Just wanted to tell everyone about the joy I have experienced with purchasing a power pack for my husband's wheelchair! Actually, my darling son bought the power pack for us after finding me in distress when I had to upgrade Roy's old,easier to manage wheelchair but which was no longer suitable for him.
I have a slope in front of my house, which I could just manage to push the old wheelchair up but when I swopped this one for a lovely comfortable, larger and much heavier wheelchair, I couldn't even manage to get a few feet up the slope!
I know that the powerpack was expensive (thank you darling boy!) but I would go as far as to say that for us,it has been life - changing.
We can now go to places where the old wheelchair wouldn't previously have been able to go....up slopes and down slopes and I can walk further and longer due to it's assistance!!
It doesn't take a lot to make me happy these days, just the sun on my face, the wind in my hair as I walk behind and steer my husband's wheelchair, now powered by something that I didn't even know existed until a few weeks ago!
So if you are ever in Tankerton in Kent and you see a woman pushing her husband in a wheelchair down the slope to the sea with a huge smile on her face...then that will be me!
Written by
DenB
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I'm so pleased it is a success. May you have many happy walks. Colin's family and my grandparents lived in Herne Bay so we visited your area regularly up to a few years ago. It's a shame we don't get there now, we could have had wheelchair races along the prom.
Alright it's good to hear some good news. Can't get to Kent but will remember a good way to get to my own sea . And aren't children wonderful ...God bless them!
Well done so pleased that it has worked out well for you. I must admit i love our power pack and since we've had ours it's less of a chore to go out and about. And as you say the places that are accessible now and with so much ease. Now it's a grin not a grunt when we are on our outings.
Our power pack was bought from a local disability shop.....I would expect you can purchase them from a local one to you.ours was fitted at the shop in a couple of hours. The company that the social services recommended was £200 more than the local shop, so you could shop around a bit and also I know they can be bought from the internet but that would mean fitting it yourself. The make that we bought was TGA, if you have internet access you could look up the website and it will tell you all about the powerpack. There are other makes that may be a bit cheaper but TGA was the one that we were satisfied with.
We had to get permission from the social services to fit the powerpack onto one of their wheelchairs.
Oh I am looking to get a power pack for my husband wheelchair we live in much wenlock Shropshire and going to centre of town is easy but back home kills me it's doesn't look like a hill but I know it is !!!
Any more information as to where your son bought it would be a help
You can eiether go to your local disability shop (dearer but they will fit it and service it) or look on line for a power stroll. (Cheaper but you have to fit it) they are not that hard to fit. Janexx
Bought G a wheelchair (nearly had to use it myself when told the price!) ultra lightweight, hadn't realised you could get power pack. Have to take G to Southampton General Hospital and know she won't cope with the walk.
How long does power pack last for before charging?
Glad you got the power pack, I am looking for one for the big chair. My lightweight wheelchair no longer suitable as M now flops about in it and I think no longer safe for long distances. So next item is a wheelchair adapted vehicle (WAV), Found a couple of second hand ex-motorbility dealers, now need to get funds sorted when I find the right car, one that I can get M in the front seat for now and also has ramp and secure points for heavy wheelchair. As well as letting M see out when she has to remain in the wheelchair. Am I asking too much? Anyone had any experience with WAV's?
Anyway enjoy the powered wheelchair and freedom it gives you.
We managed to change our lovely Nissan Note for a Citroen Burlingo WAV, through the Motability scheme. We got the car earlier this year because I also could not get my husband from his wheelchair into the Nissan so found a dealer locally who found a car for us within a few days. It is 3 years old and has taken the worry of transfers into the car away.
Roy's new wheelchair, with Roy sitting in it,fits perfectly into the back of the Burlingo and is just another thing to bring a bit more peace of mind.
I must say that I have found the Motability scheme and the people who work there ,just wonderful.
Thanks D, I have a Note as well only 3 yr old great for everything except the new chair, do not really want to sell but needs must. How does Roy find his visibility out of car? How do you cope with checking him behind you, while you are driving? I am concerned about latter, as M chokes usually when I get to 70+ on the motorway, ok if next to me quick check usually fine but behind me I do not want to pull over to find she has sorted it out. Does Roy have similar issue?
Hi Tim, we have a motobility WAV. It is a Citreon Berlingo and is brilliant. The ramp comes down and I can get the electric wheelchair into it easily. I was prepared to buy a used vehicle but the owner of the showroom we went to, told me about motorbility as we get disability living allowance. I was going to sell our ordinary Berlingo to finance it originally. There are obviously several makes of car but as we already had a Berlingo which was very easy to get into, we went for the same make. It's worth sorting it out before it's needed as we went a couple of months when Colin couldn't go out because he could no longer get in the car and I couldn't push him up our drive. The power pack I bought for the light weight wheelchair couldn't take the drive as it is very steep so I ended up buying an electric wheelchair which copes with any hill, gravel, wet grass etc. I originally enquired about it as I thought if I reversed up the drive and pulled a ramp down, would it flatten the drive out. I asked in the showroom and they offered to bring a car to me to try it out. It worked. So using the manual chair, I could pull it out of the car, the ramp made level by the slope. It has a winch so I didn't have to push my husband into the car when the ramp was sloping on level ground. We have had it for two years now and that and the electric chair have made life so much easier.
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