Wheelchair tote

Don't know about the bag, Morag, sorry. I would say to try to manage with any old bag for a week or two until you really get the feel of what you do need the bag to do, to work for you.

I'm really sorry about the permanent wheelchair, what a shame.

When I was designing gardens, I did one for someone who was in a wheelchair. The whole garden was created with raised beds. They were of differing heights, so that it didn't look boring, and there were all sorts of things in them - including some vegetables I think. Can't quite remember. If you decide to go down that route, be sure you instruct the designer/builder to make the paths from something smooth - not gravel or slabs (unless they are perfectly laid on concrete) - and to be sure to measure your wheelchair and make certain that he allows enough path for you to be able to turn corners in one go.

In the meantime, you could get long-handled fork and hoe, cut the handles down to a length that you can use. Those + one of those 'grabber' things should enable to do enough to let you feel you are working out there. . In message , Morag in Detroit writes

I found these two on the internet. The first one does not say how it attaches to the wheelchair.

Wheelchair Totes

Small Wheelchair Tote Bag for attaching to arm of wheelchair) Bev in TX

This site has two patterns for wheelchair totes, scroll down to find them

The tote bags I've made have simple loop handles that just hang over the handles of the chair. I personally think all the tie, button and Velcro on the handle suggestions are just a worthless, time consuming bother.

After you make your tote lay it flat on a table, the back of the tote as if it was against the back of your wheelchair, slip your oxygen bottle into the tote, press the fabric with your hand so you can see how big a "channel" you'll need and give yourself a little easing room so you can slip it in and out easily and mark that. Now take out the bottle, pin the front and back of the tote and sew a seam up and down in the middle third (from top to bottom) on the tote. There ya go, your bottle will stay upright and you can use the rest of the tote for whatever.

Gardening isn't done from a chair, wheeled or otherwise. I do my gardening on my butt. Get a pair of sturdy pull on rain pants, they allow you to slide easier and give you some protection as you make your way around the garden. Grab a nice big old plastic laundry basket, a few trash bags, toss those in the laundry basket, a little bucket, toss your tools in that and put it in the basket, also load up the basket with any plants, seeds, and beverage of your choice. Put a strap on the basket to put the basket on your lap and the strap around your neck....think nightclub cigarette girl......now you can use both hands to propel that chair and head on out to the garden. Take your cell or cordless phone with you....always.

OK, now you're in your garden, work clockwise, counterclockwise, north to south, what ever makes the most sense or none at all depending on your passion for gardening. Put the basket down where are going to start gardening and just flip yourself out of that chair and onto the ground. Make note that no points are given for grace and deportment on this particular dismount maneuver however tenacious spirit, determination, and creative originality score high. As you scoot, drag or flop along the ground in your rain pants pull your basket with you. Tie a corner of the trash bag on the basket for weeds and garden waste and now you can weed, dig, fluff, dead head,plant and garden to heart's content. Push your wheelchair ahead of you, pull the basket behind you......on occasion you can make choo choo train sounds if you are so inclined. When you are done hike yourself back into your chair, the same dismount point system applies to this maneuver as well. Load up your basket and head on back into the house. Job well done and your garden looks great. Just remember there's always a plan B, C, D......and all the rest of the alphabet.

Get a fabulous big brimmed hat and wear long sleeves and lots of sun block, some medications can make you more sensitive to the sun.

No bitching, pissing, moaning or whining allowed, kiddo. Just because you can't dance doesn't mean you can't RRRRRRRROCK & ROLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!

Val

Morag, welcome to the airhead club! You will want to store as much as possible in the back, not the front of the WC. I just keep a regular bag on my lap which closes with snaps. It has 2 zippered side pockets, small for wallet, papers (medicine list, doctor'slist, etc.) and the other larger one for other stuff. It can get heavy on your lap so no kitchen sinks or elephants! It starts to get in the way in the front. There are holders for both large and small tanks which go in the back of the WC. When I was able to walk I carried a small bag to accomodate a small tank from chair to office but no longer. Gardening is doable from your WC. Study tools with long handles. I use the stand up kind. On good days I can use the shorter ones which require bending and lost of breath I can pull out bad weeds and suff without having to dig with the tools.. Make sure you get tube connectors that twist so you don't kink your tubes. Send me an email. We'll talk. P.S. Are you still quilting?

