Friday, October 10, 2008

Wheelchair pics + other pics..

Somebody was wondering why they could not just add a vent tray to this wheelchair.. Long story short..When they ordered the wheelchair they "forgot" that he was vent dependant and needed a vent tray.. Because they did not think about this (even though it was in his dang chart) they ordered the smallest chair they had. The chair they ordered for him is not big enough to hold a vent tray. The vent would make it tip over (Because the vent is heavy as heck). Once Alo outgrows this chair he can get another one with a vent tray but chances are he wont need it then. He needs it NOW and that was the whole point of getting the dang chair!!!

Anyway, we cruised around the compound earlier and crossed the street to a little trail. Alo loved it. He was just smiling the entire time.

Then later this evening Kaia came home, put his Power Rangers costume on and we went outside to play. I took the little kids out with me, Alo in his chair, and we went on another walk. Its such a big difference pushing this than the stroller. With the stroller it took a lot of effort for it to start moving forward.. This chair you barely have to push and it starts moving.

Alas, here are pics of the first walk.. They didnt turn out too great.

Going for a walk outside:

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And again: (He was looking at the elevator because the door opened)

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And inside:

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And I dug these pants out of some stuff that was put up. They are a size 12 months but fit Alo perfect. His pants that fit in the legs are too small in the butt and the ones that fit in the butt are too long in the legs. I was surprised that these fit him in the butt and legs.

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4 comments:

MammaT said...

Hey, Kourtney, you might try cinching the strap for the vent as tight as you can get it, and hanging the vent from his foot rests. I can't tell how much actual clearance there is there, but it looks like it *might* work. Also, you could probably fashion something so that the vent 'sits' on his wheelie bars and is suspended by the seat frame or the point where the handle bars meet the rest of the frame of the chair (bungee cords? mesh home-made vent bag - think shaped the same as the vent, so that it sits sturdy...?).
Another thought, if you were to run a piece of nylon strap - like you'd use to tow a car? - from wheel to wheel (the bars that go out to the wheels, not the vertical bars that go down) across the front, then another two pieces from the front most battery support bar to the strap, would it give enough room to put the went on the tray it would create? if so, you could put a fourth strap across the bars below his footrests, where they will eventually move down to, and use that strap to keep the vent from slipping out (I'm thinking velcro or a snap on one side to make it easier to get in and out).
Or, maybe there’s enough room that you could set the vent on top of it’s battery and then just strap it down with some bungee??
It’s hard to tell how much room there is and just how big the vent is.
-T

Anonymous said...

Hello, I have been reading your blog and have thoroughly enjoyed it. You are a courageous woman. You mentioned living on a compound. Are you a certain religious group member? Just curious. You certainly have your hands full with all your small children. You seem to be doing a great job and they are truly a blessing and very beautiful. Thank you for you blog. I happened to stumble upon it one day and have been reading it ever since. God Bless!

Anonymous said...

I did look to see if there was anyway to rig the vent, but the vent is too big and the chair too small so unless we either get a new chair or a new vent we will just be lugging the stroller around and using the wheelchair for at home.. They did mention that once he outgrew this chair that he could get another one that a vent tray could be put on, but Im guessing by that time that he will not need the vent anymore. He grows realllllllllly slow. Our best bet is to switch vents, but since he is mainly just on the vent at night now I dont really see that happening (though they have mentioned switching for other reasons) so I will just play it by ear and see what happens.

Anonymous said...

I emailed you and received no comment.