Issues That Made Me Despise My Power Wheelchair

I really despise my power wheelchair. I have not liked it since the day it was delivered! I am in a power chair because of myasthenia gravis (MG) weakness and severe lumbar stenosis. I want to talk about some of the things I hate about my chair and why.

A missing joystick

I purchased my power chair in a hurry as I had no way to get around except for my walker. During our move from Florida, the joystick from my chair somehow disappeared! Of course, no one seemed to know what happened to it. My husband removed it and put it in the back of our vehicle in case of rain. It got lost and could not be found.

The entire time we were in Florida, I stayed near the vehicle or hotel. When we arrived home, I was all but restricted to a chair or my bed. I didn’t have the stamina to spend much time walking. I pretty much do everything that needs done in our home and I have little help due to my husband’s illnesses. I depend on my chair to help me accomplish my tasks.

It is too small

I was desperate to replace the joystick, but the cost was so high and the chair was getting so old, it didn’t make sense to order a new one. I decided I would get a new chair. The insurance company approved everything and a mobility company representative was sent to measure me for a new one. Once that was done, he showed me the catalog. The chair I wanted was very expensive. He showed me some other chairs that were more affordable. I wasn’t thrilled because I had a feeling they wouldn’t perform as I needed them to.

I’m just under 6 feet tall. I also have big feet. I needed a footplate that would fit my size 13 shoes! Unfortunately, I had to purchase what was in stock. The footplates are shorter than my feet are long! When I ride in it barefoot, I’m always injuring my toes, even though I try to scrunch them up and be careful.

Next, the "adjustable" armrests don’t adjust enough. I have to move my elbow way back so I can place my hand comfortably on the joystick! Although I was measured in a sitting position, the seat is too short for my long legs (even when it's as high as it can go.) In other words, my chair is too small for someone my size!

Problems with the charger and battery

Then there’s the performance – or lack of! I told the representative I do not sit around all day doing nothing. I do all the household tasks, garden, play with our dog and our grandchildren. I go to parks, lakes, shopping, and more. I need the chair to have power and stamina. I was assured it did.

And what did they forget? A charger! When we kept calling about it, but they said we had one. Yes, we had one ... the wrong one! I had to use the charger from my old chair. I can’t spend the day cleaning and cooking before the battery runs down. When the charge gets that low, it no longer wants to run.

Also, our yard is soft and on an incline - going to the end of the property and then coming back will often flip the breaker. The breaker is located in the back, behind and slightly under the seat. I can barely reach it - not a good thing when I'm home alone and it flips!

Over Christmas, I had to stop every few minutes to recharge. Thankfully, the intermittent charging doesn’t harm these particular batteries. Constantly dealing with the battery problems decreases progress and frustrates me because it takes much longer to accomplish my goals. Beware of how long your battery will hold a charge.

The chair can tip over

There is little counterbalance in the chair. When I go down an incline, the chair tips and nearly dumps me out of it! For instance, I had gone across the street after our mail. To get across the highway, there’s a steep incline. If the chair is charged, it has no problem going up. But coming down, it almost dumped me out of it.

Thankfully, I could put my feet out to keep it from totally tipping over, but I was injured in the process because it ran over my feet. My left foot hurt for a few weeks after that. Not only did it tip, but I found out there was a bolt missing holding the seat in place. Now, I back down all inclines, which I hate, but it’s safer than being dumped out of the chair!

Now, it sometimes jerks me around. I know some of that is probably the battery, but why replace the battery when the chair is 5 years old and I plan to replace it this year. Anyone want to help me blow it up?!

Don't settle

While I have talked about all these issues with my current chair, I didn’t have any of these with the bigger chair. If you are thinking about purchasing one or getting a new one, consider some of the issues I’ve had.

My first one didn’t do all this, so I know there are good chairs to be had. I will never sign another contract without there being a clause to take it back if it doesn’t work, fit correctly, or if there are other issues that you don’t notice until you’ve used it for a while.

I refused one before because it was not what I needed. But when I got my current chair, I was so desperate to get something, I took the first thing. It was a big mistake that will never happen again! Please don’t let this happen to you!