[wheelierach]

Hi all,

I really enjoy travelling and would like to purchase my own travel shower chair. I have had a look online and have found this www.accessatlast.com/accessibility-products/travel-accessory-info/1/ but it weighs 22.2kg and we might end up paying extra baggage for it. Does anyone know of any better shower chairs out there which are portable and easy to assemble, sturdy/hard wearing and lighter than 22kg?

Thanks for your help.

Rachel
X

[DaveP]

I travel lots and go all over the world to hotels, apartments, villas, resorts etc etc and the simplest solution is to use a plastic garden chair and transfer into it. If you're worried it might break, use 2 (one on top of the other)!

[wheelierach]

DaveP, on Jul 10 2007, 04:13 PM, said:

I travel lots and go all over the world to hotels, apartments, villas, resorts etc etc and the simplest solution is to use a plastic garden chair and transfer into it. If you're worried it might break, use 2 (one on top of the other)!

Right, but what about wheels? I normally transfer bed to chair and then wheel into the bathroom unless you transfer straight from your chair into a chair already under the shower, but you need enough width for that, don't you? What about skin support? Do you use a cushion?

[LuckyinKentucky]

The folding camp chairs are the way I go... but you have to have them already in the shower and transfer in at that point, can be tricky sometimes. They contour to your shape well & with a 10-15 min shower pressure isn't much of an issue.

This post has been edited by LuckyinKentucky: 10 July 2007 - 05:16 PM

[gsp23]

I actually have a folding stool with a padded seat and I just transfer onto it into the shower. Are you going to be travelling alone where you are looking for a shower chair that you can maneuver yourself? If you are looking for a transport chair then there is a lighter one here http://www.activeaid...s/Model_461.asp or here http://www.nuprodx.com/chair4000tx.htm. If you are looking for one you can push yourself they carry another folding model but I dont know the weight of it, you might want to check with them, but you can find it here http://www.activeaid...s/model_922.asp... and here is one that is a few pounds lighter Invacare-Mariner. Normally airlines allow you to carry bags of 50lbs without paying extra so use that as a rough guideline. You are normally allows 2 pieces of luggage so if you can keep your commode shower chair under 50lbs then you would be allowed a second bag for the rest of your travel items.

This post has been edited by gsp23: 10 July 2007 - 09:15 PM

[DaveP]

I place the plastic garden chair in the shower and if there are any sharp edges that might scratch or cut me, I just put a towel over the seat, and then transfer into the plastic chair from my wheelchair. Can't be easier than that!

[Big Valley]

LuckyinKentucky, on Jul 10 2007, 12:14 PM, said:

The folding camp chairs are the way I go... but you have to have them already in the shower and transfer in at that point, can be tricky sometimes. They contour to your shape well & with a 10-15 min shower pressure isn't much of an issue.

That is also what I use and even at home. I like the ones without arm rests so it is easier to get in and out of from the sides. They are also very cheap at about $4-5 so they can be easily replaced after 4 months or so when they show wear. If I took one on a trip I would just leave it there if I knew I was flying home that day. $4 is not worth the trouble of carrying it as luggage when I could just get another one at home.

[edlee]

You guys must be a lot better at transfering than I am. It's all I can do to stay upright in my chair and it has folding arms.

The plastic garden chairs and the camp chair shown look a bit shaky for me, but then, I can't get back in my wheelchair from the floor. If I could I might take the risk

Quite a few things have been keeping me from doing the travelling that I would like. Not the least of these is with regard to various toiletry and bathing worries.

If anyone has any tips on any of the above, I could use some helpful hints.
ed

[LuckyinKentucky]

I'm going on a three day canoe/ camping trip in a couple of weeks & i was planning on cutting a hole in one of the chairs Big valley was describing... ya know for use with a program. Still plotting on the fine details, but I'll let ya know how everything comes out. worse comes to worse have to revert to the laying down method.

