Instability

Today, for PT, Emily put me in a different chair.  This one is more like the one I will ultimately end up in, but it's not terribly specialized or fancy.  I spent most of the day in that chair, and I learned a lot.  I also ended the day with some concerns that I hope will be addressed.

The chair I was given didn't have much "dump".  Dump is the amount of recline of the seat bottom and back.  Emily modified the chair a little to raise the front of the seat bottom and recline the back a little, but the seating position was still pretty upright.  I wouldn't complain if it was simply a comfort issue, but putting my body in an upright position puts certain requirements on me if I want to stay in the chair.  I'm sitting bolt upright, with no abdominal muscles to stabilize myself.  Therefore, if I extend my arms in front of myself, even a little bit, I tip forward and start to fall out of the chair.  This is extremely disconcerting.

If I keep my arms at my sides or behind me, I can remain upright.  I can also use the arm rests to stay up, but then I can't do anything else with my arms.  My therapists assure me it will get better although whether they expect me to somehow learn to deal with the situation or if they expect a subsequent chair to solve the problem remains a mystery.  Either way, I have to trust that they are right.  There is no way I can function in the situation that chair puts me in.  At dinner, I had to have Andrew cut my food because I could only use one hand at a time to eat because I had to use the other hand to prop myself in the chair.  If I tried to use 2 hands over the plate, I would have instantly been face down in it.

Andrew modeling my new chair

I'm also starting to get an idea of what it means to live in a chair.  Once she got me in the chair, Emily took me downstairs and over to another building for coffee.  I had to push most of the way.  I had help with all of the doors, but the experience was enough to illustrate how difficult all that is going to be on my own.  I take solace in the fact that I've met people who have lived in chairs for decades, and they have obviously figured all this stuff out, but I'm still getting a little nervous about whether, and when I'll figure it all out.