Carer, partner, wife or husband. This article is for all of you who act as a carer to a loved one in a wheelchair. You most likely know that moving your caree from a wheelchair into a car seat can be a difficult task. If at all possible, the lifting and twisting motions you subject your back to when assisting in a transfer are not good for you.
There are of course solutions such as transfer boards, swivel seats and seat lifts that can be of much help during the transfer, but these are not for everyone. They require either the carer to be strong enough to lift their loved one or that the user is strong enough to support themselves.
For some, the harsh reality is that transferring from a wheelchair to a car seat is simply out of the question. Many couples where one part suffers from the effects of a stroke or a degenerative condition such as MS or ALS have no other option than to book transports services every time they want to leave their home. Depending on local regulations, they might not even be allowed to travel together, meaning one of them must take a separate car to their destination.
There is one more solution that we haven’t brought up yet. The transfer wheelchair, also known as a Carony system. This device will let you transfer a person seated in a wheelchair into a car without ever leaving their seat. It might sound impossible, but it is as simple as it is clever.
A transfer wheelchair system is easiest described as a car seat with wheelchair wheels. It has two states, either it’s a passenger seat in a car or it is a wheelchair. The seat moves between the car and a wheelchair wheelbase by sliding along on rails and it can do this with the user seated. This means there’s no lifting involved at all. It takes less muscular power to transfer a person this way than it does to push them in a wheelchair.
The transfer wheelchair solution is very popular for couples that want to stay together without giving up their independence. It empowers them in their everyday life, making long or short trips a breeze. For example, doctor’s appointments, grocery shopping, the barber, the hairdresser or just to pop in on friends.
The icing on the cake is that they get to do all this on their terms, side by side, just like any other couple taking their car somewhere.
To learn more about transfer wheelchairs go here.