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Help with Permobil Cx00 series power wheelchair

thackerk
0 Recommendations

We are searching for a power wheelchair for my father who has ALS. In particular, we are interested in the Permobil C350/400/500 and hope there is someone out there can has a similar wheelchair that can answer our query.

We are wondering if the recline feature and power leg rest work together. That is, when you recline in the chair, will the leg rest also extend so the body is in a predominantly prone position? None of the videos on the Permobil website show these features working in tandem.

Any help or guidance will be greatly appreciated. My father is nearly a quadriplegic and we are not sure which option in wheelchairs are the best for him.

Thank you!

Ken

Explore topics in this discussion:

ALS Memory

7 replies

joe

ken, when you get a reply et me know what they say.

thackerk

Hi Joe,

I did some more research on this and found a document online that implies that the leg rest DOES extend out while the chair is reclined, but does NOT elaborate on different models. It's more of a general statement. See page 26 of this document:

http://www.alsa.org/resources/manuals.cfm?CFID=3388319&CFTOKEN=aeeb4ddd615b 81d4-9E4009A2-188B-2E62-80FF677AEF3388E7

ZenArcher

What the seating will do is dependent on what seating system is used and how it is equipped. On the Corpus seating which is used on most and the RS seating which is used for the C500 both will adjust from a seated to a prone position. With powered leg rest they will move independently of the tilt/recline.

pcormier

My husband died last week of ALS. He had/has the Corpus 400. Three controls do what you are asking. The "Recline angle" moves the the backrest. The "Tilt angle" moves the actual seat (where your butt sits). The "Legrest angle" moves the leg rest back and forth. You definitely want all three of these controls. You probably also want the "Seat lift." which raises and lowers the level of the seat .

Please write again. I would love to help you more.

pcormier

Thackerk

In rereading your question I realized I did not answer you completely. All three functions I described operate independantly from each other. This is good so you can customize and adjust your position through the day.

pcormier

jaemacdatp

Hi Ken. I am an ATP (wheelchair consultant) I don't know if this helps but there are several options. First of all, you can have the chair programmed to do either or both. Also, permobil has a memory option similar to that of your car in that you push a button and the seating system will change to a position programmed at any position you wish. As far as the 350, 400, and 500. As far as the differences, they all use the corpus seating and same electronics, the only difference is the base. The 350 is a rear wheel drive and honestly is not the best choice as it has a large turning radius and rarely is the most appropriate choice. The 300, however, is the most common as it is easily funded, is a smaller base, and has a great turning radius. The 400 and 500 are more difficult to get funded, are larger but are more appropriate outdoors. The 400 is rarely recommended as it is the longest and oddly enough the slowest. The 500 has a high speed package of 6.5 mph but is also the widest model. The 500 would be my recommendation, just make sure you have the room for a larger model. Hope this helps.

pcormier

Hi, its me again. Again, my husband had/has the 400. It was funded by the VA. I'm guessing our OT put him in it because the intent was that he would use it outdoors, also we have snow and he was a big guy. We had standard size interior doors on our bathroom. We put offset hinges on both doors (by some miracle when we built our hosue on 1980 we built "drive through" bathrooms. The offset hinges made all the difference (about 3 inches) in being able to get through the doorways

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