An odd request, probably...

[sami]

... but a few days ago, I broke my leg in three places. Unstable ankle fracture means I can't put any weight on it for months; chronic shoulder injury means I can't use crutches, either, so moving around is a struggle and I'm going to be in a wheelchair if I want to leave the house before April.

So what I want to ask is: Does anyone have any warnings or advice on things I might not have thought of about living with a wheelchair? After all the accessibility fails I've read of and seen, I'm a little nervous about what I might run into.

Comments

[staranise]

It's a tiny thing, but: gloves are a big plus, especially if it's winter where you are. Bicycle or motorcycle gloves especially. It's really easy for your hands to get dirty if you're pushing through any kind of muck.

A lot of wheelchair places will let you try a wheelchair out first. Talk it over with an expert; if you've got a chronically injured shoulder, you may not be able to push yourself everywhere. Wheelchairs best set up to be pushed are different than ones where people propel themselves with their feet. Some kinds of walkers might also be a good idea.

[sami]

It's summer here. I'll likely be going for one set up for pushing - given that I was rarely able to go out alone *before* my injury, for mental health reasons, my loving housemates have assured me that I'm definitely not going out alone with a shattered ankle.

I do have a walker already. The hospital sent me home with a walker, a shower chair, and a toilet chair to render my house acceptably accessible.

[staranise]

Sounds like you've got some good things going for you already. Good luck!

Been there, you will triumph!

[jesse_the_k]

I've been using a power wheelchair for all community stuff since 1995. When I broke my ankle (triple compound fracture) I discovered there were many things left to learn.

I'd be happy to share my experiences but lack spoons for typing right now. I'd be happy to Skype with you if you're interested? DM me here for deets.

Re: Been there, you will triumph!

[sami]

I lack spoons for talking to people out loud right now, but I appreciate the supportive comment already. ♥

[synecdochic]

Seconding the gloves! I have several pairs of fingerless weightlifting gloves. I wear 'em out in the palms pretty quickly, but you should be good with just one pair between now and April.

Assuming your shoulder will allow you to push yourself, get a chair that doesn't have pushbar handles on the back. If you do wind up having to have someone push you for a bit, they can grip the side of the frame to push, and not having the handles will reduce the chance that random "helpful" strangers will try to grab your 'chair and move you without warning. (Note, not eliminate the chance. For some reason people like to treat the chair as though it's a piece of unattended luggage. Sigh.)

The more camber (tilt of the wheels) the chair has, the easier it is to corner, the less force it takes to keep the chair in motion, the less strain is on your shoulders while pushing, and the more ergonomic it is to push it. (The downsides are that the chair's footprint will be wider, and the tire treads will wear faster.) You'll probably be renting the chair, not buying, but do ask the rental place if you can try a chair with at least 4 degrees of camber (preferably 8) if they have them.

For people who don't need the armrests to push against for transfers or to lift the body out of the chair to reduce pressure on the spine occasionally, I would strongly, strongly recommend getting a 'chair without armrests. Armrests force you to hold your arms in a very, very unnatural position if you're pushing yourself, and they add weight to the whole 'chair.

No matter what, never count on being able to pee in any given public restroom. If they're one of the extremely rare public handicapped-accessible restrooms that does have enough space for a wheelchair user to do a lateral transfer instead of a head-on transfer, they're that much more likely to be the kind that has the baby changing station in the wheelchair-accessible stall, and it's always my luck to hit the restroom when the changing table is in use. A lot. For a long time.

Practice cornering, tight turns, and back-and-fill maneuvers at home ahead of time. A lot.

Nobody will ever notice you in the wheelchair in a crowd. If you're going out somewhere outside after dark, I recommend twining those glow-necklaces through the spokes of the wheels and around the frame of the chair as much as possible: the human brain will notice "something is glowing and moving" a lot easier than "something at my waist height is moving" and will be more inclined to stop and/or give you room.

Likewise, people in crowds think absolutely nothing about walking in front of you and stopping dead. Any time you work up a good bit of momentum, be ready to clamp your hands down on the wheels to stop as quickly as you can or turn the chair away at any moment. (While I'm generally willing to run into them to teach them a lesson, it can be painful to you.) This is another place the gloves can come in handy: while most chairs have wheel-rims that can be used to push, it's often more effective to just grab the wheel itself. (And even the wheel rims can cause friction burns.)

There is no good way to go downhill without speeding up like whoa. (Holding the wheels or wheelrims to slow yourself can work, but you need to have the gloves on to avoid friction burns.) Shouting "wheeeeee!" as you go is totally optional, but can make you feel a lot better.

[sami]

Thanks for the advice - there were a few points here I hadn't thought of at all.

I will get one with pushbar handles, though, I think, because I'm not likely to be going out alone (my housemates would mildly kill me), and I might just enjoy yelling at anyone who decides to push me around uninvited. (Not to mention the likelihood that those accompanying me will be less than impressed. My friends, they are protective.)

