When I stand up straight, which isn’t often, I’m 182 cm tall, or just under 6 feet in the old imperial scale. I weigh in at 97 kg. In comparison, my wife, Marz is a quite short, at just 155 cm.
Visually, the chair might look rather imposing. Add to that almost 100 kg of middle-aged male and I could’ve been excused for wondering how my little wife was going to manage moving me about! But she did and she did it easily!
Moving around the tiled surface of the bathroom I felt like I was gliding with her in some old movie starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers – something like a dream for these shaky legs. My wife was easily spinning me around within the footprint of the chair, positioning me for toileting and showering.
Small adjustments to tailor the chair for my weight distribution were made and voila, my wife had tilted me back safely and easily through all the graduations of the chair positions – with one hand, until I was sitting back horizontally, staring at the ceiling. Perfect for visiting therapists. Throughout the process, she easily opened and replaced panels to gain access to various body parts, making bathing and toileting so easy.
I could not have been more comfortable throughout this process. As the chair was moved through its various positions it was quite therapeutic, in that it gave different muscles and joints relief from the normal tension and spasticity I endure as part of my Parkinson’s condition.
It would be special for me just to be able to sit back and look at the stars on a clear night or enjoy the warmth on a sunny day comfortably.
This phase of the trial complete, my wife wheeled me out of the bathroom, along the carpeted hallway and into the bedroom, where the next exciting phase of the trial took place.
I was easily transferred onto the bed, direct from the Chair, without any manual handling, hoists, or other lifting devices. The chair was docked at the foot of the bed, the headrest was removed from the chair. A smart phone was used as a remote control and the chair tilted back, gently placing me onto the bed conveyor.
There was no fuss or manual handling. Before I knew it, I was laying back on the bed with a pillow under my head. A relaxing conclusion to a stress-free daily event. Just as life should be.
