Decision about using a wheelchair

lynnhb

Hi. I have just spent 2 weeks on holiday with my Husband. We own a 2 berth towing caravan & he is more than willing to top-up water etc. so I can use our own facilities. Occasionally I use the site facilities as many shower blocks are heated & easy to access. My problem is my walking; it has become so bad; I walk a very short distance then get terrible knee/leg/hip pain, sometimes I feel faint. I use a stick & have medication for pain. This holiday my Husband suggested I might try using a wheelchair, as I get so upset when I cannot go places & because it stops him going (although I am happy to stay back he wants to be with me). I find this so depressing. I feel if I use a wheelchair I am 'giving in', yet with one I could do so much more. Is it a bad thought to think about this as an option? I am 55 & go to work, & I am able to drive (I have a blue badge but do not claim benefits & would be wiling to buy a wheelchair). Best regards, Lynn

daylily

Hi. Hubby had stoke and couldn't walk properly or very far and we weren't getting out much at all so I bought a wheelchair and i have to say it's been a godsend.
I also bought a motor for it as he's 19 stone and with my arthritis it was hard pushing the chair without any motor.
It's still not easy with arthur but much better than being in all the time.
We even get to the city for a walk round now-plenty of cafe's to stop for a breather.
If a chair helps the pair of you get out together then go for it.
best wishes
xx

dreamdaisy

You have answered your own question really: 'with one I could do so much more.' You will be able to do more things with your husband, go further, see new places whilst resting your joints. It would be there for the bad days, it isn't a case of you using it all the time, it's a case of it being available so you can do what you want to do when you want to do it. Although I have crutches I cannot get far on them, so it has been crossing my mind. Our current house prohibits its storage, but when we move I shall make sure that the new place is wheelchair-friendly ie we have a garage! These things are designed to help. DD

julie47

Hi

I have a wheelchair and a scooter. I like the scooter best as then I am in control. This is also better for walking through woods /parks etc but I can say that my chair is good for getting into the smaller village shops that you see when on hols.
I have had a scooter and a chair for about 16 years. I got RA age 25 and I am now 47.

We also have a touring caravan and have just come back from the dales. I can not walk far at all. I hated it at first as I was still quite young. Now I cannot do without them.

Please get one it will be much easier for you, and then you will beable to go ALMOST anywhere

juliepf x

lynnhb

Hi everyone,
Thank you for your replies to my wheelchair question.
I appreciate & value your comments.
Kiind regards,
Lynn

dolittle

Hi Lynn,
I felt like this when I decided to get my chair. I felt defeated, embarassed, angry and spiteful. Then I realised that my OH needed to walk at his own speed instead of crawling along with me - I was being selfish. He was also fed up of going places on his own and our relationship was suffering. So I got a chair.

I find that people talk to me far more in the shops. They get things down off the top shelf, they laugh and joke with me 'cos I tell them I take up so much space nowadays and I'm always in someone's way. We go to the huge indoor market and we visit the shirts, the men's trousers and the tools! I tell people he shoves me in it so that I can't spend any money .... by the time I've pointed out something I like, we've past it at high speed, never to return! I've even had blokes chatting me up - that hasn't happened for 40 years!

Get one - you'll soon get rid of those 'blues' and find out that it's a help not a 'dignity denter'.

skezier

Hi Lynn,

Hey you wouldn't be giving in you would be beating it cus you could then get about so much better.

I understand what you mean though but honestly its not giving in and it doesn't change who you are it would just make getting about and enjoying your self that bit easier really. You could use a combination of walking and using the chair depending on pain and flower it could really help you. I honestly don't think its a case of giving in and please don't think that.

Hope you get a few more days away before winter sets in. Cris x

only49

hi lynn you sound like me, i know what you mean but i got a scooter and boy i can now go faster than my husband instead of the other way round it really helped me and now i dont care what people think i just think life it there for the taking so i gona grab it with both hands and ok i find things difficult but at least i adapting all the time, as now i got a stairlift and would not be without that to either, anyone would have a blooming good fight on their hands if they wanted it off me, all these things can and will make a difference.

Go for it girl you wont regret it i can tell you.

clairc

I have a wheelchair and 2 scooters and I would highly recommend getting a scooter. My wheelchair was provided by the NHS and I don't use it very often because I hate the lack of control and the way people treat me. In a wheelchair I am an invalid, on a scooter I am a human being with walking difficulties.

The scooter has given me so much freedom, I go out with my family (they have toruble keeping up with me!) I can move around independently and if I need to I can hop off and stretch my legs or get to inaccessible places knowing that I've always got a place to sit down and that it won't hurt getting back home again.

Clair

sharmaine

Hi Lynn

Do you have OA of the knees? The reason I ask is that like you I couldn't walk any distance at all because I had OA in both knees and one knee my left was so badly bent that it bowed inward. I just couldn't walk any distance even with crutches it was too painful and the sheer effort of trying exhausted me. In the end I had to be in a wheelchair up until I had my first total knee replacement surgery. It meant that I could go out with my husband. It just meant a bit of freedom and I could go out with him shopping for a meal etc. It made our life easier. Will you be able to get about in a wheelchair at work? I had to give up work because of my OA.

