11 replies to this topic

[Ashley]

OK, so my mom & I are moving (I'm only staying until I get my own place). She's already found a place, and I just went with her so I could check it out, see how my chair will fit in doors, etc. Everything is OK except what's going to be my bathroom. It's right next to my bedroom, but I'd have to turn, coming out of my room, to get in and the hall is way too narrow to turn, much less do it without scraping everything to hell.

So I thought that maybe I could have something in the bathroom to transfer myself to from the hallway. It'd have to have wheels, so I can move back and forth (using the walls to assist in pushing myself along). I was wondering if anyone knew of any sites I could go to that sells what I'm looking for at a cheap-ish price. Or if you've got any other ideas, that'd be great.

The other option would be to stay where I'm at and have my mom burn gas coming back and forth to help me with whatever... and I'd have to keep putting up with the BS here... and I don't really want to do that. Heh.

Thanks in advance!

[Ches]

hey Ashley I had the same problem with my new house.. We ended up widen the bathroom door. Was the easiest way to fix the problem. Bathroom door is now wider than my bedroom door. Call an electrician and make sure there are no important wires in the way and have at it.

[Ashley]

I don't think we can do that. It's a rental and the landlord didn't seem to thrilled with the idea of removing the door-stopper in my room so I won't be scraping the door getting in.

Thanks for replying, though, Ches!

[Angela250153]

Hi Ashley

have you thought about getting a second hand office chair? They have wheels and you can get them with or without arm rests.

[Ches]

Haha .. the office chair.. I hate those things. I end up in one alot.. and am always just stuck in the same place. Unless u can move it yourself you should get practical.. Is there going to be moments when your home alone and can you do the bathroom stuff unassisted? Like get in shower and such? If so you may want to think this one out.. find a way to keep your indepedance. Or just learn from trial and error. That works well too..

[Ashley]

The office chair (without arms - easier for transfers) is a good idea. It doesn't hurt to try. I don't see why I wouldn't be able to move myself in it. The bathroom is narrow enough to use the walls/counter to push myself.

Thanks!

[qbounce]

As far as your room goes, you can get these swing out door hinges that allow the door to open flush with the wall (gives you an extra 1 1/2 inches of entry way space. Hey, I'll do whatever it takes to keep the doors from getting scraped up.

[robbo100bike]

Would a shower/commode chair work?? or even get a cheap wheelchair to leave in bathroom and transfer into it?

[Texaswheelz]

I've scraped the walls and doors to hell everywhere I have lived, it's going to happen. Bathrooms are always the bitch. I've took off doors, widened doors, cut out a chunk of the wall just high enough for my wheels to go through, used an office chair with wheels and one without. Just find and use what ever you can that makes it easiest for you. If the landlords don't wanna do any work to help make it more accessible for you then scrape that place all up. Even if you try your best not to, your going to scratch it and their going to have to redo it when you leave, might as well leave em something to redo for being assholes eh? I've had landlords that put in wider doors as soon as they found out we needed an accessible place to rent and I did my best to make it through those doors without scraping them, although after 2 years you still end up with doors that have got to be repainted. I've had landlords that wouldn't do anything or allow me to do anything that made it more accessible. Their fault as it ends up costing them more in the long run to have me squeezing through doorways or moving the front of my chair as far into a to narrow door as I can to transfer to what is on the other side that I couldn't get to because of the to narrow doors.

[Hapahowlee]

I agree with Texaswheelz. Unless you roll really, really slow and watch every inch of where you go, you will scrape up the walls, doors, etc. It's just not practical to try not to scrape anything.

When I met my husband, he was living in his first marital home. He was injured in his backyard pool. He had special hinges installed in the bathroom so he could fit through the doorway. Bummer was, he couldn't close the door for privacy. Anway, no matter how wide the doorways were, he still managed to scrape the doors and the jams with either his front wheels or his footrests.

When we had our home built in AZ we had the builder make all the doorways 2'8" (except for the rooms that have double doors) and my husband still scrapes the doors and doorways. It's just going to happen. He gets upset, but I wipe the doors and I'm good at wood repair and drywall so ever so often, I'll do repairs just to make him feel better about the situation. NO BIG DEAL! Just do what you can to make your life easier. I'm sure the landlord had to make repairs before your mother looked at the place to rent. Good luck.

[Ashley]

Thanks for the input everyone!

Yeah, I know I'm going to scrape up the doors, no matter what. But still, getting in the bathroom in my chair is going to be pretty impossible. I'm going to buy an office chair, though, and hopefully that works. I'd like to get in and out of bathroom as I please. o_o;

Thanks again everyone.

[gsp23]

If that doesnt work for you, one thing you might wnat to consider is jut getting a transport chair or something for the bathroom. That way you arent dragging your feet around and will have something to put them on too. You can get transport chairs from wheelchair suppliers for as cheap as $99 and they are all over eBay for less than that.