A friend from college days used to twist any word ending in “er” into a sentence like the one above. Why it’s still funny I don’t know, except that I can still see his silly grin in my head after he would say it.
My story: Rooms started looking bigger when there was nothing to hold onto as I walked, so I looked for wheels to help. I saw a rollator in a store ad (Aldi) for a reasonable price. It was a great thing to have at home. When I realized it didn’t adjust high enough for my height, I took it to a welding place in town and had someone drill extra holes in the tubing. It was great for a while but would have worked better if the tubing had been longer as it affected the structural integrity some (it got a little rickety). It wasn’t high quality and I used it until the wheels shredded. Then I looked at models online and found one designated as “tall”. I had a local store order it to have insurance pay for a portion. I discovered after it was paid for that it was also WIDE and difficult to fit through doorways. I looked on ebay and found an Invacare (brand with a good reputation) rollator for a reasonable price (Insurance had already purchased one, so wouldn’t cover another). When I could still maneuver stairs, I also had a walker at the bottom of the stairs to use when I got there.
TIPS:
– I’ve walked with the old silver models…not worth your time in my opinion.
– Some genius invented the rollator. Get one. But before you do….Measure from your wrist crease to the floor to determine the correct height for your walker to be. Good measuring directions can be found at these places:
http://www.emr.msu.edu/documents/rehab/cane_walker_fitting.pdf
http://justwalkers.com/walkers-tips
http://www.airsystemsmedical.com/walkerheight.html
– When I used it in a restaurant, it helped to seek out or ask for a seat where there was room to “park” my wheels. It sometimes worked to collapse it and lean it on the table (only if the brakes were on to keep it from sliding).
– Although the wheels have not shredded on my present one, it does require some cleaning – wiping down and the wheels pick up every hair on the floor.
– I love the basket under the seat, but small things fell out so I found a plastic shoe container that fit perfectly.-
