After losing his balance and suffering a couple of falls, Dad graduated from a walking cane to a standard issue aluminum frame walker. The walker was a great relief to him physically and mentally.
The next quandary was how to make the walker easier to use. Since we all live together, Dad faces all the hurdles a non-handicapped home has: thresholds, tight turning radius in various spots, maneuvering in and out of bathrooms, etc.
An obvious solution was to equip the walker with wheels, but not just any wheels. The wheels had to be:
1. large enough to overcome normal obstacles/bumpy ground
2. non-slip so they won't run away from the user
3. swivel-capable so the wheeling function would not be restricted to straight line movement and
4. sturdy, of course
It took a while to find these swivel wheels, but having purchased and installed them (very easy to do for the caregiver) I can definitely say they are well worth the money I paid for them.
What these wheels or any wheels can't overcome is a user that leans heavily on the walker instead of using it just for balance/guidance. So any significant obstacles will require the user to have the strength to have enough strength and balance to lift/push the walker past the obstacle. As long as the user can supply the power, this is probably as good as it gets without a Hoveraround or some other powered wheelchair device.
Now, periodic cleaning is still required, as the wheels will end up rolling through dirt and grime just like shoes do. So don't skip the maintenance for best performance!"..." Read more
- Fallback Specialist in MD