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i hardly go into stores to shop. if i do i use the cart and take a folding cane.
i started out using a cane. then i got a rollator (a walker with a seat). that's been very helpful because if i get too tired i can sit a few minutes and then con't. i also have a van with a lift in the back and have a scooter. if i really want to go shopping i do use the scooter. i've found that if you smile at people and communicate your needs they do the same. i don't bother with people that aren't friendly. it's not me, it's them. when i first got my handicapped sticker i put off using it. but then i had to and i havn't looked back. you find that using aids to save energy is what it's all about. saving energy lets you do other things that are more important. you just get used to it. and so do your friends and family. |
Sometimes wheelchairs make you more approachable to some people. They may feel you are less likely to reject them. Children always stare, I like kids (Taught and have my own) and most know it and know they can ask my anything. And what parent can resist anyone liking their kid? Went to a neighborhood block sale event, my zooming (Thanks Marc, Wheelchair Kamikaze) and feckless driving got noticed and commented on. Sometimes you gotta make your own party.
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Feckless driving - Doesn't everyone think they're an excellent driver?
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Kids have a 6th sense about people that way. There used to be a man in a wc with a service dog who was always at the local mall. My kids - all the kids I suspect - were curious. Mine were too shy to go ask anything, so I did for them. The man was very friendly and open, and after that, the kids would wave and say hello when we'd see him. Once they know what the deal is, it's no big deal. A couple yrs back I met a woman with a service dog so I asked her a few things about him - I thought he was her dog. But she was just training him. she was surprised I thought she looked like she needed a dog.... I said no, but you never can tell. ;) |
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[QUOTE=jackie66;549102]Consider this--- You say your spine has problems, and you are awaiting an MRI scan. Holding the handlebars on a scooter puts load on your spine. QUOTE]
Hi Jackie, I think I just called it the wrong name. I meant a powered chair you sit on, and kind of looks like a vespa! At the shopping centres they hire out these scooter chair things - mainly for the elderly. So what I meant was I'd be sitting down with no pressure on anything except my butt.:) |
[QUOTE=Freesia38;549317]
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I have n Invacare TDX - Spree and after 2 tries, got a seat and footrest my body likes and can do the most with, The first, a gel, concave seat, I called the toilet seat held me down and the elevated swingaway footrests furthered this. My self toileting days looked bad. Man, it was really wrong , and despite a set-up perhaps intended for someone who had lost much and had to be PUT in a seat and was bigger, it made my leg (upper thigh to knee) ache, my sciatica worse, etc. Hated it. My butt is still small enough so sinking in that seat was WAY down. Now I have a more upright seat, foam, air (seat adjust with air valve that inflates and deflates by self - $$$$$$ but I got free - man, I am a squeaky wheel- and some gel where tail bone is, flip up horizontal foot plate had much less pain, mobility,can self-toilet with less problem, etc. Oh, and discovered toilets come in heights, being short could not fully touch floor, insisted we junk new pretty on for 3 inch shorter one (used in Elementary school bathrooms - man, I am short (5' 3/4") but feisty) - New toilet's seat was wrong, paid for new wood Beamis. ( Being Handicapped is expensive but what a difference (though DH thinks me a Princess and a Pee!!!!!!!!!) . My point - fight for what is right (for you) We are all different.
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If we have scooters to rent in the mall, I am not aware of them.
Since I walk but just 100 feet would be exhausting, I convinced my MS doctor to give me a prescription for an electric mobility device - either a scooter or a chair. The object was to get insurance to cover some of the cost. DH and I were investigating one that would break apart into pieces so that it could be put in a car or trunk of a car. There were several to choose from. We went to a mobility store to look at both and see how easy it was to break apart and if it would fit in our vehicle. Plus we were interested as to whether I could put it together which would give me more independence. Both were doable. We picked the chair, only because the footprint was smaller. I never was really able to put it together, it was just too much work for me, wore me out. However, my DH and DD can put it together in about one minute or so. It allows me to get out a lot. Goes for 8 miles on the battery but if I take my plug in cord, I just use electricity from a restaurant and have a eating break. |
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