Surprise Surprise!

Wheelchair cushions should be replaced every couple of years or so, but they're quite expensive (up to $1000.00), so it's an important decision.  It's not just for comfort either.  As I'm paralyzed from the chest down, I theoretically can't feel my butt anyway.  But I do have a vague sense of feeling while sitting in my chair, and like all wheelchair users, I have a high risk for skin breakdowns.  One of the biggest risks is over my tailbone where the muscle mass between bone and skin is very thin and where my body hits the chair cushion.

So we had both an Occupational Therapist and a seating expert from the company that would supply a new cushion here for half the morning today, measuring, talking and explaining it all to us as they moved along.  There was fairly immediate agreement that my cushion needed replacing; after 2.5 years it was overdue.

But it's worth interjecting here to explain to you the bureaucratic process around this.  We have very little choice in this process, something we don't object to since the government is paying for it.  If the government is paying for it, we'll live with the process, though we do get some choice in the product, like what colour chair I want.  The chair belongs to the government and goes back to them when I'm finished with it.

Both my Occupational Therapist or OT (who decides on things like the wheelchair you need) and the company (which sells me the chair and cushion) are assigned to me, right from the beginning.  There's no such thing as deciding which vendor you'll turn to.  The government funding flows through a program called the Adaptive Devices Program or ADP (which deals with all adaptive devices, not just wheelchairs).

The OT fills in the application to the ADP, while the company rep provides the parameters of what's actually available in chairs and cushions that would fit.  Obviously it's important for them to agree.  The government will not pay the total bill, our insurance will kick in for part and we have to pay part as well.  And don't ask how much an entire new power chair can cost!

My current power chair, 

when it was still clean.

Mrs. F.G.'s purse is in blue.

So the discussion about my cushion went on for some time while we listened.  They quickly agreed it needed replacing, but they also agreed it wasn't fitting properly at all.  Apparently it's too short from back to front for my butt to fit properly, and it's now too narrow as well, since I've got fat and my legs have splayed out to be wider since all this started (your body goes to hell when you're paralyzed).

They then spent some time discussing how it could be made to fit, and to make a quite long story very short, they decided that it could not be made to fit in this wheelchair!  I need a new chair!

Needless to say, this was a big surprise for us.  We simply want to be sure my cushion fits properly, but if the cushion comes with a new chair attached, who are we to argue?  And the new chairs today are considerably quieter than this one, something that we will both happily welcome.  If you're interested they are recommending a Sunrise Quickie Q500m chair.

This will likely be a long process, regardless of how it turns out.  A wheelchair technician will come shortly and fit a new cushion in this wheelchair.  They are concerned enough to want that changed immediately.  Then the company will  put together a trial chair, and bring it with two or three cushions for fitting.  We'll look at all the 101 choices you have to make for the new chair and cushion to be ordered.  

In the meantime the OT is preparing and submitting the application to the ADP.  At some point these processes come together if this is all to be approved, and perhaps 3-6 months later I will get my new chair and cushion, - if all goes well between now and then.

I will keep you informed.