[Big Valley]

edlee, on Jul 18 2007, 04:00 PM, said:

You guys must be a lot better at transfering than I am. It's all I can do to stay upright in my chair and it has folding arms.

The plastic garden chairs and the camp chair shown look a bit shaky for me, but then, I can't get back in my wheelchair from the floor. If I could I might take the risk

Quite a few things have been keeping me from doing the travelling that I would like. Not the least of these is with regard to various toiletry and bathing worries.

If anyone has any tips on any of the above, I could use some helpful hints.
ed

What is limiting you on your transfers? Age, weight, strength? As a T-10 you should be way better then me. The chairs are not wobbly at all or at least not on a flat surface. A tub might be a little to narrow for these chairs to fully unfold. I have a double wide shower stall with lots of room. The chairs are also somewhat bowl shaped so I find sitting in them very comfortable as opposed to many flat surface seats I have used.

The other reason I like these chairs is they easily fold up and can be moved out of the way for others to use my shower. It can even be left in the corner of the shower.

On the few times I have slipped while transferring out I just had to make due with what was around me to find a way up. Can be pretty hard on a slippery shower or bathroom floor. But sometimes it happens and usually due to me not paying attention.

This post has been edited by Big Valley: 19 July 2007 - 04:17 AM

[gsp23]

Those folding chairs described didnt sit too stable I didnt think on a slippery suface. In the yard its fine but they dont sit square so they tip a bit and its a bit of work for me as well. I was better off by using a folding stool that my mom found at wallmart. It is sturdy and stays stable although there is no back on it so I slouch forward when sitting on it but I can do my business and get out of there.

edlee...
What are your other concerns you have with traveling? I was paranoid before my last trip that I wouldnt be able to get myself ready in the mornings or shower at night but it ended up working out well for me. If you can post some of your other concerns then maybe we can help answer those specific issues.

[freedom]

As a C5-6 Quad I have used one I got from Rolli Moden Designs in Germany. Sturdy, durable and easy to assemble. Made of Gun Metal, it folds up into an oversized breifcase type thing with approx weight of 22 lbs,. Great product, but not cheap. Approx $1200 USD when i bought it approx 8 years ago.

[redjohn]

Big Valley, on Jul 16 2007, 03:41 PM, said:

LuckyinKentucky, on Jul 10 2007, 12:14 PM, said:

The folding camp chairs are the way I go... but you have to have them already in the shower and transfer in at that point, can be tricky sometimes. They contour to your shape well & with a 10-15 min shower pressure isn't much of an issue.

I have to agree with edlee your option looks very unsafe and shaky.Also how practical can this be, for example how do you access your bottom.As for transferring i find it impossible to get off the floor also not through age or strength or any macho reason but because i am a smashed up t5 paraplegic who fully understands his own personal limitations.

This post has been edited by redjohn: 25 August 2007 - 06:11 PM

[Big Valley]

Until something else is made that is just as cheap, folds up as small, and works just as well I will stick with the camping chair. I don't see how it is going to tip over. Never has on me. And what happens when you fall from another type of seat? For washing my bottom I just lean to either side a bit just like when getting dressed.



If you are needing a new shower chair maybe just give this seat a try. At $4 you don't have much at risk. If you don't like it to each there own.

[edlee]

Understanding ones own limitations is a necessity in our way of life, It seems obvious, from reading the above posts, that not all of us are limited in the same way, and that the common categories we place ourselves in on our descriptions ( t10,c7 t1, c5/6 c0mplete) don't really give anyone a sense of where we are coming from.

It seems obvious, from his posts, that Big Valley is more mobile than I am even tho his injury is a lot higher than mine.

Is there some other rating system that would be a better representation of our limits?

I would be interested , if for no better reason, to compare my progress ( or lack thereof) , and maintain some level of self respect.

Perhaps I shouldn't feel this way, but I often find myself jealous of others who seem ( by there posts) to be able to do things I find myself unable to do. I guess, or rather hope, that this is a normal human response, but I don't like feeling like this.

