I am having foot problems for 10 months and have decided to give a short term wheelchair a spin. My foot condition recommends about 4 months of rest. I've given up on workers comp getting me anything but a bottle of ibuprofen I can't take.

One of the main concerns I have is that I am below average height. Is there an adjustment or sizing on wheelchairs? Is the little seat pad thing a comfort necessity? I can sit in a plain old chair most of the time just need the wheelchair for getting around. Do I need to care about the armrests?

I'm kind of excited to think I can start putting on makeup and doing my hair and putting laundry away. I'm also getting a trolley/bus pass since driving hurts so much too. I guess that means I would have to be able to fold the wheelchair up?

Didn't think I would be this happy about getting a wheelchair!

My tiny mother is in a wheelchair full time; it is actually a "child's" size (for someone the size of a 14-yr-old). Nearly every time we are out with her someone asks where we found it, so oversized chairs are obviously a problem for many. It does have 3 heights, but you have to adjust them when you are not in the chair, but no tools are required (you basically take off the removable wheels and reinsert them at a higher or lower position). It can be used without the cushion & in fact this was part of her post-broken-hip physio - to use her feet & legs to help move the chair and use her leg muscles; even in this small chair she could only put her heels on the floor with the seat cushion removed and with the chair at its lowest setting. It folds & goes in the trunk. Also, children's chairs weigh less than adult's chairs and are narrower, so they fit through standard size doorways without marring the trim. The key thing to check would be whether your hips fit comfortably into a child's chair.

Her chair has a fancy gel cushion, but she's in it all the time and has vascular problems, so we need to worry about things like bed sores.

We also have a regular sized "transfer chair" that we've had for several years and used for both parents - these are cheaper and the seats are just a piece of fabric, like a director's chair. Ours is no-frills and not height adjustable. I find it perfectly comfortable to sit on for a hour or two. Also, you could add regular chair cushions if you want. There also may be no-frills "childrens" transfer chairs out there. However, most "transfer/transport" chairs have small wheels and assume someone else is pushing. Look for "self-transporting" chairs with big wheels you rotate with your hands.

Armrests can be a pain in the neck, esp. if they are too high to fit under any of your tables. It does not sound like you'd need them for your arms, but some divider between the big wheels and your clothing is needed.

Before we got the first wheelchair, when Mom still had one foot/knee that worked, she used an office chair to get around her house.

oh thanks so much. I hadn't thought about getting thru doorways. I'm sure not tiny, actually will need a pretty good sized seat!

I'm starting to get the terms down.

Thanks again for your reply.

Though the seats of adult chairs are narrow enough to get through doorways, some chairs have brake handles or axles that stick out and gouge trim or doors that open only 90 degrees (like in a bathroom with tub, wall or cabinet that prevents you from opening the door 180 degrees). We had to take one of the kitchen doors off for ease of access (fridge handles prevented opening that kitchen door more than ~80 degrees). It would not hurt to measure the smallest dimension of your tightest doorway before you chair-shop. Note that with a door open 90 degrees, the smallest dimension is not between the jams, it is between the back corner of the open door and the other jam. There are chairs out there that will fit your doorways, you just need to check the design. Some designers must assume everyone lives in assisted living places with extra-wide doorways.

To get the chair in the trolley/bus, you would definitely want a foldable and lighter-weight chair. You're light enough for an aluminum chair.

Thanks again deirdra. I was going to net order but I obviously need an in-person for this deal.

You could still net-order as long as you ask all the right questions before ordering, like height adjustablility (lowest and highest position of seat from floor, with and without cushion), maximum width (for door clearance), foldability, weight, etc.