After The Accident: Finding The Adaptive Technology You Need

“Nobody expects to be in a car accident,” Rena said. “If you expected it, you could avoid it. But life doesn’t work that way.” An encounter with an out-of-control delivery van left Rena paralyzed from the waist down. Today she uses a wheelchair.

“There are so many things about living with a disability that I just didn’t know,” she said. “I’d never thought about where wheelchair ramps come from. Or how you get a lift system installed in your house. So all of a sudden, I had a great need to know this information and I didn’t know where to start.”

Patient Lifts/Patient Transfer Systems For Your Home

SureHands Lift Systems are used in hospitals & are available for home installation.

“So I’m in the hospital, trying to come to grips with how my life has changed,” Rena said. “I live alone now; my husband and I divorced years ago. And I’m not entirely sure how one gets out of the hospital bed and into the wheelchair. They use an overhead lift system in the hospital and it only took one lesson for me to figure out how to use it on my own. I said to the aide, “It’s too bad I can’t get one of these installed in my home,” and she said, “Oh, you can!”

Healthcare providers, including the staff in hospitals and rehab centers, can be a great resource when it comes to finding reliable providers of adaptive technology. Sometimes the nurse or aide you’re working with may not know exactly where the lift you’re using was procured, but there’s usually someone in management who will have that information for you.

“It’s also a good idea to talk to people who are in the same situation you’re in,” Rena added. “I met this woman Zoe, and she said, “Listen, no matter what, you don’t want anyone building you a wooden wheelchair ramp. Here in Massachusetts, it’s just a bad idea. The ice and snow make wooden ramps so dangerous.”  Zoe recommended a heavy-duty aluminum wheelchair ramp, and Rena found one from National Ramp Systems. “Honestly, if I didn’t have real-life first-hand stories from someone who actually uses wheelchair ramps I never would have known that. No matter what situation you’re in, whether you’ve abruptly found yourself using a wheelchair as I did, or you have some other life-changing event, I really recommend talking to other people who have been there, done that. They are often going to be your best source of information.”