Help - Wheelchair impossible on my rugs.

I suppose my problem should have been expected, but it surprised me. I have very plush rugs in my dining, living, and bed rooms. My has come up with leg blood clots, and she requires a wheelchair to provide her mobility to and from those rooms. Kitchen and family room are fine what with their wood flooring. But the wheels simply get hung up in the knap of the rugs. Not only that - the wheelchair leaves unsightly ruts in the rugs.

Can anyone suggest a solution? I wonder what I might lay on the run temporarily. Some sort of runner?

I am stuck and frustrated. Be nice. Duke

Reply to
jw
Loading thread data ...

Carpet barber?

nb

Reply to
notbob

If the wheelchair is permanent, get rid of the rugs and put in hardwood. If temporary, sheets of plywood would help. You'd have a bump to negotiate though.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Concourse Clear Vinyl Heavy Traffic Runner from:

formatting link
Scroll to where you see it on the web page and a version is recommended for plush carpet. You may find a local dealer. Is that nice enough? *snicker*

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

snipped-for-privacy@eldorado.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Remove the rugs.

Reply to
Stepfann King

Perhaps you can pull up the rugs, and store them for now?

Reply to
Bill

Probably tax-deductible, too, as it's a cost incurred in making the home wheelchair-accessible, same as installing ramps at the entrances. Hardwood flooring isn't cheap; if affordability is a problem, there may be government or private grants available as well.

Reply to
Doug Miller

If this person will be with you for a while, might consider having the rugs removed. A couple folks have suggested runners. I'd think that the phone book yellow pages under wheel chairs or carpets might provide some one who has dealt with this.

I'd expect runners to have a problem of being higher than the carpet. Hard to get from floor up to runners, or down. Well, down is easier.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Cannot help you with the rugs but have more than a passing familiarity with blood clots. What's her problem and what are you doing about it?

Reply to
Frank

Wow! Thanks for the quick responses all.

I have emailed the web site suggested to see their prices.

The rug is brand new, but I guess I could pull part of it up by having a pro cut it. Hate to though.

The wheel chair is for my wife. We are both over 80 seniors.

Her clots just occurred a few weeks ago, She had full knee replacement surgery in November. Have to feel there is a relationship 'tween that and the clots. She is under doctor care from both family doc and her surgeon. She is taking Cumedin (?spelling?). She is under immense pain and can't walk hardly at all. Poor gal is really struggling simply moving around.

Life is getting tough around here, Duke

Reply to
jw

Clots are a common problem with knee replacement surgery. Since the clots are new the coumadin should resolve them. I had a more serious clotting problem and had to have them surgically removed. I've been on coumadin 10 years and also have a clot filter.

Reply to
Frank

My first thought would be to use either vinyl or outdoor carpet runners avail. at the big box stores. Perhaps wider wheels on chair? Blood clots should not be a long-term deal, so consider setting up cot in fam. rm.? If the chair is only to limit movement, and not needed due to pain or inability to move legs, the doc might allow walking a few steps from chair to bath, etc.

Reply to
norminn

wow!

Good luck with your problem. My wife's clots (two supposedly) are in back of leg, behind the replaced knee (which is just fine in and of itself). They are very painful, and have remained so for three weeks now. The docs are monitoring the coumadin by reading her blood-work each week, Her dosage has been changed twice now.

God bless.

Duke

Reply to
jw

Sounds like your rugs are too plush and need to be replaced with carpeting or hard surface flooring which will more easily accommodate the new status quo...

Good luck...

~~ Evan

Reply to
Evan

If just the two of you, it might be simpler to set up the family room with a bed and a bedside commode for the time being. Blood clots are not generally a long-term problem. Seems that Medicare would cover rental of bed, w/c, commode, walker and possibly home nursing visits. Need to be mindful that she can move about safely and not risk falls by trying to use part of the house that isn't functionally suitable for her at present. I would check with a medical equipment shop to see what you can find out about rental and Medicare help. Physician's office should also be a good resource for info. Good luck, hope it is a quick recovery. Let us know :o)

Reply to
norminn

It's "Coumadin" :o)

Reply to
norminn

A power scooter will not be held back by a rug. Also, the wheels are wider and will not leave ruts.

Call around. They are easier to move around in. (I have one)

Reply to
Thomas

I'm fine. Just getting ready for my daily 4 mile walk. My clot problem resulted in clots clogging up pulmonary artery in lungs and removal involved bypass type surgery to remove them. That was 10 years ago when I was 60. My clot time is checked every 8 weeks. Clot filter may have not been needed. It's in the inferior vena cava, the main vein that your legs dumps into before the heart. It's like an umbrella with no fabric and clots will get entangled and dissolve before they can reach heart and get caught in lungs.

As for carpet, I've got mats made for office chairs on rugs where I have computers.

Good luck to you and your wife.

Reply to
Frank

My in-laws had good results with vinyl runners. Be certain to get very wide ones to accommodate the wheel chair and turning.

Reply to
Not

Google and call around. Look for medical newsgroups. I'm sure someone else has faced this. I would think the plastic runners may help, but may make it difficult as they may sink into the carpet. Changing carpets would be the worst thing. What about a chair with wider wheels? I've seen them with inflatable wide tires.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.