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SoTired1 Asked April 2016

Where to find powered chairs that will fit through 28" doors and pass through 35" hallways.

I need to move 92 yr mother to my home. Can not make alterations in doors, etc. Need powered device as mother has poor balance, limited mobility with torn rotator cuff so she can not use manual wheel chair. Have a Jazzy Elite 6 that works in her current home but concerned it will work in new home 3,000 miles away. Does anyone have other experience with the Jazzy Elite 6 fitting through narrow areas? ...or does anyone know how I can access one on a trial basis to try-out to see if it fits? ... or does anyone know of powered chairs that are less wide? I believe that a scooter would be too long to turn down the L-shaped hallway.

vstefans Apr 2016
Some scooters have a narrower width and turning radius if her trunk control (sitting balance) is adequate for that. If she can sit without back support that would be fine; they typically have an office-chair like seating system that is very reasonable for most people unless they have a lot of neurological impairment. There are some lighter weight/light duty kinds of systems out there too that a lot of people use to get around shopping malls, etc. The OT eval is a good idea.

cwillie Apr 2016
I did a google search and there are narrower chairs available, but the chair needs to fit the person using it too, so they may not be suitable. Even if you can fit it through doors and down hallways you may find it difficult to make turns in narrow areas, so the layout is important too. I would suggest having an occupational therapist come out to your home to check it out and make recommendations. They would probably know where you could find something to test on a trial basis as well.

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pamstegma Apr 2016
The chair has a capacity of 450lbs, so I assume your mother is a big woman. Even without the chair, she would have to lose weight to fit into your place. I think you better come up with a different plan. Look for a facility near her current home.

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