Tom has been a wheelchair user since the age of 5. He has a diagnosis of Spina Bifida, Intellectual Disability and PICA. Tom lives with grandmother and her partner, who have been primary carers for Tom since he was a child.

 

Tom relies on his wheelchair for all mobility, occasionally propelling himself around indoors, but mostly relying on others to support his mobility pushing him in his wheelchair. Tom had a Glide Series 2 wheelchair prescribed to him 6 years ago. And although Tom is now a man, he ended up outgrowing his Glide wheelchair.  His primary carer, grandmother Pauline, had also experience injuries from years of manual handling, and was finding the Glide wheelchair too heavy to manipulate and push Tom around in. 

Our senior sales rep, Geoff Way, introduced the Motion Composite Helio C2 carbon fibre folding wheelchair to Tom, his OTs and carers. The Motion Composite Helio C2 is the lightest, adjustable folding frame currently available; and offers 26% less weight than any other wheelchair in its category. The seat-up for seating and pressure care was meeting Tom’s functional needs using the Spex Super Shape backrest with deep lateral support and a ROHO Quadtro cushion for pressure care. Other pressure care measures were taken with gel knee guides and foot plate covers to protect the skin on the lower leg.

 

Pauline and Tom were ecstatic with the final delivery of the wheelchair. Pauline reports it to be much easier to manage with Tom in the wheelchair, and Tom appeared to self-propel with ease. Having a lighter weight wheelchair to support Pauline in her primary carer role as she ages is allowing Tom to remain living within his home environment as Pauline feels more support by his assistive technology to provide him with support her requires with his daily tasks.

Thank you for allowing us to share your story Tom, we love the outcome your new wheelchair has brought you and family.

Weight does matter for so many wheelchair users and the people who support them daily, in so many ways. If you have a client you would like to explore the benefits of lighter weight wheelchair, contact Linds for a free consultation and trial.