handles fixed on the backrest. So even if you feel uncomfortable speaking up, like me it’s really important, or bring someone who you know isn’t afraid to speak their mind😂

i started crying watching this, when you got to i wish i got it sooner. you are so right, I need to just get the ball rolling and talk to an OT even though I don't have the EDS diagnosis yet. I am struggling so much and barely leave my house, thank you so much for all the amazing tips <3

I finally got a diagnosis after years of often painful treatments and researching they found a extremely rare condition. And I will get a wheelchair I'm so unbelievably happy I cried. The wheelchair for me means freedom means less pain means I can go shopping on my own again, and I can go walk my dogs a lot longer. I will watch all the videos 🤣

I made the mistake of having someone who didn’t understand wheelchairs in my appointment with me, stress me out so badly that they pushed me to get a wheelchair that doesn’t fit me, width wise, it’s too big. My OT and everyone else tries to reassure me now that it’s not ‘too much’ space, but I feel like I’m swimming in it and I would’ve been better in the smaller model. I also hadn’t tried the bigger model and I should have booked another appointment specifically for that. I love the model of wheelchair I brought, I don’t like that it doesn’t have adjustable push rims but I can live with that. If it only comes in certain sizes, try them and don’t let anyone push or bully you into ordering something, especially something you know you’re not comfortable in.

For me flip down handles are enough because I have a smartdrive, so I only need someone to push me in absolute emergencies, which don't happen often. I really hate the look of the adjustable ones and could not get myself over that. I also don't regret getting a gorgeous teal colored wheelchair. Scratches are part of the fact you use it well, I like it rough but colorful. 🥰

When I bought my second wheelchair the salesman convinced my folks to get a silicon grip for the wheel rims. Kinda regretted that afterwards as it gradually got chipped and peeled off Regarding fitting into the car, I wish I came across your channel earlier

I just got my first wheelchair evaluation today in the U.S. I feel like they don’t believe me with why I would need a manual rigid ultra lightweight wheelchair. I was really anxious because my disability is so mild but the pain is real. I have cerebral palsy. The PT gave me this nastiest look for coming in and getting evaluated

6:45 I chose my custom chair while I was in the rehab hospital after SCI. I don't even remember this day because I was on a lot of pain medication, but I do remember that they did not explain any of the measurements to me, or what a wheelchair should fit like. They built it wide in case I gained weight and added features for the level of function I had at the time (which was not much since it was just weeks after my SCI).nI got my chair and it works just fine, but now that I have spent over a year with it, I'm realizing it's much too wide, the footplate isn't low enough, and the backrest is too high. Now insurance will not pay for a new one for another four years.

You summarized the considerations fairly well, there's maybe one parameter I would mention: I can't keep my legs together, they just angle apart. If you're like me, you have to make sure there are no bars anywhere on the side that would cut into your leg. The same bars that would be comfortable to grab onto doing floor to wheelchair transfers which you maybe need to do once a week at most (if at all), will be a daily nuisance for your legs when you're sitting in the chair. It restricts blood flow, if you can feel them they chafe, it's just unpleasant. Professionals disagreed with some of the parameters I picked with my wheelchair (like the seat width). I'm happy with them. 7 years in the same chair, there isn't a single thing I would change, and it was literally the first active wheelchair I could choose any details on. The previous 15 years I always had regular indoor wheelchairs. Adjustability is a must. You lose some weight, your behind gets bonier, you need a thicker (higher) seat cushion and your legs suddenly won't reach or will be angled uncomfortably, unless you compensate with shoes that have higher than normal soles. But if you want to get shoes with higher soles than normal for your normal sitting height (like women wearing high heels for an event), you expose your butt to more pressure, because your weight will be distributed to a smaller surface area, ulcers guaranteed. And those considerations were only for the foot rest height. There are a myriad of other scenarios where you're better off with a wheelchair you can adjust.

I wish I recorded my initial meeting with my DME, because what they wrote was not what they said, and because I was new then I didn’t know the difference.

I am a powerchair use, the main diff I have over a manual chair, I want it as heavy as possible, and the cog as low as possible, because the last thing I want is the chair to fall over, and again it is the car you need to think about, as the thing that limit me, is ramps and lifts, me in the chair, is just under 300Kg, of the normal limit of most ramps, The taxi I use ramp is only rated to 250Kg, so I have to get out of the chair when it is being loaded. the normal autochair lift to load chairs into cars is only 100kg and my chair is about is just over 150kg, once I have taken everything off so it fits into our car.

I would really benefit from a wheelchair I have hypermobility cfs and chronic pain I also dislocate a lot because of my hypermobility I can’t stand for long periods of time because it’s so painful and I can’t walk long distances I wish I had a wheelchair but my mum won’t let me get one even though doctors have agreed it would be good for me she doesn’t like me using a walking stick either because I’m only 15 and am not paralysed she thinks I don’t need one she hires one from Red Cross when we go places that would require me to walk a lot so she knows I have trouble and knows it could help but she won’t buy me one even though it would end up being cheaper for her than renting one out every time I go on a school trip or a long outing it’s really annoying

Absolutely fantastic video Gem!!! As an Occupational Therapist I wished they showed this to all clients before they came in to be assessed for there first assessment. When assessing clients for their first wheelchair our seating specialist always advises us to prescribe a chair that has the capacity for a bit of adjustment as the client works out what they are looking for in a wheelchair. Working in the Australian health care system and in particular Victoria I believe we have very different funding from the NHS. People can get funding for another chair a couple of years down the track when they need one. I would love to hear the NHS in a future video and your experiences...

Thank you! All the stuff you've said is gonna come in really handy when i either save enough or get funding for my chair. I've been so confused by all the different options but you broke it down really well!

One of my big tips is to get mud guards not the usual straight clothes guards, they curve over your wheel so it’s more protection for your hands, you don’t get dirt flicking up but I find it’s really useful for dresses long tops etc etc because you can tuck them by the side of you and not worry about it catching in the wheels. Only downside is you can’t use the tyres to push and I know some people do this for extra grip but I’ve got surge push rims so don’t need to but I love love love my mud guards! Such a simple but useful thing ☺️

My push handles are super short, that was a great point to mention. People can push me, but not comfortably.

I have my wheelchair eval this week and this video was very informative. Thank you very much!