Ever wonder how people got wheelchairs? Yea, neither did I. But for the few folks who may stumble (pardon the pun) across this and be interested, here's how it works. But first ... a minor rant at Medicare. You suck! Okay .. done. :)
To get a wheelchair, obviously there is a need and their doctor writes a prescription for one and a referral to be evaluated. Most folks start with a physical therapist. You would be surprised what goes into it ... and how many different wheelchairs there are. And the cost. Some can cost more than a car. The PT folks work closely with your other medical team, taking into consideration your specific needs and abilities and level of need. Precise measurements are taken, height, weight, length of limbs, body shapes, motion ability, functional need. Some chairs have controls so assistants can "drive" or reposition patients. Pretty much if you can think of it, it's available. They raise up so you can reach the cabinets or have a conversation. They recline so a patient's weight can be shifted for comfort or care. Leg rests raise to help with edema. They have sport wheelchairs for basketball, or racing, four wheel drive chairs for hunting, fishing or "hiking" and chairs for the beach if you want to play with your kids. It used to be if you were in a wheelchair, you were left out. But no longer. Now you can do anything ... maybe a bit differently than most folks ... but that just makes you differently-abled. Which is what I call myself. Differently-abled.
My chair is a Quantum Rehab Q6 Edge 2.0 HD. Which translates to, it's made by Quantum and it a Rehab chair. The base is heavy duty because i'm 6'0" tall and weight 300 pounds. While Quantum makes a variety of chairs, the Q6 is is their "thinnest" chair at 24" wide. Which is needed to fit through the doors of our country ranch house. The base is heavy and will accommodate a different seat later on if I need it. The one I have now is deeper to account for my longer leg measurement from back to knee and also higher to accomodate the length of my leg from knee to bottom of my foot. The backrest is high and has a headrest. After so many abdominal procedures, I lack abdominal strength and need the extra support for trunk control. On bad days there is a chest harness that gives extra support, but I rarely use it. My chair reclines and has leg rests that elevate to help alleviate leg swelling that is the bane of my existance since my circulation gets persnickety if I leave my legs still too long. I am still able to walk with some difficulty using arm crutches and my chair has a holder attached to the back to carry them. This gives me some flexibility yet.
The Q6 is considered a mid range chair. It retails at approximately $9,500. You can find them cheaper on eBay or through medical warehouses, but I caution you in doing this. You are buying a chair made for someone else. It's not fitted for you and may, in the long run, cause you more problems than good. In my case, I could not get Medicare to pay for mine (Medicare ... You suck) so i'll take a moment to thank Tri-Care and a certain unmentioned angel from my youth who helped me get it. The Q6 has 10" center wheels and 4 "outrigger" wheels as my husband calls them. The center wheels make it easy to go on different surfaces and the outriggers make it super stable. It does have a bit of a forward jolt when transitioning down that took a little getting used to. Mostly it takes trusting that the chair isn't going to tip you out onto the sidewalk. The Q6 can turn on a dime, travels at up to 6 MPH and comes in 12 pretty colors. It has controls that mount on either side and can be reprogrammed to the user's "sensitivity". All in all it serves me well.