Electric Wheelchair is Freedom

[Marco]

In August 2012, I had a serious flare up and after a brief hospital stay I was left unable to work, drive or even walk normally. I spent a year doing physical therapy 2-3 times per year, but really substantially hampered.

Recently, some great friends of mine brought me an electric wheelchair. The only problem was it was too hot outside to use. The temperatures have dropped 20 degrees tonight only being 82. Tonight, I was able to use the wheelchair to get our mail from the community mailbox with dog in tow. Actually, the dog was pretty much towing me. It wasn't perfect and certainly not pretty, but it happened.

The freedom to have control of my travel was awesome. It's amazing how "small" my world had become. I look forward to using the chair to expand my life and allow me to go places that were impossible before.

I'm not thrilled about using a wheelchair. I am thrilled to have a tool to help me improve my quality of life one mail run at a time.

p.s. If you have any tips to walking a dog from a scooter/electric wheelchair please share them. Thanks!

[Seasha]

I don't have any tips for you, nor do I have a dog, but I'm really happy for you Marco!! What freedom you will gain from this!

My husband takes long walks all the time with friends down our country roads. I always feel left out. Well, today he brought home a wheelchair that someone gave him, so now I can be included! I already have a transport chair with small wheels, but it doesn't work well on our back roads. The wheelchair with wide large tires will do just fine.

Get ready to roll~~~~

[Camsue]

Congratulations to both of you!!

[Marco]

Seasha - I am so happy for you. I really hope it makes the world a little bit more enjoyable for you.

Blessings ...

[KitOP]

Marco - It's so great to see that you will be able to get out and enjoy some sunshine and blue skies. I can just see that dog with that wheelchair. Might have been a good photo op somewhere along the line.

Stay strong my friend! You have the spirit to do this!!!!!

[misslux]

I'm glad you regained some independence!

[Fed Up]

Hey Marco..
Lucky YOU and Lucky dog. Pretty excited for both of you!

After a back surgery; I would put my dogs on a 20ft rope tied to their leash's and let them run in front of my little riding lawnmower. You might try something like that?

JUST NEVER LET GO OF THE LEASH.

Is there room for the dog near your feet, to ride.

I was in TN a few years ago and one guy just stuck his little dog in his lap and drove it around. The dog really doesn't care if walking, as long as near you!

Seasha, WoW, what a thoughtful husband. Getting out in the fresh air and enjoying life! Go You! that rocks! fed

[Fed Up]

Title of the thread reminds me of that old song...
"Freedom is just another word of nothing left to loose."
fed

[football-mom]

How awesome, Marco. You've got me grinning from ear to ear!

[Kimba22]

Best wishes with your new wheels, Marco & Seasha!

I wasn't thrilled with the idea of needing an electric wheelchair, but now I don't know where I'd be without one.

I was fortunate enough to get a ultra lightweight manual w/c last week. (It's the kind you see paralyzed people use.) Wow! I love it ... it's so much easier to transport in a vehicle (the parts are very simple & it breaks down super easy ... even the wheels come off!) It's also super easy for me to maneuver in! (That is, as long as my left arm works!)

Anyways, watch out world for me in my new red wheelchair!

[Marco]

Thanks everyone. Your responses sure do make a difference. Too often we miss the smaller blessings in life looking for monumental ones.

Fed - The dog is 100lbs so there isn't room for him. I tied a rope to a leash to give him a bit more room. With a normal 6' leash I'm worried about running him over when he moves in front of me.

Kimba - I have looked at them, but don't know enough to purchase the right one. They are expensive so until I learn more that idea is on the shelf. I do check craigslist now and again, but even there they are not cheap. I'm so glad you have one that makes your life easier.

I know I was VERY hesitant about using a rollator and now wheelchair for mobility. For me, the ability to move further and faster while conserving energy has made a tremendous difference. I now use a combination of devices depending on the situation and life is better for it.

