Results of Power Wheelchair Trial

Last Thursday we officially finished the power wheelchair trial. How did it go? Well, Emmalin DEFINITELY has a long way to go when it comes to learning the directions. The most amazing part of it for me was the fact that while Emmalin was in the power wheelchair, she would keep her head up about 95% of the time (and maybe even a little more than that). Yes, she did have her leg braces and benik vest on (the pink thing you see on her in the pictures and videos), but the fact that she would keep her head up for as long as she would at one time was amazing. She would wear out after about 40 minutes or so and that's great for her! You see normally when Emmalin is in her wheelchair it is a battle (a lot of the time) between her and the person pushing get wheelchair for her to keep her head up. She normally drops it down and I (or whoever) are constantly telling her to put it back up. Don't get me wrong, sometimes she does great with keeping her head up, but there are a lot of times Emmalin decided she wants to hang her head.

So going back to the trial, the fact that Emmalin will keep her head up for as long as she does is huge! We think the fact that she is moving the chair is motivating for her to keep it up. And if she ends up getting the chair, we would work on building up her tolerance from 40 minutes.
The other huge reason it's a big deal that she is keeping her head up for as long as she is (at one time), is that the longer she can keep her head up the stronger it is going to get. The stronger her head gets puts her at a less of a risk for respiratory issues (including aspiration).

They way I look at it, the power wheelchair is a win win situation if we end up getting it. "Worse case scenario" (which really would be a "worse case" at all in my opinion), we continue to work with Emmalin 4-5 days a week and she continues to build up her head strength (which puts her at less of a risk for respiratory issues) and she continues to work on learning her directions. "Best case scenario", this chair ends up being her main chair and main way moving around (and all by herself - which is huge).

We haven't touched back with St Louis since the trial has stopped, so nothing has office been decided, but I will keep you posted!

God is good!


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