You're not 'giving in' you are making your life easier. I think I was making my condition worse by trying to get about on crutches and in the end it simply wasn't worth the struggle.

Sharmaine

hileena111

Hi
I've had one THR and due the 2nd one soon and just had an MRI for my back
We have a tourer as well and I have a scooter....it is fantastic...although OH would never say anything we go so much further when I'm on the scooter....he drops me in a shopping center on a Sat and leaves me to it LOL I feel more independent on the scooter.
Go for it....My daughter had to persuade me to get one....I was like you and i wouldnt be without it now although only used ion Sats a nd days away and holidays.
Like I say...go for it.....you wont look back.....except when you are reversing....I hope LOLO

Love
Hileena

salamander

hi Lynn, I remember my mother making the decision to get a wheelchair. On the one hand there was concern that she wouldn't walk again once she got one (she actually got a scooter as well), it improved the quality of her life enormously and kept her independent for much longer (well, the scooter did.)

Have you discussed this with your gp/physio/ot/consultant? Might be useful to get their perspective too.

From my perspective, it was a relief when she decided to get them. Made it much easier and a lot less painful for her and reassuring for us. Better for my father too.

lynnhb

dolittle wrote:

Hi Lynn,
I felt like this when I decided to get my chair. I felt defeated, embarassed, angry and spiteful. Then I realised that my OH needed to walk at his own speed instead of crawling along with me - I was being selfish. He was also fed up of going places on his own and our relationship was suffering. So I got a chair.

I find that people talk to me far more in the shops. They get things down off the top shelf, they laugh and joke with me 'cos I tell them I take up so much space nowadays and I'm always in someone's way. We go to the huge indoor market and we visit the shirts, the men's trousers and the tools! I tell people he shoves me in it so that I can't spend any money .... by the time I've pointed out something I like, we've past it at high speed, never to return! I've even had blokes chatting me up - that hasn't happened for 40 years!

Get one - you'll soon get rid of those 'blues' and find out that it's a help not a 'dignity denter'.

Your message really cheered me up. It reminds of when my Gran (who is no longer with us, having lived to be 92) was finally persuaded to get a 'chair. She was so pleased. She told people we were trying to tip her over cliffs etc. She had a great laugh everywhere she went - and with our help she went lots of places! Thanks. xxxx

lynnhb

Again, thank you all who replied to my dilemma re: getting a wheelchair. It's reassuring to hear your comments. My Mum has a scooter that belonged to my Dad (he died at 72 of lung disease - a non-smoker too!) & suggests I try it. Maybe I will. I thought a chair might be better for storing in the car when travelling, but perhaps a scooter may be just as easy.
I feel better about this now & as you all say, life is for living, however we need to do so!
Love to you all, Lynn xxxx

salamander

Lynn, some of the scooters dismantle and go in the car - my mother's did. My father, in his 80's, had no problem getting it in and out and assembling it. Gives you more independence than a wheelchair, unless you get one of those motorized ones of course.
Best of luck whatever you decide on.

speedalong

Hi Lynn,

definitely get a wheelchair and/or collapsible scooter to go in the car boot. Don't view it as a failure view it as an enabler - for you to do more. You don't always have to use it, but it is there if you need it and you can always combine using it with walking.

No doubt in my mind, why struggle and miss out, when with one you could do so much more.

Speedy

hileena111

Hi
My scooter lives {practically} in the back of my husbands car LOL
He says its too heavy for me to dismantle and put in/ take out of the car Not sure it would fit in my little Micra anyway LOL
But its no problem for him to get it in and out. Def. if you have the chance to try a scooter jump at it. In fact as Speedy will tell you....you can hire them. Mine is a little 2nd hand one but its all I need. If I go to our Metro Center and Peter doesnt drop me off...I hire a scooter from there......I drive there and it costs me £1 a half day or £2 for a full day....A full day there is 10am until 9pm.....No chance LOL half a day is quite enough

Love
Hileena

cthornley

I don't use one these days but when I was really poorly at the beginning I did use one when on holiday with my family in Barcelona. It meant that I could still go and visit all the architectural wonders I needed to for my course even though a full days traipsing was far far too much for me...I was 20 at the time and initially hated it but partially that was due to the inability of my baby brother to avoid crashing me into stuff. If your husband is a better driver then I would say go for it. You don't have to use it all the time but if it means that you can do the things you wanted to do then let it take the strain.
Chrissie

jillyb1

Had to reply to your message . DO IT , DO IT, DO IT ! ! ! I bit the bullet and bought my wheels about a year ago and have never looked back . I now fully feel part of real life again , I can go to the shops again , go ' walking ' with my husband and our dog , and even enjoy visits to the cinema , theatre and meals out for the first time in years . Best of luck , Jilly .

hileena111

Hi let us know what you decide.......you can be in no doubt what the rest of us think....
It ios a "coping mechanism"......right!!!!!!

Love
Hileena