Actually, the problem isn't so much the car, the problem is getting Ian into it from the wheelchair. In the last several months his legs have been getting even weaker, if that was possible. This week we have made several attempts to get into the car, including use of a booster seat, but all have been fairly disastrous, and it has taken Ian a couple of days to recover each time. Not even the Sara Stedy helps.
OK, dear friends, what words of advice, or wonderful gadgets can you suggest?! I don't want to abandon all hope of going out again, yet! Certainly not since we have been given permission to travel 2 in a car again in Spain recently! Come on, creative and divergent thinkers, I need some inspiration and hope.
Juliet
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JCRy
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A wheelchair adapted vehicle was a life changer for me and my husband. If you are in the U.K., depending on your husband’s age and allowances he is receiving, if it includes mobility allowance, a car can be provided with the mobility part of the allowance going straight to the hire company. My husband got one but if he hadn’t I would have sold my car and bought a second hand one or hired one. It made life so much easier. I could wheel him straight into the car using a hoist. The reason I got it was because our drive is a slope up to the front door and one day he got in the car, and with a struggle, out when we returned home but his legs just gave way suddenly and he couldn’t walk. The slope was too steep for me to push him up. A passer by had to help. With the mobility vehicle I could reverse up the drive and wheel him straight out to the back gate to the French doors, up a ramp and indoors. Eventually I also got an electric wheelchair which again made life easier. Before all this I had a plastic bag on the passenger seat to help him turn, then a swivel seat but once the legs went they were of no use.
Am in the process of buying an adapted car with appropriate paperwork. It needs some work done to it before Ian sees it, so it is a secret. He gets overwrought, loss his speech and has a kind of panic attack everytime something new needs a decision. Have decided to make the decision myself...scary!
Just hoping Ian can still muster up the enthusiasm to try it out, when it arrives!
Hi Juliet, when it got almost impossible for me to get W in and out of my VW Golf, I changed to a Seat Ateca, a medium sized SUV, and it made a huge difference. With the passenger seat being that much higher up off the ground there was basically no bending for W to get in or out. Good luck, hope you find something that helps. W loved getting out for a drive in the afternoons. About the only little bit of pleasure he got.
Can’t offer any advice if you can’t get hold of a wheelchair accessible vehicle, I like Bev came to a point where I couldn’t get Ben into the car and so had an electric wheelchair and ramps on the vehicle. It took a bit of getting used to but pushing a normal wheelchair on our hilly terrain was too much for me. I do hope you manage to find a solution to this tricky problem
We used a hoist fitted to the passenger side of the car from 'autochair'. It was good for a couple of years while Anne could move her feet, but was a lot of work later on. It is very sturdy, so is on the heavy side to lift. Don't know if they go to Spain. Have got an old ambulance now with lift at the back now with the intention of fitting a toilet in it as well.
Juliet, I've not had the need as of now but I have seen swivel disks that are placed on the ground or seat. They are like large Lazy Susan's. I've even seen transfer boards with the swivel. I think there are YouTube videos that show their use. So, a selection could be made depending on your need and his abilities.
We managed all the way through the journey. We were luck in that he maintained some strength until the last week even though he had minimal mobility. Had a truck that the seat was level with him. I positioned the wheelchair as close as could get in the v (door and seat with door wide open) Placed his one hand on the arm of door, one hand on the handle of the interior and I boosted him from behind out of wheelchair to a standing position, stabled his stance with supporting him while removing the wheelchair. (Lots of synced moves). Then I literally shoved his bottom to the vehicle seat then positioned feet, etc after he was sitting. I suggest any new method either with a device or not that you practice first the routine with someone not mobility impaired before trying it with your husband. Good luck.......all are different and requires individual ingenuity.
Thanks, blackhill. We have managed doing this for some time and with minimal strength in Ian's legs. The problem is that the strength has all but disappeared and the car hand grip is in the wrong place! Aargh! So frustrating. But we will persevere. I'm not going to let him give up just yet!
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