[kebsa]

MArco, congratulations on finding a tool to increased freedom! i did not like the though of using a wheelchair eithe but it is essential for me- i can still manage a manual chair in my home most of the time but its getting harder, i am persisting because i think the physical excercise is valuable. but i cannot even get to the mailbox without the electric chair and working in the kitchen is safer in my electric chair these days as bench tops are too high for manual chair

when i first got an electric chair i had a tiny dog who weighed no more than 6 pounds and she was happy to perch on my shoulder as we went for a walk. I now have a 20 pound dog who would love the ride on my lap but definately loves going for a run in front of my chair. we are not permitted to use a leash more than 2 meters long when walking the dogs and i have worried that penny can end up a bit close to the big front wheels at times.

they are quite smart, when i brough penny home as a 10 week ol pup she was under the chair all the time and i was scared stiff of hurting her (this was in the manual chair) and we had a few near misses where she would suddenly bolt under the side of the cahir while i was moving! anyway, she learnt that was not a wisae thing to and she has over the yrs adapted very well to the chair. whenit omes to the electric chair and going walkies its tougher as the leash makes it harder for her to get out of the way quickly if some blocks our path for instance or if the path narrows. MY 2 options are i can hold her leash about mide way so that it is less than one meter long then hold my arm out to the left side of the chair- i think if i had someone with me to help give treats at the right time i could use the clicker mehod and get her to under stand that standing about 2 feet to my left is the best option or about 6 feet infront as long as you have good voice control over the dog. i have always used the clicker method for training and that works well but when it comes to using my electric chair i just don't have enough hands to used the clicker method without help as one hand is hold her lead and the other is on the control stick of the chair.


Another method i have used is there is a gadget made in germany (can't remember the name of the company at present) but it is designed to prevent your dog from getting under the wheels of your bicycle i you take the dog with you when you go for a ride.- basically it was a brass fitting that was meant to go round the stem under the bike seat and i found it was a good fit around the mount for the arm rest- then there was a really solid metal bar about 18 inches long that had a rope leashe about 12 inches long, coming from the far end- you attached this arm to the bracket coming from the side of the bike or in our case a chair, then hook your dog onto the end of that so you have your arm free again. it works, but our foot paths are a bit narrow so i tend to have to hang onto her leash til i get to the local park, then i can fit the arm on and have a bit of a run around but to be honest they really seem to want to get out in front and play at being a sled dog!!

my more recent issue that put a stop to walkies for a while was as my mobility has decreased, i found that if she did a poop, even though i have the bag etc i co uld not bend over close enough to the ground to pick it up without risking tipping out. i have a compromise now where i take a childrens beach plastic spade and rake as well as a bag but its less than ideal- she's the only pooch i have ever had that always seems to feel the need to leave a message when we go for a walk, the others have all be content to just pee on the light post! sory for doggy toilet talk- if you have any other suggesions on how else to manage this- have you seen any long handled poop scoopers designed for when out on walks

i will see if i can find the brand name for the doggie walker ( it was something like that) and will let you know, the web site had a video that showed how it worked

one other thing i would mention, if you have air filled tyres, you may want to consider having some of that slime they put in kids bike tyres o help protect agaisnt punctures, doesn't happen often but its a pain if you get a flat tyre when you are out and if its only a thorn or small nail that slime works quite well. solid tyres are the other option an work well but some find its a harder ride especially if you have uneven sidewalks

[krystine]

I know this was posted a long time ago, but I just got a scooter to get around on long distances. I also have a 100 lb dog who i adore. He loves coming out with me and the scooter. I also ride a three wheel bicycle and I think he likes the scooter better. He can get really close to me and will nuzzle his head into my hand or lick my hand. He seems much more able to get close to me that on the bike, and he seems to love it. I have ran over his foot a couple of times, but he is a quick learner!

Hope it is working out better for you now and you are enjoying the freedom and fresh air!

[Dale76]

Congrads on the wheel chair! Don't have a dog myself but during my teen years I would just hold the leash out the car window a just let our dog run next to the car. She got used to it quickly and never had any issue. You should get one of those climbers hooks and use it to attach the leash to the wheel chair so you don't have to hold it.