Val has some great ideas. I guess the question is what is the state of your health. Last year butt sitting was doable for me. This year I can't even find my butt! If I'm down, I don't get up without the help of two saucey, sultry, good looking hunks with tight...train of though lost for a moment. You get the picture.sd

ooh! Have I got a couple of books for you: Gene Rothert's Enabling Garden: A guide to Lifelong Gardening. At the time it was written, Gene was the manager of urban horticulture at Chicago Botanic Garden, president of the American Horticultural Therapy Assn. and a wheelchair user himself. If you get the chance to visit it, Chicago Botanic has a wonderful "enabling garden" with lots of ideas.

Kathleen Yeoman's Able Gardener: Overcoming barriers of age and physical limitations. Gardener is a nurse with a background in PT, and does a lot of improvised tools to make gardening easier with various physical issues. More:

Morag, I'm sorry to hear about the w/c. Most people at the nursing home where I work have the O2 mounted on the backs of their chairs, with a canvas tote over that. The problem with saddlebags is that they get in the way of the wheels. I had an idea for a strap on pillowcase for a thin bed pillow to go on top of the leg rests with 2 pockets on each side where it would be sticking out on the sides of your legs. Most of my patients are post surgery and expect to be out of their chairs in a few weeks, so there has been no need for me to work hard at this.

The patients have garden tables- boxes about 2 feet wide x 10 inches deep x

4, 6, or 8 feet long, with legs at each corner and on the bigger ones halfway on each long side. The flowerbed legs are high enough that the wheelchair arms will fit under the box, and the boxes are only 4-6 inches deep. Two of the boxes have posts sticking up on the ends and a crossbar the length of the bed to support strings or netting to hang vines on. They grow tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, peppers, and flowers, I think. Nothing that has to be cooked to eat it. Do you want to grow flowers, veggies, or both?

So sorry that you will need to use a wheelchair permanently. I worked with disabled adults for 13 years, but not that many in a wheelchair. My suggestion would be to make the saddlebag for the arm rest, but be sure to make it so it doesn't hang down to the wheel. Maybe put some loops at the top. At "The Dollar Tree" store I get a key chain plastic thingy that looks like a " D " and it has a spring along the straight edge. I am not in a wheelchair, but I use the " D " clip to hold 2 keychains together. I take off the one I need to start my car. These might be handy to hold things you could clip onto the saddlebag. Might be good to have a saddle bag on each arm rest.

Don't forget that you can get Velcro with a sticky back to hold your cell phone on the side of the wheelchair. This idea would work on other things that might need to be at chair level for you to reach -- pens paper pads, paint brushes, and small garden tools.. The guys use this stuff to hold a flashlight in their tool shop.

On your big bag to hold your oxygen tank, you could make plenty of pockets to hold the smaller stuff you need to carry. You might want a light weight lap quilt to hide cloth bags you can just carry next to you in the wc.

Hope my ideas help. Barbara in SC

I would browe online first to get an idea of what is available, then go to a mobility store (might be labelled as a 65+ store) and quiz them. I'd probably buy what seemed best, then if it isn't create a pattern from that to make something that worked for you. Oxygen is heavy, so it might be a case of two separate things, one being more firmly attached, I've seen them when looking at other things, thankfully, I'm pretty mobile now, but I do have a mobility scooter and what I needed for it was a crutch holder, you could get those separately or part of a tote, but I only saw oxygen carriers separately.

Cheers

Anne

Morag: Oxygen. How big of a bottle will you transport in your chair? If it is a small one, it will come with a 'tote bag' type thing that a walker might carry on the shoulder, and this works over the handle bars of the chair, too.

Gardening. I suggest you call your local State Cooperative Extension Agent. Ask for booklets and/or web site to advise on wheelchair gardening. Ask if there is a Master Gardener who is in a w/c and might be able/willing to advise you. (One of the finest MG in my MG class was in a chair. Her garden was outstanding.)

Here is site for Wayne County, which seems to be near Detroit:

is > Hi All,

My friend has changed his whole garden to raised boxes. He used the connectors sold at Lee Valley Tools and patio stones. He has an extensive vegetable garden, and has recently sold his roto-tiller, as it is easy to work in the boxes, and the soil doesn't compact down like a level garden. They have also installed some of these at the local senior's centre. They are easily accessible from a wheel chair.

Our garden is in 'steps': lowest has the roses; next has the peas, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, and green peppers; and the highest level has the corn and more peas. Asparagus and sunflowers are all along the back wall. It could be modified with a wider path along the front. We have chicken wire up as we have wild rabbits that live in our backyard at present. They will be outta here when the 'required fence' goes up next month so the wire fence could come down for easier access. Tiers are made out of rocks cemented in. We have a lot of work to do to get the soil back into 'garden friendly' form. It'll give DH something to work out this summer for fall planting time. A LOT of the seeds never even came up and the leaves of the peppers and sunflowers are gone faster than they can grow....

Butterfly