I have been on exportal for a while mainly lurking, and posting but a few times. My family recently had one of those hiccups in life, that kind of change your prospective on things. My son was recently diagnosed with a brain stem tumor. We found out in April, and he has just finished up his treatment. Before we found out he was an avid hiker with me, completing some short but difficult trails in Alaska. He had some bad reactions to the drugs in the chemo that left him with a trach to breath through, and a feeding tube (he can no longer swallow). The tumor is dead but it reeked havoc on his body before it went. He spent four months in a bed, and has serious balance issues that probably will not go away, so he uses a wheelchair when walking further than 10 yards. I am giving all of these details, not for the sob story aspect, but to get some serious advice. Please forgive me if I am asking dumb questions, but I really want to get my boy out there to see our wonderful world again. So here are my questions.
1. Is there a particular wheelchair that is better than others for off paved trail use? or are we better off sticking to paved trails when hiking.
2. Is there any mods that can be made to a used wheelchair that keeps it foldable but makes things easier for him to enjoy the trails?
3. Is there some type of battery pack that someone on here might use that can recharge on vehicle power, but is light enough to carry around for use to power a very small feeding machine (just to keep water in him), or a suction machine to clear his treach.
4. Am I over thinking his abilities, in other words and I expecting to much, he is just like he was before he went into the hospital with exception to the feeding, walking issues.
I have already converted my swing out tire carrier on the Jeep to a swing out wheelchair carrier, with plans to carry the spare tire on the roof rack. Any advice or ideas are appreciated, and thanks ahead of time.
1. Is there a particular wheelchair that is better than others for off paved trail use? or are we better off sticking to paved trails when hiking.
2. Is there any mods that can be made to a used wheelchair that keeps it foldable but makes things easier for him to enjoy the trails?
3. Is there some type of battery pack that someone on here might use that can recharge on vehicle power, but is light enough to carry around for use to power a very small feeding machine (just to keep water in him), or a suction machine to clear his treach.
4. Am I over thinking his abilities, in other words and I expecting to much, he is just like he was before he went into the hospital with exception to the feeding, walking issues.
I have already converted my swing out tire carrier on the Jeep to a swing out wheelchair carrier, with plans to carry the spare tire on the roof rack. Any advice or ideas are appreciated, and thanks ahead of time.