Zippie Iris – Manual Wheelchair

Wheelchair Description:
Manual wheelchair, standard seating system, pink frame, built-in tilting system, chest harness, laterals, straps, vent tray, activity tray, oxygen holder and IV pole.

Source of Wheelchair:
Numotion

Diagnosis:
Trisomy 13

Personal Opinion:
This Paediatric wheelchair is easy to manoeuvre and transport if you only have the load of the patient with minimal baggage! In our case, my child is medically complex and requires the use of life support equipment. A load of a ventilator machine, pulse oximeter, oxygen tank, emergency bag, and the important essentials to care for a special needs child is too much load for the wheelchair. The amount of equipment my special needs child requires, causes the wheelchair to be unbalanced and tip back onto its anti-tippers. This causes an uneasy feeling as a caregiver, as I have to rely on the safety of two anti-tippers!

The current total weight of my child, equipment, and wheelchair all together is 173lbs (78.47 kg). That’s a very heavy load for a caregiver! In all fairness the wheelchair is a good piece of equipment with a comfortable seating system; it’s easy to manoeuvre on smooth levelled terrain; it is a pediatric wheelchair that can be adjusted as the child grows, but the modifications to accommodate extraordinary needs always fall short.

Currently, we can’t recline my child’s seat because the oxygen tank and vent tray are modified to the back of the wheelchair as if they were sitting on top of each other. For a child with respiratory issues positioning is very important, so not being able to recline the seat is a huge inconvenience. We hope our feedback resonates with our special needs community and more importantly, we hope it influences those who work making adaptive equipment to take the time to understand their target market!