Re: wheelchair info.

bibow (bibow(AT)concentric.net)
Wed, 01 Apr 1998 13:11:04 +0000

Hi Claudia
The BEC is an antique that derived from an old english power
chair, and it is no longer made. But there are some terrific
small power chairs out there. What your funding will allow I
don't know, but you need to work with a therapist and a
dealer that will help you through that process. Usually,
being a paraplegic it's hard to get funded for good power
chairs, but it also depends greatly on the individual case.

I would look at the smallest P-series from Quickie or the
Storm-series from Invacare. The best powerchair for small
and tight quarters is the Permobil front wheel drive. ALl
these chairs will range between 7500 and 12-14000, depending
on equipment.

To give you better balance you must look at your seat angle
as well as your back angle. Make sure you get a seat angle
that is lower in the back than the front. Also make sure
your footrest is correctly adjusted, it's another very
important part of "building" balance into the chair. A
backrest that is reclined a little bit will also help, but
reclining too much usually creates other problems, so watch
out for that.

It's all a matter of trial & error, so find someone to work
with that are up for a little wrenching and don't stop until
you're happy. Feel free to ask me for more specifics, I've
gone through this several times.

People with in-complete injuries have some sensation and/or
voluntary movement left below the level of injury. When the
injury is complete there is no functional movement or
sensation present. Of course, neurological injury leaves
everybody with a different situation, so the gray area here
is vast.

Good luck....... let me know how it goes, OK!

Martin