[Blind-rollers] New Member

[TYGH HALES]

Welcome back, Holly! 

 

My name is Becky, and my husband Tygh (pronouced Ty) is a legally blind electric wheelchair user. He has used an electric wheelchair for a good 15 years now, since high school, and he's 35 now. He has had a variety of different electric wheelchairs, and not only one to get to high school, but has also used them on oh, about 6 different college campuses, and travelling to conventions & whatnot, as well as getting around whatever towns we have lived in. Trust me, he wears his chairs out! lol. 

In all his 15+ years of using an electric scooter or wheelchair, he has only tipped his chair twice, I believe. The first time was as a freshman college student, he was driving down a sidewalk in a couple inches of freshly fallen snow and wasn't able to tell that he was going off the sidewalk. The second time, he was going down a street and was too far over and on a steep grade. Both times, the chair just tipped on its side. Yes, he was stuck there until someone came to help him, but neither time was he injured. 
 
> From: mommaholly at gmail.com
> To: blind-rollers at nfbnet.org
> Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2009 00:06:23 -0400
> Subject: [Blind-rollers] New Member
> 
> Hello everyone. I was on this list once before, but got off of it for
> whatever reason. Now I am back with more questions and needing support.
> 
> I am totally blind and while I was pregnant with my son 2 years ago I
> started losing my hearing. Now I have lost one hear completely and the
> other ear mostly. Since the tuor that I have is an acoustic neuroma on
> the 8th nerve which controls not only hearing, but also balance, well
> I'm vertually drunk all day every day. 
> 
> With each day that passes my balance get worse and worse. I have fallen
> countless times. I am afraid that oone of these day I'm going to fall
> and break my nec or something very very dangerous. Right now I live in
> Asheville, NC which is in the mountains. That is like even worse with
> the balance. Right now I use a walker, but it still can't make me catch
> myself whenever I'm already falling. My vistibular system is wack.
> 
> So I'm leaning more to a power chair. I have tumors in my spine and
> don't think I would be strong enough to push myself, especially up all
> these sloping sidewalks, driveways, etc of the mountains of Asheville.
> I am going to be moving back to Arkansas, flat land, soon though just
> because these mountains are killing me. I'm afraid to go out of my
> house alone afraid of falling. I always feel like crying when I go out.
> It's so hard and I have to concentrate so intently not to lose my
> balance and thinking about it only make the balance worse and I have to
> go sooooo slow.
> 
> So I think really a chair would be best for me. I just am suck because
> balance is terrible now, but being in a chair, will that make it worse?
> My right leg is already weak. The quads are basically non existant and
> PT never could get it back. There's nerve damage and really not way to
> get it back. I have nothing to lock my knees so it can buckle very
> easily. And since that leg is not strong I have trouble keepingthe
> balance, then throw in all the other vistibular problems.
> 
> How does mobility in a chair work? Is it hard? One thing I was
> thinkingabout, I know I'm paranoid. I know there are seat belts, but
> what if the chair tips overand you're strapped in then that heavy chairs
> falls on you. What would you do? How likely is it to tip? Have any of
> you tipped it?
> 
> Also what would be the best type of chair to get considering I'm blind
> and don't have my own car to adapt and also won't have public
> transportation in Arkansas to call a Van and make surethey have a lift
> and those little wheel locks like paratranset. Would a folding
> powerchair be good? Do any of you have one of those?
> 
> Help, I'm full of question. Smiles.
> 
> Holly
> 
> 
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