As my muscular dystrophy disease advances so do my difficulties to perform the tasks of daily living. Taking a shower, for example, is no simple matter, and although I value the opportunity to get a shower I also need to feel secure while having one.
As I said in a previous post, lately I have been using a PVC
built chair. I love the fact that
the chair is well built and sturdy. But there are some things that I would like
you to know about that chair before you run to buy it.
1.-The
opening in the front of the seat is too narrow. The PVC chair is 17 inches wide from the inside distance between the arms and the opening to allow hand access to personal areas
is only 3 1/4". A Drive aluminum shower chair is 19 inches wide from the inside distance between the arms and the opening for hand access is 4 1/2" which makes
a huge difference.
2.-When the PVC chair was new it rolled perfectly. Now, pushing it is an effort for my caregiver
because the wheels no longer roll smoothly. I live in Florida where the water has high
calcium/limestone content, which could be causing the problem. If anyone that reads this post knows how to get rid of the calcium/limestone, please leave your advice in a comment.
3.-A similar thing happens with the sliding footrest. In the beginning, my caregiver
gave it a little push from the rear and it slid forward easily. Now it's a big
struggle.
And
last but not least, the footrest table has a very sharp edge at the front
underside edge which one time caused tearing of my skin in the Achilles tendon area.
I wrote a letter to Innovative Products Unlimited (IPU) the builders of this chair but has not yet received any answer. As soon as I do, I will share their reply in this blog.
