Please Support Mony For a New Wheelchair

OK, here goes...

My Quickie Q7 is a 16"x16" when my measurements are 16"x15". I had pressure sores on the backs of my knees from using it and the Stimulite cushion. The cushion has a lump in the middle to spread my legs apart, which is really uncomfortable and hard to control my lower legs! There is no taper in the front whatsoever, so my feet flopped EVERYWHERE! I broke 3 toes in the first 3 months! (Interesting fact: my mom sat in the Q7 and noted the cushion and nylon seat sling were digging into the backs of her knees and guess what? She is 2 inches taller than I am!)

Now I did love the Stimulite cushion, besides the middle lump and it being too long for my thighs. If I could somehow shorted it and flatten it or get a flat one, I'd be very happy, as would my bum.

Loading into my Explorer was a nightmare! I had to transfer in on the passenger side because the frame wouldn't fit in & over me in the driver's side, even with the seat all the way back. The problem: the HANDLES, which I had requested not to have, are permanent & non-folding. Now, you'd think an aluminum chair would be lightweight, right? Is 25 pounds lightweight, especially when you have to lift it one-armed into a vehicle with high ground clearance. Also, since I had to transfer over to the driver's seat from the passenger seat, I had to scoot up and over the hard plastic middle console, which eventually broke from the weight.

I just wish I would've had a say in something I'm supposed to be living in! They measured me wrong and the salesman didn't show me any choices other than the Quickie Q7. All this SCI stuff was a mystery to me. I didn't even know there were titanium chairs at that point.

I really wish I would've done more Google searches and educated myself rather than listen to able-bodied people who have probably treated only 1 or 2 other people with SCI's.

Prices: the Q7 was about $2600. The chair I want is the TiLite TRA or something similar (I hadn't thought of how the 2 bottom bars on the TRA would affect how it would sit in my car.) I already own a set of 25" Spinergy wheels with air tires & Natural Fit handrims that I saved up for and bought out-of-pocket, so that'd save them a few hundred dollars. The TRA frame costs about $3500. I will never settle for an aluminum wheelchair again, even if it means picking up a little bit of the cost for a Titanium chair.

Hello knight, back!

Unfortunately there is nothing worse than an ill fitting chair.

Perhaps you may find these videos helpful.


        


The chair used in video 1 is a top-end crossfire, I guess.
The chair in the second video seems to be a TiLite ZR.

I've Frankensteined my Q7's parts onto my Quickie Ti! I've been in demo chairs and taken all my measurements correctly. I'm not sure how Medicare works if I want to order a chair not thru Great Plains Rehab Services (the company that mis-measured me and ordered unnecessary parts on my Q7). There is probably some restriction stating I can only use a company in-state or some other crap even though Medicare is federal. There are a million miles of red tape and hoops I've had to jump through just to get to pee daily. I can imagine I'll have at least half of that amount of crap i have to prove before I get a new chair. These people are *grrrrrrr* so stuck in their ways and have no clue what it's like to live and get around in a wheelchair and still be independent. If they had their way, I'd be bed-ridden and stuck in a nursing home.

Am I missing something? There are members here who are at the point of having to give up their homes, their lives and move into a residential home because they cannot afford even basic medication or healthcare. They are frantically searching for ways of making extra money in order to keep themselves out of these institutions. They can't even afford to buy a cushion for their wheelchair, let alone a new wheelchair. I'm sorry to pour ice cubes down people's backs, and I'm probably going to get flamed for this post, but why aren't we funding them?  Incidentally earning money via U-tube was a brilliant suggestion. Is it an easy process to set up?