I used GoFundMe. Whoever you go with, you need to make sure you factor in the percentage of donations they take as their fee. The SmartDrive is still definitely the best option for me. I have had a lot of problems with mine. It's looking like a lot of this is down to the diameter of my axel, which the SmartDrive bracket is attached to. We now know that the Kuschall K-Series has a slimmer axel bar than most other wheelchairs (certainly than TiLite chairs, owned by the same people who now own SmartDrive). All of my issues have been caused by the bracket moving and putting pressure on the SmartDrive unit. So in theory, once we've figured out a solution to effectively widen the axel, things will hopefully run smoothly. Lockdown has meant that we haven't been able to test this in practice. I'd recommend anyone looking to spend this amount of money having a demo of various power assist wheels, including the Smoov, Invacare's answer to the SmartDrive. While I didn't get on with it when I had it on loan, I know others with different social needs who love it.
Up and down kerbs is exactly the same motion as you would do if the SmartDrive wasn't attached to the chair. Depending on how confident you feel, you can either tackle kerbs with the SmartDrive going, pull a small wheelie and have the motor do all the work, or you can turn the SmartDrive off with a tap of the wrist and take on the kerb as you would normally. I haven't tried the SmartDrive over potholes or on grass. My caster wheels are 4 inches (small) and if I tried to go over a pothole (even without the SmartDrive), I'd likely end up being thrown from my chair because the caster wheels would catch. The caster wheels also mean that grass is more problematic than it would be for a standard chair that has bigger caster wheels. But, having smaller caster wheels makes my chair more responsive and much easier for me to move around the house, which is why I have them. While I do have quite a lot of uneven ground around me, we don't have potholes as such and I think the last time I needed to go on grass was at my sister's wedding almost 2 years ago. I know this will change as Elise get's older, so I've started looking into the FreeWheel (which lifts the caster wheels off the ground) and will ask family to put together as a birthday/Christmas preset. I hope that helps! Xx
Ah, great minds. ;) I got a Polaroid Cube for my birthday and am going to attach it to one of us for our adventures. The only reason I haven't used it until now is that it has a pregnancy warning because of the magnet. I'm hoping to start playing with it this week, so the next vlog should have some 'Lissie Cam' footage if it works well! Xx
Who did you fundraise with ? Would you still recomend it despite all the problems yiuve had
I used GoFundMe. Whoever you go with, you need to make sure you factor in the percentage of donations they take as their fee. The SmartDrive is still definitely the best option for me. I have had a lot of problems with mine. It's looking like a lot of this is down to the diameter of my axel, which the SmartDrive bracket is attached to. We now know that the Kuschall K-Series has a slimmer axel bar than most other wheelchairs (certainly than TiLite chairs, owned by the same people who now own SmartDrive). All of my issues have been caused by the bracket moving and putting pressure on the SmartDrive unit. So in theory, once we've figured out a solution to effectively widen the axel, things will hopefully run smoothly. Lockdown has meant that we haven't been able to test this in practice. I'd recommend anyone looking to spend this amount of money having a demo of various power assist wheels, including the Smoov, Invacare's answer to the SmartDrive. While I didn't get on with it when I had it on loan, I know others with different social needs who love it.
How do you handle going up and down kerbs? Over potholes? Grass?
Up and down kerbs is exactly the same motion as you would do if the SmartDrive wasn't attached to the chair. Depending on how confident you feel, you can either tackle kerbs with the SmartDrive going, pull a small wheelie and have the motor do all the work, or you can turn the SmartDrive off with a tap of the wrist and take on the kerb as you would normally.
I haven't tried the SmartDrive over potholes or on grass. My caster wheels are 4 inches (small) and if I tried to go over a pothole (even without the SmartDrive), I'd likely end up being thrown from my chair because the caster wheels would catch. The caster wheels also mean that grass is more problematic than it would be for a standard chair that has bigger caster wheels. But, having smaller caster wheels makes my chair more responsive and much easier for me to move around the house, which is why I have them.
While I do have quite a lot of uneven ground around me, we don't have potholes as such and I think the last time I needed to go on grass was at my sister's wedding almost 2 years ago. I know this will change as Elise get's older, so I've started looking into the FreeWheel (which lifts the caster wheels off the ground) and will ask family to put together as a birthday/Christmas preset. I hope that helps! Xx
It would be fun for you to get a GoPro (sport camera you strap on) for adventures out with Elise. For yourself, not necessarily to share. :-)
Ah, great minds. ;) I got a Polaroid Cube for my birthday and am going to attach it to one of us for our adventures. The only reason I haven't used it until now is that it has a pregnancy warning because of the magnet. I'm hoping to start playing with it this week, so the next vlog should have some 'Lissie Cam' footage if it works well! Xx