Good news

[Ellie]

As Terry said, there are different types of wheelchairs - mid wheel drive, rear wheel drive and front wheel drive wheelchairs, all with their own pros and cons.

The most popular neuro chair seems to be the Salsa Mini, which has mid wheel drive, so is great for indoors as it can turn in very small spaces but may not be the best for kerb assaults nor soft grass.

The other popular neuro chair is an Invacare, which is rear wheel drive and has a larger turning circle than a mid wheel drive, so may require furniture moving in the house if a room is small, or a 5-point turn in a tight hallway They can be better at obstacles but, Lynne you're spot on, steps etc need a bit of speed to get over. Rear wheel drives tend to have a higher max speed than mid wheels, but they're rear heavy and it can be unnerving going up a steep slope!! My chair is rear wheel drive.

Best of all for climbing kerbs/steps is a front wheel drive but these seem to be rarely provided and are expensive - I'd love to hear if anyone has one??

Keep practising Lynne, you've a great attitude and knowledge of how to drive from your career.

Love Ellie.

[Lynne K]

Thanks for the info Ellie. My wheelchair is an Invacare Spectra XR2, rear wheels drive. It is heavy. We sold our couch for buttons to allow me to get into and out of our front room. My hubby bought himself a new modern recliner twisting chair and footstool. I have a riser/recliner (wow, that cost me an arm and a leg) and we had another small armchair. So there's now 3 armchairs and my wheelchair in our front room. Luckily
I can still get around indoors with my walker but when I'm wheelchair bound I won't be able to move much in this small flat. I couldn't get into our kitchen with my wheelchair. We'll have to re-think our flat layout and our big fridge-freezer that blocks my route into our kitchen.

I forgot to say earlier that I have anti-tip bars on the back of my wheelchair. These have very small, castor sized wheels on them.
Lynne

[Lynne K]

Hi Terry. As I said to Ellie just now. I have anti-tip bars with little wheels on my wheelchair. They did not stop me getting up 4 inch kerbs. I guess that it depends on how low wheelchair services set them. I also have kerb climbers on the front which most likely helped me get up forwards a 4 inch kerb with a constant brisk walking pace speed. Lynne

[Ellie]

We've the same chair Lynne.

It's a workhorse of a wheelchair and even gets me into our paddock and manages quite rough terrain, though it doesn't like deep gravel I was telling Terry I got stuck in some recently but now know where to avoid

Our house is open plan, thankfully, so no issues there.

Love Ellie.

[Lynne K]

That's great Ellie. I asked for a wheelchair that would go on tracks in the countryside so that we could still get out despite me no longer being able to walk up hills and on mountain ridges. Oh the joys, lovely memories. Different memories being created now x

[Kayleigh]

Hi Lynne,

Hopefully you and your husband can have a great day out in the countryside very soon.

This Summer seems to be going quickly, but I always enjoy the cooler weather and beautiful colours of Autumn too.

Love Kayleigh x

[Lynne K]

Kayleigh, I love all seasons. Summer sun lifts spirits but as you say autumn colours are often gorgeous. We are going away for a week in October to an purpose built adapted cabin in an out of the way forest in the Lake District. It has 2 built in cookers and hobs
One is a regular height and the other wheelchair height. It has a riser/recliner, wet-room and an open plan that's large so wheelchair friendly. That'll be fun. Lynne