Power chairs

[Guest guest]

Mom got a Jazzy brand chair (model 1102 or 1103) that is a little more

compact than some others. It looks like the hoverround with the big wheel

in the middle. Doors inside the house did have to be widened to accommodate

the chair.

The scooter would be better outside, but its way to big to use inside.

Medicare also rejected mom's claim because she did not fit into either one

of their 'categories' which was severe cardiac problems or lack of use of

arms. Fortunately for us, mom also has insurance that picks up where

Medicare left off.

I learned from a friend who had cared for an AIDS patient that the insurance

company can assign a 'caseworker' to someone who has serious stuff going on.

You can work directly with the caseworker to get things approved without

going the paperwork/red tape route. I just started with phoning the general

help number and worked my way through the chain until I got to someone in

the right department. The approval to pay for the chair came in less than a

week!! Unbelievable!! Imagine talking to a person who had the authority to

approve something. Usually the insurance pays according to what Medicare

pays and automatically rejects what Medicare rejects, but not always.

Also, we were glad for advice we got from folks on this list that you need

to order a chair for now AND later. You can get some of the 'extras'

approved in the initial package that you can't get paid for later as an

add-on. For instance, mom's chair has a function that it will raise

straight up (the center pole it sits on telescopes up hydraulicly (sp?).

That seemes like a luxary at the time but WOW has it helped. When mom was

in the chair full time, she use it to reach stuff instead of standing up to

grab something. Or we used it to help modulate BP... when she spiked up, we

raised the chair so that her legs and feet dangled down and that made the BP

go down. Now she is in the recliner chair or bed all the time and the Jazzy

is just for moving her from place to place, but it still helps. We use a

transfer board to move her back and forth, and raising the level of the

Jazzy up means the transfer board works like a slide and gravity does most

of the work for us.

I might also mention that all the grandkids have had hours of fun driving

the chair around the house. These are not little kids... they are high

school and college age. I won't even tell you how much havoc they created

with the huge ball and elastic bands that the physical therapist used when

mom was ambulatory!

Some day I will write a short post just to prove that I can. sigh.

Pam Womack

[Guest guest]

Mom got a Jazzy brand chair (model 1102 or 1103) that is a little more

compact than some others. It looks like the hoverround with the big wheel

in the middle. Doors inside the house did have to be widened to accommodate

the chair.

The scooter would be better outside, but its way to big to use inside.

Medicare also rejected mom's claim because she did not fit into either one

of their 'categories' which was severe cardiac problems or lack of use of

arms. Fortunately for us, mom also has insurance that picks up where

Medicare left off.

I learned from a friend who had cared for an AIDS patient that the insurance

company can assign a 'caseworker' to someone who has serious stuff going on.

You can work directly with the caseworker to get things approved without

going the paperwork/red tape route. I just started with phoning the general

help number and worked my way through the chain until I got to someone in

the right department. The approval to pay for the chair came in less than a

week!! Unbelievable!! Imagine talking to a person who had the authority to

approve something. Usually the insurance pays according to what Medicare

pays and automatically rejects what Medicare rejects, but not always.

Also, we were glad for advice we got from folks on this list that you need

to order a chair for now AND later. You can get some of the 'extras'

approved in the initial package that you can't get paid for later as an

add-on. For instance, mom's chair has a function that it will raise

straight up (the center pole it sits on telescopes up hydraulicly (sp?).

That seemes like a luxary at the time but WOW has it helped. When mom was

in the chair full time, she use it to reach stuff instead of standing up to

grab something. Or we used it to help modulate BP... when she spiked up, we

raised the chair so that her legs and feet dangled down and that made the BP

go down. Now she is in the recliner chair or bed all the time and the Jazzy

is just for moving her from place to place, but it still helps. We use a

transfer board to move her back and forth, and raising the level of the

Jazzy up means the transfer board works like a slide and gravity does most

of the work for us.

I might also mention that all the grandkids have had hours of fun driving

the chair around the house. These are not little kids... they are high

school and college age. I won't even tell you how much havoc they created

with the huge ball and elastic bands that the physical therapist used when

mom was ambulatory!

Some day I will write a short post just to prove that I can. sigh.

Pam Womack