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Hi, I started using a wheelchair about the same age. I am now 30 and more or less using it all the time apart from when I am at home.
I will start with answering your questions:
--Was there a particular incident, a fall or an injury, that made it necessary to start using a chair: [b]Everytime I fell I became more and more in need of it since I tried to be careful not to fall again and thus didn't walk as much as before.[/b]
--In retrospect, do you have any regrets about when you started using a wheelchair - do you wish you had started using it sooner, why? - are you sorry you didn't try to prolong walking, why? : [b]I regret I didnt try to prolong walking, even though I try not to blame myself. I feel it was necessary at the time to start using it but I surely could have left it at home at times. The wheelchair becomes a comfort zone.[/b]
---What accommodations had to be made when you began using a chair - in your daily routine, in your house, at work, in your transportation? [b]:I had to buy a car that could carry it, but as I most of the time have someone with me I didn't have to make any adjustments to the car for the sake of the wheelchair (lifts etc.), as long as it fitted into the trunk I could choose any car (Volvo V70).[/b]
---Has using a chair affected your independence, if so, in what ways? [b]:Yes, I feel I can move more freely. I can do things I couldn't do before, go to concerts, sports events, work. I can leave home without anyones help and though I often need someones help at my destination it's not much trouble.[/b]
---Do you have any tips for making the transition any easier? [b]: Maybe to use it more restrictive, only if it really is needed. Also one thing is "displaying" yourself in it in public, one obsticle I had was to meet people I know when at the store etc. Often people I knew reacted with pity when they saw me in a wheelchair for the first time. As with everything else, you get used to dealing with it. :)[/b]
---Any tips on choosing a wheelchair?
[b]:Make sure you sit comfortably of course. Also choose whether you are going to drive it yourself or if someone else will drive most of the times. A lighter chair will make you move freely by yourself, but a chair with handbrakes at the drivers handles at the back will make it easier for someone else to drive it, but the chair will be heavier and harder for you to manouver.
Well, please let me know if more questions have arised. I hope my Swedish-English is understandable :)[/b]
Sincerely
Niclas[/b] |
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