11 replies to this topic

[kansasmom]

My son got his first custom wheelchair today, a Quickie Q7 from United Seating in Kansas City. He's delighted with it, but I've found one issue already. After the technician adjusted the footplate to be correct for his leg length/knee angle it ended up with not much ground clearance. I've measured it and the clearance is only 1.75". It sure seems to me that we could use him having more clearance. What do you think? How much clearance do you recommend as a minimum? He's pretty long-legged and has grown since he was measured for this chair, so I don't know if they didn't allow enough height, or he grew, or they measured him without shoes, or what.

If you agree that we need more footplate clearance, what kind of adjustments could we ask for?

Edited by kansasmom, 21 December 2011 - 02:48 PM.

[Zack]

Hey Kansasmom,

Is it possible getting front and back wheels that are 1 inch larger? It would keep the angle the same, while giving him an inch more ground clearance. That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

[kansasmom]

Thanks for your thoughts Zack. I don't know enough about wheelchair adjustments to know if your idea would work. Maybe there is a way to raise the seat by changing a bracket. I'm sure someone here knows the answer, but I can call United Seating and ask too.

[tsh3406]

Because of my height and the angle my footplate is at, I only have around 1" clearance. Like Zach said, I went up to 4" front casters but still drag in gravel or grass. Little micro casters get hung up in the smallest sidewalk cracks anyway. His front forks may also have multiple holes in them for the axles that will allow you to raise the whole front of the chair an inch or so....

TH

[kansasmom]

Thanks for sharing your experience tsh3406. I think he already has 4" wheels. Maybe there are 5" ones available, or, as you say, the forks may be adjustable. I also realize that if we raise the seat, or even the front, he'll not be able to get his legs under regular tables. He's only 15 and there's no-one in the family particularly tall, so it's a surprise to have this problem. Maybe new shoes would help too - with the AFOs in his shoes he does end up with extra lower-leg height.

Well, anyway, I emailed the guy at United Seating who measured C and he had the adjustment folks call me. We now have an appointment for them to come back next week and check C's set-up. I'll see what they suggest. More ideas are welcome though.

[Vanessamaee]

When they correctly adjusted my footplate to the correct height it was really close to the ground as well. this was also kind of uncomfortable for me and had my legs at a little bit of a downward angle, so when I held a basketball on my lap it would just roll off. I decided to just raise the foot plate higher so I had more clearence, a flater lap and it felt more comfortable. You can just adjust the height by using an alan (sp?) wrench (make sure its a metric one, I stripped one of the screws on the loaner chair by not using metric alan wrenches) and losening the screws on the frame that hold the foot plate in. once you get those out you can move te foot plate up or down however much you want. (PM me if that doesnt make much sense.) also bigger casters and wheels could help if raising the foot plate isnt an option (: If it is an angled foot plate... maybe lessen then angle a little bit if that's an option? It'll be all about what feels comfortable to C

[kansasmom]

United Seating are saying they will check and either adjust the front wheels, or order a wedge to raise the seat and allow more footplate clearance.

[Kwag_Myers]

 kansasmom, on 21 December 2011 - 04:15 AM, said:

My son got his first custom wheelchair today, a Quickie Q7...

Nice chair, I'm envious! I saw a wheeler in a Quickie the other day and he kept the coasters in the air most of the time he was moving around. Now I understand why - he probably had the same issue. Tell C his got to practice those wheelies!!!!

[kansasmom]

OK Kwag, I will tell him. What kind of chair do you have?

I'm really glad I did not listen to the PT. She told me several times to wait before getting a chair for C because we don't know how much recovery he is going to get. Well, I just felt it was really important for him to have wheels he loves, is comfortable with, and can be independent with. And if one day he walks off and doesn't need them any more I will not be at all sorry that he is leaving behind a wonderful wheelchair, of course! In fact I wish I had asked for the custom wheelchair sooner - he used the clunky rental chair for 7 months. It really held him back a lot

[Kwag_Myers]

 kansasmom, on 23 December 2011 - 02:52 PM, said:

OK Kwag, I will tell him. What kind of chair do you have?

I have a Ki Catalyst. It's okay, but it folds sideways and I think I'd rather have one that folds front-to-back, like a Quickie.

Quote

I'm really glad I did not listen to the PT. She told me several times to wait before getting a chair for C because we don't know how much recovery he is going to get.

Yeah, my PT didn't want me to get a chair either. ABs seem to think that the harder you work the more you'll get back. I was in the weight room for months until I finally came to the conclusion that if it isn't working by now, it's not going to.

I once told a friend who had cancer and was too weak to walk but refused to use a chair, "If I have to use a chair to do the things I enjoy, than that's what I'll do." Her response was, "I never looked at it that way." For the last few months of her life, she was everywhere doing the things she enjoyed. Having a SCI shouldn't keep C from being a teenager.

[kansasmom]

 Kwag_Myers, on 23 December 2011 - 03:26 PM, said:

I once told a friend who had cancer and was too weak to walk but refused to use a chair, "If I have to use a chair to do the things I enjoy, than that's what I'll do." Her response was, "I never looked at it that way." For the last few months of her life, she was everywhere doing the things she enjoyed. Having a SCI shouldn't keep C from being a teenager.

I totally agree with you Kwag. When you are hurt, by whatever method, either you need to adjust what you do, or adjust how you do it, or both. Before C was diagnosed with his spinal cord tumor he was just getting worse and worse physically and adapting. I don't think I even realized how much he was adapting. After his surgery I realized that we don't know how much recovery he will get and I don't want him to wait for recovery to do things he wants and needs to do now. Maybe his PT thought there would be no incentive to work if he had a great wheelchair. As it turns out, he works because he likes working with her, and because it is required of him, and not because he wants to be better. He's perfectly aware that he can't rely on some vision of recovery to motivate him every day. He is delighted at the recovery he has made so far, but it was not the dream of being better which got him there.

[IzzMonster]

One of the things you could try if the wedge is uncomfortable, or if the problem is persistent and turns out to be really bothersome you could consider getting a thicker cushion to raise him off the seat more so you can raise the footplate height up.
I'm so glad to hear that the new chair is treating him well, the freedom that a good chair offers can make a big difference in a chair users life.
Good luck!