Transport Chair or Wheelchair

[campingcorgi]

It's time to get my mother a chair. She has frequent dizzy spells and tires easily when walking. I've been checking online about chairs, and wanted to see if anyone had any advice for me.

She can't push a wheelchair--weakness in her wrists due to arthritis and a broken wrist. I don't feel she could use an ecv because of the dizzy spells and some confusion. That's why I though a transport chair might be a good choice but I'm not sure if there is much difference between it and a regular wheelchair. The transport chair has hand brakes and that seemed to be a plus. Is one more comfortable to ride in or easier to push? What do I need to look for in a chair--easy folding, seat width, padded seat and back? Anything else?

Thanks if you can help!

 

[bushdianee]

My DM has both kinds. She needs the larger size chair and the transport chair is MUCH lighter and easier to handle. It is so much easier to lift in and out of the trunk of a car. It is also easier to push. As far as comfort they are about the same. The transport chair was less expensive as well.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Also talk to her doctor. If he prescribes a wheelchair there is a pretty good chance that either Medicare or her insurance will pick up the cost.

Generally for a wc through insurance it is "rent to own". The chair we needed for Judy cost almost $1,000. Insurance picked up 90% of the cost and we were billed less than $10.00 per month for rental. If Judy had survived for ten months it would have then become owned by us with no further payments.

 

[SueM in MN]

Since she is not capable of pushing the chair herself anyway, I would probably go for the transport chair for the reasons that bushdianee mentioned.
The usual less expensive wheelchair that people get is heavier (about 32-45 pounds) than transport chairs (about 20-30 pounds). There are lighter weight manual wheelchairs available, but the lightest weeight ones are custom (like my DDs) and are very expensive (in the $1,000 of dollars) compared to transport chairs - just doing a search on google, I found prices from $99 on up for transport chairs. The heigher priced ones wer often the ones that were lighter and folded smaller.
The basic wheelchairs and transport chairs often just have a sling seat without any padding. There are often options for adding different seats. If she doesn't have a lot of special positioning needs, some people just use a padded seat cushion like you can buy for chairs in the linen department of any store like Target, Walmart, etc.
Seat cushions made for wheelchairs range all the way from this kind of basic model for people at low risk of skin breakdown, to this very expensive kind like my DD uses because she is at high risk of skin breakdown (and actually hers was more expensive because it is a custom size and had to be made for her).

 

[campingcorgi]

Thanks, everyone! I'll print this off and talk to her doctor, too.

Barbara