8/26/11

The Long Wait

According to a previous post it's no secret that I've been majorly frustrated about fighting for Riley's needs. At the beginning of the Summer we took Riley to the homecare's wheelchair shop to get him evaluated for some different accessories for his wheelchair.  He really needed two main things a new head support and a new joystick.  He currently had a pretty basic normal joystick that was very difficult for him to control due to his muscle weakness.  We also have been struggling to find the right head support for him to give him support while giving him full movement of his head at the same time.  After the assessment they figured out what he needed and told us it would just take a couple weeks to get everything in.  Well after 2 months of BS his wheelchair finally came together.  This is the end result


The head rest sits around the base of his head and warps around just under his ears to keep him from dropping his head to the side.  It also has just a very small support for the back of his head (Riley will pose for a picture in it later) and his new joystick is this little tiny button that he moves around with his finger.  It's pretty cool.  It will take some practice because it's way different than what he's been trying to use. He took a test drive and once he gets use to it it will be lots easier for him to maneuver. When it's all said and done I'm just glad he was able to get what he needed I just wish it wasn't such a hassle (understatement) to get it.  Happy riding Riley

2 comments:

Kristin said...

You are such a great advocate for Riles. Love you guys! Glad he finally got the accessories:)

Whit, Lindsey, Jonas, and Maggie said...

Very Cool!! Hate how it takes forever and a day to figure these things out. not cool. I guess we should start gearing up for Maggie to get a power chair now.
Heard that Riley is in the PICU, hope it's a fast one. Let us know if we can help. Thinking of you guys!!