Brayden's new wheelchair has arrived. It is a Zippie Iris.
He sat in the chair while everything was adjusted and he seemed to be really comfortable. We will use this for every day out and about, the school bus, school, etc. It will be Brayden's primary mode of transportation. It comes with a tray and a canopy, both of which are massive will take some getting used to.
It is a real wheelchair. It is heavy (I will be getting a work out to get it in and out of the back of the SUV). The new chair should last him quite a while. It will be much more comfortable for him since he has really out grown his first wheelchair. The equipment rep working Brayden and I for over an hour getting it adjusted and giving me a tutorial on using it, we even practiced getting it in and out of the car.
We are thrilled for Brayden to have the new chair. It is snazzy!
His first wheelchair was the Kid Kart, which he got shortly after turning one year old. The Kid Kart was a good transition into the world of wheelchairs. It operated much like a supped-up stroller.
In fact his Kid Kart was often mistaken for a stroller. We had been told, in several restaurants, that they do NOT allow strollers. We try to politely respond to them explaining that it is a wheelchair.
During our recent trip to the beach we went to a dinner show. A dinner show that Brayden could not see because accessible seating was in the way back and food he could not eat since feeds only with a feeding tube..we paid full price (dinner and show) for him however we were paying for a family night out and I would rather us all be together. On our way into the dinner show, we are stopped at the front door...we have to explain, "It is not a stroller, it is a wheelchair." We go to will-call to pick up our tickets, we say again, "It is not a stroller, it is a wheelchair." We go to hand in our tickets to proceed into the venue and again we are told, that they do NOT allow strollers. And again we say, "It is not a stroller, it is a wheelchair." We think we had made it through when a man working there comes running up to us saying (and somewhat out of breath), "I am sorry but you are not allowed to take strollers in." By that point, Jeremy, myself and Brayden's nurse all respond with, "It is NOT a stroller, it IS a wheelchair." I then ask for a sign or something to hang on the chair so people will stop asking us. Trust me if we did not have to use this, we would not...and we are not trying to sneak in a stroller.
2 comments:
Very sweet ride.
Nice set of wheels! That chair looks great. Hope Brayden adjusts well to his new ride (Emily had an adjustment period with hers, but she was moving from a reclined stroller to her chair, so it was quite different). So frustrating about the dinner theater experience. You won't have any confusion with this chair.
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