Thanks for the warning about lateral vs head-on transfers in restrooms, but I actually find head-on transfer easier. Possibly because I practiced it first (the toilet cubicles in the hospital had head-on as your only option, not least because patients were taken in there on commode chairs you weren't supposed to need to get off of - but I hated going on a commode chair, so I took to riding them to the stall, then standing on my one working foot to sit directly on the seat), possibly because I have one leg that works and one shoulder that *doesn't*, so movements that are arms-intensive are less good for me. (I count it as a blessing that my leg with the iffy ankle and dodgy knee is the one that got broken, because my Good Leg is still available.)

I'll be sure to practice sitting so that my broken leg is shielded from impacts with thoughtless stupid people.

[synecdochic]

Good luck. :)

[ethereon]

When I worked in a retail warehouse people would stop in front of my moving trolleys. Those things weighed twice what I do, at least. It's like they never learned about momentum in high school, and I have to try really hard not to hit them because I was at work. It sucked. :( If they'll stop right in front of those, I feel like they'll stop right in front of anything (possibly short of actual road vehicles, but I wouldn't count on that either honestly).

Other than that anecdotal weigh-in, I only use a cane at the moment so I can't be of much help on details really. You do get very varying reactions, from the incredibly patronising (which it sounds like your housemates will have well in hand, which is good because I expect they'd be worse in a wheelchair - I've seen people who seem to assume that if you're in a wheelchair you're incapable of making your own decisions, which is just bizarre) to the utterly clueless but generally well-meaning to the really, really helpful. I'm not sure how you'll be getting about since you didn't mention, but I've found bus drivers to be actually uniformly very helpful to me and when people with wheelchairs come onto buses they seem to be the same for them. Store staff are much more of a mixed bag. I think that's because bus drivers have a lot more experience with physically disabled people since a lot of us use public transport. I also find that people in casual hang-out environments tend not to think much about leaving things on the ground, but it sounds like that won't come up very much either.

[kyrielle]

Disclaimer: you may have already thought of this, I'm just going off what I've seen other people do in some cases.

Are all three places below the knee? If they are, is a knee-scooter an option? If not, what about an electric scooter or electric wheelchair? All seem like they might be easier to handle with a chronic shoulder injury.

[sami]

I'm not familiar with knee-scooter as a concept, but in general, scooter options seem like they might not be a good idea, because I can't put *any* weight down through my left leg until one of the screws has been removed again.

Electric wheelchair could be awesome though.

[kyrielle]

Knee scooters put weight from hip to knee but none below (you kneel on the injured side). What I've seen canned an electric scooter you sit on, not stand - it is narrower than a wheelchair and fits more places. I'm not sure what the relative drawbacks are.

[lauredhel]

I don't know about wheelchairs, but I am a scooter user, so if you end up there for some/all of your meanderings, I might be able to help.

Toilets, as synecdochic mentions. If you can crutch for very short distances, get yourself a crutch carrier for your chair/scooter, so that you can transfer or get into inaccessible toilet spaces.

I have one of these Smartie Pak caddy things for my scooter arm. They're made of awesome. I don't worry about people grabbing my bag and running off anymore, and everything is easily at hand (wallet, comb, keys, dog treats, etc). Great build quality. Unpaid/unrelated/etc, just a happy customer - I couldn't find anything like this in Australia. They do walker bags and bed caddies and stuff also.

[lilysea]

Ooh, thanks for the heads up about the Smartie Paks, they look very useful! ^_^

[sami]

The only down side of a mobility scooter is that I can't think where in my house I'd keep it when I wasn't using it, and I'm not likely to be going out *that* much in the next couple of months, since most general tasks etc are likely to be undertaken by my housemates. (Whereas a wheelchair should fit down the corridors of the house, and be a safer, better alternative to the wheeled desk chair I'm currently using to ease the trip to and from the toilet.)

[tig_b]

I'd also recommend you consider a small (travel) scooter - you'll still get people walking into you, stepping backwards, etc. but it's easier to stop. I'm replacing my autogo with a luggie - expensive but good.

You can rent one or try one out in a store/supermarket.

Other things - I use a small shoulder bag for my money, cards, etc. My sister uses bum bags/fanny packs. Anything that doesn't need hands!
And I travel with a coffee mug that has a good lid.
Being in a wheelchair or scooter gets cold outside, make sure you have an extra layer.

And finally - even though you'll meet some idiots, you'll also find lots of helpful people out there. Ask for help, tell them what you need - it trains them for the rest of us ;)

[sami]

Fortunately, it's summer here - getting cold in a Perth summer is *definitely* not a concern.

I promise to ask for help, and also speak sharply to people who treat me like luggage. (Any sales person who ignores me in favour of talking to my companions will probably get blank stares from my companions, helpfully.)