KarenThere are many barriers to getting my grandma out and about as much as we’d like, and most are mobility related. I’ve been my grandma’s carer for around five years, and gradually her already poor mobility has deteriorated, making getting out a lot more difficult.
Another issue is that I have a stroller to consider as well as the huge bulky wheelchair. There are a couple of ways I’ve tackled this before – I can put my youngest in our BabyBjorn carrier, then carry the toddler and push my gran in the wheelchair, but that really isn’t easy for longer than a quick trip to the shops. I recently learned the hard way that anywhere with a steep incline is a no-go in that situation!
Alternatively, my eldest son could push the stroller whilst I pushed the wheelchair, but unfortunately the wheelchair and the stroller won’t both fit in the boot at the same time (and my car has a really good sized boot!)
We had gotten to the point where we really weren’t able to go out very much unless someone could have the children for me, and that isn’t very often during everyone else’s working week.
When Fenetic Wellbeing asked if we would like to try one of their products, I looked through their range and spotted their light weight, foldable wheelchairs. One of them looked perfect for us, and I hoped it would make getting out as a family a bit easier.
When I took delivery of the chair I wasn’t sure they’d sent the right item – it certainly wasn’t in a wheelchair sized box! On inspection though I soon realised that what we had could really be a game changer for us.
You can see in this photo that the chair folds up very small, and when it’s in the bag this wheelchair weighs only 11.5kg – far less than the one we currently use.
Putting the Fenetic Wellbeing wheelchair together is really easy, and it can be assembled in less that a minute. All that needs to be done is for the chair to be opened out, the arm rests to be slotted in, the handles to be clicked into place and the foot rests to be attached. Really easy.
The brakes are attached to the handles and can be used as temporary or permanent brakes, depending on whether you push them up or down. I find that to be so much easier than leaning around the chair to put brakes on at the wheel.
The size of the chair was quite surprising too. Whilst she feels a bit ‘hemmed in’ in her heavier wheelchair, the arms have more space underneath them on the Fenetic Wellbeing wheelchair and give her a bit more space to get comfortable. We still use the pressure cushion with this chair as with the other one, because it provides more comfort and support. These kinds of cushions make a big difference to the comfort of the wheelchair user – buy one from Fenetic Wellbeing online.
Overall my Grandma actually far prefers the new wheelchair from Fenetic Wellbeing, and I have to agree. Being able to take everyone out on the same day is refreshing!
For all you need to know about Fenetic Wellbeing and their products, have a look at the website here.
*Thank you to Fenetic Wellbeing for sending us the wheelchair free of charge for the purpose of this review*