Maybe Simon knows of such a system, or maybe we could develop one here. We have the people and the experience.

Just a thought.
ed

[Big Valley]

I wasn't this way 6 months right after my injury. But I learned right away I needed to get my strength up to be able to take care of myself. It stuck with my weight lifting and going for walks to build up my endurance. I also refused to let anyone else something for me I was able to accomplish myself. Even if it takes me 10 times as long I did it myself. Eventually it only took 5 times as long then 3 then the same.



So just keep working at it. It will come.

[gsp23]

Big Valley, on Aug 26 2007, 09:31 PM, said:

I wasn't this way 6 months right after my injury. But I learned right away I needed to get my strength up to be able to take care of myself. It stuck with my weight lifting and going for walks to build up my endurance. I also refused to let anyone else something for me I was able to accomplish myself. Even if it takes me 10 times as long I did it myself. Eventually it only took 5 times as long then 3 then the same.



So just keep working at it. It will come.

I am only one year post but totally relate to what you are saying. My boyfriend will sometimes offer when he sees me struggeling with something like at a recent game fair where I was pushing my own chair up a hill in the grass and while it was raining with one quad cuff and one para glove and my hand with the cuff on it constantly slipping off the wet handrim. But he knows I will normally tell him know as I did on that occasion. I am very stubborn to do things for myself as I know I need to find a way to do things so I can get around by myself and feel more confident. When I try something new I do it when I have someone with me otherwise well meaning strangers see me struggling and come try to help me which is frustrating when trying to figure it out. Anyways I know where you are comming from.

With regards to the folding chair... I usually use a stool for travel but I was recently thinking about flying which I havent yet done since being disabled. Looking at the type of chair posted above I think that might be the best way to go for flying anyways as it would fold up smaller than my existing stool and needing to fit inside a suitcase is critical sometimes. For driving somewhere though where I can, I would still much prefer my stool but for flying this seems to be a better option and I will just figure out a way around the instabilities I usually experience with them on hard sufaces and figure out a way to wash when sinking into the chair

[russ1]

Quote

Understanding ones own limitations is a necessity in our way of life, It seems obvious, from reading the above posts, that not all of us are limited in the same way, and that the common categories we place ourselves in on our descriptions ( t10,c7 t1, c5/6 c0mplete) don't really give anyone a sense of where we are coming from.

It seems obvious, from his posts, that Big Valley is more mobile than I am even tho his injury is a lot higher than mine.

Is there some other rating system that would be a better representation of our limits?

Generally the level description describes ones potential abilities very well with the exception that incomplete injuries may well have significantly more ability that a complete injury and those with complications beyond a straightforward spinal injury will also be affected. However for everyone with a similar injury level abilities will be altered by age and strength - however given sufficient incentive there's no reason why anyone with a similar injury level shouldn't aspire to emulate someone else with a similar level of injury. It takes time, effort and sometimes bloodymindedness but it can be done if you're in otherwise good health.

It's a great way to wind up my SCI friends with higher level injuries when I rib them about having mere flesh wounds and use my higher level to excuse my being a bit pathetic :-)

Also wanted to say I was recently very grateful to this thread, hired an adapted villa in florida which featured in the website pictures a very nice looking fixed bench in the roll in shower which was singularly absent when we turned up. A couple of the plastic patio chairs from the pool area however did a fine job as a replacement. Wouldn't want to use them full time but for a makeshift solution for a couple of weeks it was fine.

[Big Valley]

It is nice to have all the comforts of home but for travel I take things with me that will get the job done but be easy to transport.

I don't take a raised toilet with me. By far not as easy but I don't plan on being gone for weeks. I can transfer in and out of a tub if that is what is provides but most assessable hotel rooms have had showers with benches in them.

Sometimes winging it and just finding a way to make what you find work is a good lesson for us. There isn't always the handy position you grab to transfer from and you have to try something different.

This post has been edited by Big Valley: 28 August 2007 - 02:20 AM