Advice Needed - Lightweight Wheelchair

[Allison Joy]

Okay. So... long story short, a friend's dog gave an overly friendly greeting to my mom, she tripped, and fractured her pelvis in two places. She's coming home from rehab Friday.

First of all, I know how to research things, and I certainly will research this on my own as well, but then I realized I have a wealth of information right here, and some of you all may be able to give me additional hints/tips/advice. So please don't do any extensive searches. That part is on me! I'm just curious if any of you know of anything that will work off the top of your head.

Currently, my mom is able to walk some with a walker. Insurance will only provide a walker, since she can use that. However, I don't think anyone besides my mom and I realize just how much she will still want to move about the house, and we have a large house. So a wheelchair will still be a huge help. We're looking for one she'd be able to wheel herself in, so not a transport chair with the 4 small wheels. I'm not sure that would work on our carpet well anyway.

The problem is I am tiny. The equipment rental place near me has one that's 36 lbs. I'm looking for something lighter weight, if possible, or, at the very least, some hints and tips of getting it into and out of a sedan (Toyota Camry) when I cannot actually lift that amount comfortably. Also looking for one that won't break the bank, since this will be temporary. My mom's pretty tiny also, under 150 lbs.

Is there anything that you've used that's been helpful?

My mom used to walk 3 to 5 miles a day before this unfortunate incident, so this is a HUGE change in lifestyle for both of us. Thankfully, I have FMLA approved and enough paid sick leave to cover this in its entirety.

 

[patty57]

I bought my elderly mom a Featherchair. It's a very lightweight wheelchair. I don't remember the price, but you will find it online.

 

[mamabunny]

OK, This is NOT a power chair (although it has the same form factor as some of the “generic” power chairs) and it allegedly weighs only 16 pounds.

Tripaide Ultralight Chair

Obvi, do your due diligence; I know nothing about this - I just happened to see it last weekend when I was checking to see if there were any new or interesting mobility devices on Amazon.

I’m so sorry to hear about your Mom! I hope that she heals swiftly and completely.

 

[DodgerGirl]

Hi Allison Joy,
You might want to try looking at a place named Betty Mills for a wheelchair for your mom and look at The Home Depot's website and sometimes Amazon will have sales on wheelchairs at good prices and the wheelchairs are good quality too. I know this because when my father was released from the hospital after recovering from a foot surgery Mom and I got Dad a wheelchair from Amazon and he likes it a lot. Hope this info will help you a lot and I'm really sorry about what happened to your mom and I wish her good luck in her recovery
Dodger

 

[KPeterso]

I know you think the 35 pounds is heavy. We have the one below that I got off Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Medline-Whee...-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

We mostly use it for Disneyland and it pretty much lives in the trunk of my car unless we decide to take it somewhere else with all 3 of us and then it goes to the other car. Honestly, it is not bad to push with either of my parents in it (Mom - about 130 lbs and Dad - 230ish lbs?). And I guess I have gotten used to just flinging it into the trunk of my car. I have a Honda Civic and have no problem fitting (and flinging) it into my car. It was harder in the beginning so I either got used to it or figured out the best way to do it. I guess I also to some degree leverage the weight/sides on my hip as I lift it to get it up to trunk height - I am only 5'2" so pretty short.

 

[Evita_W]

There are also Fold and Go powerchairs that are light to lift, while it would be expensive to buy, I believe they have a rental option if you call them:
https://www.foldandgowheelchairs.com/

 

[mamabunny]

There are also Fold and Go powerchairs that are light to lift, while it would be expensive to buy, I believe they have a rental option if you call them:
https://www.foldandgowheelchairs.com/

I have an F&G and it really doesn’t fit well in a standard home environment; even in the part of our home which we retrofitted to care for my mom when she moved in with us, it is a tight squeeze in a a lot of places.

Additionally, the angle and placement of the footrest can be problematic for some drivers, and the joystick control is a bit finicky. I wouldn’t recommend it for a new/temporary user, based on my personal experience.

You don’t realize how big mobility devices are, until you try to use one in your home environment. It was shocking how much space the F&G wheelchair took up in our home, and how much space it needed to turn.

Even my Zoomer chair (which is significantly more nimble) takes up a surprising amount of space. And my Travelscoots - which are tiny compared to many devices - still feel “squeezy” in our standard-width hallways.

The good thing about a manual chair in a home environment is that most of the time, they fit through doorways, and there is a very short learning curve for most folks. Plus, they tend to be more affordable - and often free, if you check local social media (Like area FB groups, NextDoor, etc.) and some churches and community groups have lending closets where you can borrow one for free if needed.

 

[DodgerGirl]

The wheelchair Mom and I got Dad is a Drive Medical brand chair and he loves it and it's easy for my father to operate and it can easily fold very well. If you get the chance Alison Joy look up Drive Medical wheelchairs on Amazon and you'll be surprised at the selection. Hope your mom continues to improve
Dodger

 

[Allison Joy]

Thank you so much for all of your suggestions! I ended up going with the simplest route, after discovering that "lightweight" ones are either over $500 or "lightweight" without the wheels. Which... kind of makes it NOT lightweight anymore.

So we just did a one month rental. $90, plus a $90 deposit. It's working well so far (so far being... approximately 1 hour! Ha!) Now it's a matter of figuring out how to navigate. But she's doing well so far.

*Edited to add* The rental company got it into my car and my brother got it out.