Power wheelchair w/vent

[amyk]

We are looking to get a new power wheelchair for our son Jonathan. He is 12 years old and is only 67 pounds. Need a w/c that can accommodate his LTV 950 vent and external battery. He currently has an Invacare Power Tiger pediatric chair that is rear-wheel drive. We have been advised to get a front or mid-wheel drive wheelchair this time (I think because it will be better for the vent/battery situation and because of better maneuverability -- but I'm not sure) We also really need it to fit in our Toyota Sienna minivan. His current w/c fits in our van but we are concerned that a new, adult size chair will not fit. Do any of you have any suggestions?

[Ann]

The wheelchair is going to be standard - get one that works best for your son. After you get the chair, then the wheelchair company needs to find a way to make the chair accommodate the vent. That's been my experience in the past. My son's wheelchair is the Invacare Solara and we have the LTV 950 with lithium batteries - which doesn't really require any accommodations - we just sling the backpack that holds the vent over the handlebars of the wheelchair. They did add a tray at the bottom of the chair in the back to hold the big marine battery we had before we got the lithium batteries.

We have a full-size van and it is a tight fit with the bigger chair. It's impossible for anyone to sit in the bench seat behind the wheelchair. You may have to move the tie downs to make the bigger chair fit.

Good luck.

p.s. -- my son's wheelchair isn't a power chair, but when he had a power chair (when he was 4-5 years old), we had basically the same set up with the vent as we do with the manual chair.

[Jacob's Mom]

My son has an Invacare TDX Storm, which is a center-wheel drive. Make sure you find a representative who will take the time to measure all of your equipment and custom build the seating system and area for equipment. If you just get a standard seating system, it is going to be impossible to fit anything. I've even found that the standard vent trays are a bit of a joke. Our rep added an area -almost like a cage - to accommodate the vent battery and that was acceptable, but we added a bracket to the back of the chair that works much better. I can upload a picture if you'd like to see our setup.

[memorysdaughter]

There is a box/frame that can fit on the back of the chair to hold the ventilator, which still allows space for suction and a go bag. The young lady I work for had one fitted to her chair after having a large, bulky, heavy metal vent tray that was soldered onto the back of her chair. She hated the tray -every time she would turn without warning she would catch a caregiver off guard and a lot of us ended up with bruised knees/shins/thighs. The box/frame is great - it gives us quick access to the vent, and it's a streamlined design that doesn't take up any more room than actually necessary.

At the time I took these pictures she had just gotten her chair and so the vent circuit was not hooked up. The box is open on the sides to attach the circuit.

(I know these pictures are not the best, I can get others if you would like.)

[amyk]

I'm new to these boards so I'm not sure I am replying the right way, but here goes. Thanks so much for the info. Ann, I am looking into the price of the lithium batteries. I know they're expensive but probably worth it. We may be able to get them paid for with Jonathan's county waiver money. Amanda, if you could post a picture that would be great. And memorysdaughter, your pictures are great - thank you. One more thing, do your kiddos chairs recline? We need the chair to recline and I'm wondering how that works with everything hanging off the back.

[Jacob's Mom]

Amy, I'm at work right now but will post pics as soon as I get home. Our setup is very similar to the chair in the pics posted - similar chair as well. My son's seating system tilts, but doesn't recline but you can get the options your son needs.

[Jacob's Mom]

Here is a pic of the vent on the back of the chair. We hang the suction bag just as shown in the picture memorysdaughter posted.

[memorysdaughter]

The young lady I work for has a chair that rises, lowers, tilts, and reclines. It seems to work just fine with all of her equipment on the back.