The “Power” of Moving to the Right Chair

From Richard L. Bruno, HD, PhD
Director, International Centre for Polio Education

Question: I had a sharp decline this year. I'm barely able to walk at night with my walker without my braces on. I have a wheelchair. I'm afraid of the future. I'm getting a commode chair and a shower chair with a bench. I'm getting a nurse's aide to help me with the shower and dressing. I just got a bi-pap machine. It's all overwhelming me. I want to stay in my home, but plan for the future. I know I'll be wheelchair bound some day and the reality terrifies me.

Survivor Comment: Please use a wheelchair now when you can get in and out of it as you need to. Don’t wait until you have to be in one most of the time. I have had a power wheelchair for 18 years now. I didn't like it but it sure gets me loads of places that I could not go without it. Without it my life would have been so limited and I have tons more energy to DO things and enjoy life. I know the changes are hard to take. But aids are there to help us manage our energy so we can do more of what we want! Use them!

Dr. Bruno’s Response: There have been questions about power wheelchairs recently.

The latest Medicare requirement for a power wheelchair is now upper extremity function, not strength! Therefore, pain and range of motion that limit function (and make pushing a manual wheelchair inappropriate) would qualify you for a power wheelchair. Talk to your Rehabilitation Physicians (Physiatrist) so they can help you get the equipment that is right for you.

All I can say is to walk is human, to roll divine! You may be wheelchair-bound, you may be Alabama-bound, but no one need ever be “confined” to a wheelchair. A wheelchair does exactly the opposite of confinement: it opens up your entire world! Get a head start. Talk to your doctor about getting a power wheelchair for distance before you need it, so that you can conserve and never be “confined.”