My name is Mary Allison and I live a pretty awesome life.
I have a wonderful husband, fulfilling job, and I've even traveled the world as an elite athlete.
But people are still flabbergasted when they realize I can drive and shop for groceries.
Sure, my disability might change the way I do things, but it never diminishes my independence,
or level of success.
I've created a system to conquer this world, one that I would like to share with you.
It might look a little different to the average eye, but who wants to be average?
This is me, and this is how I navigate my life.
Probably one of my biggest pet peeves of life, is when someone uses the term wheel-chair bound.
Now, I've had many pranks pulled on me, but never have I had someone put super-glue in my seat.
When you first learned how to transfer, you probably used a transfer board.
This was necessary as you were building up your strength, and becoming comfortable with your body.
But taking your transfer board outside your home, can be a little tricky.
I mean, I would need a pretty big purse to accommodate my transfer board.
I get out of my chair all the time to sleep, drive, watch a movie,
or sometimes my rear just wants a change of scenery.
The ability to transfer out of your wheelchair is good for you,
physically, emotionally, socially, and is one of the most important components of living independently.
Today I'm going to share with you some of the tricks of my trade,
so you can get in and out of your chair with confidence and ease.
Learning to transfer from the floor to your chair, is extremely important.
At some point in your life, you're going to fall.
And if you're a klutz like me, it might happen rather often.
Knowing how to hop back into your chair, will decrease your anxiety of a fall,
and even earn you some style points on your dismount.
There is a method much more graceful than falling, used to transfer from your chair to the floor.
Before you begin your transfer, put on a pair of shoes.
This will prevent your feet from slipping,
and give you more stability when transferring back into your chair.
Ladies, I would start out in a pair of flats.
Also, if you have brakes on your chair and are new to transfers,
you may want to apply your brakes before you transfer.
Once you're ready, scoot to the edge of your seat, and place your feet on the floor.
Lean forward towards the floor, and place your non-dominant fist on the floor,
and your dominant hand on the front frame of your chair.
Placing your hand into a fist on the floor, will protect your wrist,
and evenly distribute your weight throughout your arm.
Slowly ease yourself to the floor, and swing your rear away from your chair.
If you are a very experienced wheelchair user, and don't have brakes on your chair,
you can push your chair away from you as ease to the ground.
If you are going to be on the ground for an extended period of time,
it is a good idea to sit on your seat cushion to to prevent any skin breakdown.
Getting back up into your chair may take a little more practice but it can be done.
there are two main methods for getting back into your chair,
a forward facing method, and a rear facing method.
Many people I have encountered say that they learned how to transfer from the floor to their chair
by using the forward facing method.
When using the forward facing method, you begin by facing your chair.
Then move to your knees and place your hands on the front of your frame or the seat of your chair.
Then push up on your chair, moving your hips towards your seat,
and rotate your body 180 degrees, until your rear is in your chair.
To be honest, I find this method extremely difficult, and not very practical.
It's hard for me to balance on my knees, and when I begin to push up into the chair,
it tends to tip forward.
Because my chair is so narrow, once I push up into my chair,
it is challenging to rotate my body around in such a tight space.
And ladies, forget trying to use this method in a skirt.
I prefer to transfer from the floor to chair, by using the rear facing method.
for the rear facing method, I start by placing my feet at about a 45 degree angle,
in relation to my footplate.
Angling your chair give you more balance, and requires less core strength when pushing up.
Next, I try to get my feet as close to my bottom as possible, and use the inside of my arms, or chin, to hold my knees in place.
This is pretty easy for me because I am short, but if you are tall
you might try strapping your legs together.
Once I'm in a crouching position, I place my non-dominate hand on the floor, and my dominant hand on the front of my frame.
Then I make one explosive push up, and throw my weight and bottom into my seat.
The further back into my seat my bottom lands, the easier it will be to sit up from this position.
Depending on your level of function, the final step of getting into your chair may look a little different than mine.
Because I have very little trunk function, I keep my dominant hand on the frame of my chair,
then quickly move my non-dominant hand to the top of my foot or ankle.
The higher up my hand lands on my leg the better.
Then I make a few quick pushes up my leg until I have reached the top of my frame.
If I am able to place my feet on my footplate before I sit up, that can also help me sit up more easily.
I don't use brakes when I transfer into my chair,because I like to pull my chair towards me as I push up.
When learning this transfer, you might want to apply your brakes.
Or, if you don't have brakes, place your chair against a wall or sturdy object.
Finally, I place my feet on my footplate, situate myself, and I am ready to go.
Within these methods, there are a million different variations you can try so it works best for you.
When I was younger and did not have enough strength to lift all the way up from the floor to my chair,
I was taught to first transfer to my footplate and then to my seat.
Now this method was great when I was 10 years old and 50 pounds,
but if I were to use this method today, my footplate would have to be much wider.
If you can't quite make it all the way into your seat from the floor, instead of using your footplate,
you can use an intermediate object to transfer too, or a sturdy object to push up on.
When using an intermediate bench or chair, you will use the same rear-facing method.
Situate your body in a 45 degree angle in relation to the object, get into the crouching position,
and then push up onto the object.
Once you are on the object, you will be able to do another short transfer to your wheelchair.
You can also use a chair or stationary object to assist you in pushing all the way from the floor to your chair.
Situate yourself between your wheelchair and the object.
Place your feet together and close to your bottom in the crouching position.
Place one hand on the front of your chair and the other on the object.
Push up, and then rotate your bottom into the seat of your chair.
It's important to remember, that transferring from the floor to your chair can be quite difficult at first.
If you're having trouble lifting your weight, there are many exercises you can do to strengthen your muscles.
You can begin with pressure releases, progress into dips, and before your know it you will be hopping into and out of
your chair with style and grace.
Don't forget to check out our previous videos and the link's right here.
And subscribe to the NCHPAD channel, so you can watch our upcoming videos on other topics like
transferring into your car, maintaining your chair, and travelling.
And if you put a comment below, you might even see one of your topics in our next video. Thanks for watching.
(Music)
I have a wonderful husband, fulfilling job, and he's making faces in the background to make me laugh. Ok Cliff, c'mon!
If you're very experi- If you're very....mmnummm.
Then quickly move myomdot..mmmmmm.....
If you are hav-....sigh......Actually, that's wrong.
(Music)