suspected stroke, wheelchairs etc.

[3bunnies]

My father seems to be having a series of mini strokes, affecting his leg and hand. It has been going on for a month, doctors have been spectacularly unhelpful. Dh going to ring up tomorrow and challenge them on it. He hasn't had a scan - although was referred for one, he also hasn't been offered any tests. Dh has speciallist knowledge in the area and a suitable title to get them moving. We had been trying to do it through my mother, but she is just stressed now and convinced he will be dead imminently.

My sister and I were discussing getting him a wheelchair, I wondered whether anyone has any recommendations. It would mainly be so one of us could take him out on trips etc, so needs to be able to get in and out of a car, my sister's car is quite small, and as her children are older and she lives nearby (we are about 2 1/2 - 3hrs away) it is likely to be her mainly taking him out. Not sure that he could push himself, but wondering whether it is better to get one which he can self propel for if when he improves; or whether best to get one we push and if it will be easier to get in and out of the car. I know on the once or twice I used one (SPD) it was much better having a self-propelling one when dh left me in the middle of aisle but not sure how useful it would be in his situation. Around the house he is using a zimmer frame and we don't want to discourage him walking, but at the same time it would be nice for him to be able to get out.

Sorry to hear your father's unwell.

I bought a lightweight self-propel from eBay and love it.

The wheels are quick release and it folds in various places, so I'm yet to meet a car it wouldn't go in. We don't even have to take the wheels off most times.

I have weak hands and arms and can't do any real distance in it, but you're right that non-self-propels are absolutely infuriating. You can't even go back a few inches to look at something on a shelf, or turn to look behind you. I'd hate to be in a non-self-propel for anything other than strict A to b transit in a hospital or something.

There is an organization called the British Health Trade Association to which companies that deal with wheelchairs and other mobility equipment belong. If you contact them via their website, I am sure they will be able to help

Go to a mobility shop with your Dad and let him try a few out. You will get expert advice there too.

Personally I wouldn't get a self propel one ,they are heavy ,require significant upper body strength of user and the positioning of the brakes is difficult when an able bodied person uses them .
But that's just the ones I've seen .

Would a rollator www.essentialaids.com/mobility/wheeled-walkers-rollators.html help him at all ?

Lots of different ones on the market .

Hope DH gets the HPs on the case !

Thanks for all the advice. It is really tricky as DM has convinced herself that this is the end, think she reckons he'll be dead by Christmas, however no one else seems to share her view. Drs still don't know what it is, but it seems to be weakness down lhs which comes and goes a bit. DM not keen on getting a wheelchair as she thinks 'not worth it' and that she won't be able to push it. We want one so we can take him out, but it is hard to get her to agree to look at them and DF is fairly passive. Going to visit tomorrow so will see if we can look at some. Thanks for all the advice.

Are you near a Shopmobility?

Mine's wonderful. You can hire chairs for £5 a day, or less for a few hours, so DM's doom and gloom needn't hinder that. And if your DF does decide to get a chair, he will have test-driven a variety.

Looks really good, I bought mine at lucasmobility.com/. Very satisfied with it

There's lots of wheelchairs around (look at Amazon to get an idea of the range). Your requirements are a) folding b)lightweight (so you can lift it in and out of boot) c) big wheels, so that it'll go over rough surfaces more easily. We borrow a wheelchair from Dad's home, but it's got standard sized wheels and is a real pain to get along our gravel path.

If hiring, look out for delivery charges. Our local shop doesn't keep its own stock for hire, so the modest daily hire fee is supplemented by a swingeing delivery fee. We worked out that it'd be cheaper to buy if we used it more than twice.