Freedom Tripod LT Pediatric Wheelchair

I may have mentioned last fall, that we were in the process of getting Karter a wheelchair. Although he still fits in his stroller with much room to grow, we felt that with preschool coming in the fall, it was time to get him into something that would aid him well in the classroom setting. In addition, they fit him for a removable seat for the chair, that can come out and will support him much better than the couch or his bumbo.

We met with the equipment team at Surrey Child Development Centre a couple of times. They brought in a few different samples of things that they felt would aid Karter well. The first meeting however, they brought chairs that were much to involved for Karter. He did not need most of the supports and they were large and cumbersome.

Being a preschool teacher by trade, my first question was "How will he move around in the classroom in that?" To which they answered, "He won't". That was not good enough to me. The idea of putting him in the chair was to give him the possibility of independent mobility, not to segregate him even more. I asked that they bring in a chair that was child's height, fitting under a child size table but with the option to grow when he does. I also needed something that was light for me to lift in and out of the van and that was easily collapsible.

The second visit they brought in the perfect chair. It is called the Freedom Tripod. It is really easy to maneuver (for when he is able) and it is small - dare I even say, cute.

We chose "Octane Orange" with a black seat - sort of hot wheels car inspired (I think we will get him some flame stickers for it too :-)).

As I mentioned before, Karter did qualify for a government program that will cover the costs of his equipment. We are so thankful for this however, it has come with a few challenges.

After the quote was sent in, the finding program felt that the chair was a bit more expensive than a comparable one, so they had to get a second quote comparing the 2 chairs. The other chair however, was a bit bigger and was no longer suggested by the equipment team because it was fairly hard to maneuver.

They were literally bickering over about $150. This wheelchair needs to support him for 5 years, until we get another one (however we hope to not need another one by then). I talked with the physiotherapist to see if it is an option for us to pay the difference. She said that it was. So we have been approved for the funds of the cheaper chair, however are going to pay the extra so that Karter can have the one that will suit his needs the best. In the scheme of things, is is $30 a year.

So it will be ordered in a couple of week and we should have it near the end of April. I looked online to see if there were a couple of pictures I could show you. I found a couple, although the don't really show well and some have add on's that Karter's chair will not have. But it will give you an idea anyway.