Knee scooter and other equipment
This page is about the equipment I found useful.
My work colleagues rallied round and the the afternoon that I got home arrived with a wheelchair, shower chair and a pair of crutches with the contoured handles.
The shower chair has been fantastic and I have probably ended up using longer than I should (stopped at 11 weeks) but I just did’t want to risk slipping.
I only used the wheelchair a few times in the house, partly because most of our house isn’t accessible with it as the doorways are too narrow and because I got a knee scooter (see below). I guess for some people a wheelchair for use in the house in the early stages would be good because you can carry things in it.
I also bought a waterproof cast cover (nicknamed the condom!) However as I only had the cast on for 10 days I probably should have just managed with bin liners.
Three days on crutches and I started thinking there has to be something better and remembered seeing a knee scooter and arranged to rent one for 6 weeks; it was a life saver. Suddenly I was able to carry things around the house, “stand” and move around the kitchen and it was great for shopping outings etc. They are useless on grass, and have to be lifted up steps so you still need crutches and Jim made a little rack to carry the crutches. I could load it into the back of my stationwagon. For New Zealanders - I got it from Tubular Mobility in Tauranga; ACC have refunded me the rental when I said it negated the need for any help with houswork.
