Jason Parsons of Stalls Medical and Adaptive Vans in North Carolina shares how power wheelchair technology has rapidly evolved, from phone connectivity to alternate drive controls, giving people with ALS greater mobility and independence.
Transcript
Jason Parsons with Stalls Medical and Adaptive Vans. I’ve been doing this for 22 years now.
The population that I live in, the ALS world, the power chair has really taken off in technology and stuff like that. I think that it’s amazing where we started just even six, seven years ago to now. The technology that we have is unbelievable.
The stuff I can do just with my phone to the power chair. A lot has changed.
You’ve gone from one or two manufacturers power chair wise, to now there’s three or four good ones out there. They have all the Bluetooth capabilities.
They have diversities in driving, whether that’s with your head, your chin, a baby finger, your feet, left or right foot. It’s just amazing what we can do now.
I’ve got people that they drive with their knees and they drive with their head. It’s just a great combination that just seven, eight years ago, that was just like a far-fetched future thing that you’re going to drive left to right with your knees and you’re going to go forwards and backwards with your head.
That’s crazy. There’s no way that’s happening. And it’s happened on a regular basis now.
And it’s pretty cool because at the end of the day, this gives that person, that end user, all the freedom and mobility that they need at their knees, or their head or wherever we put the alternate drive control. It’s super cool.
The day-to-day business that I do is fulfilling that need to keep that person up and running. And whether it’s through a text message, email, FaceTime call, or just simply getting out to the house to help them look to the next possibility of where we need to make this happen with an alternate drive control or something of that nature to keep that freedom and that independency going. That’s an everyday thing.
The majority of my customers that I deal with, they have my cellphone. So that Christmas Eve FaceTime call, my chair’s stopped, it won’t work. I FaceTime and we work through it. We move on. It’s almost a 24/7, 365, but it’s always gratifying that I can do over a text message. OK, look at this. Oh, well, that just worked, great. They move on. Everybody’s happy and the day continues on.
We are in position — memory seating No. 1. This is her relief. The pressure relief.
OK, pull back. And now she pulls it back and lets it go. And then she comes right back up. So this is that new technology that I was talking about.
Make them as comfortable as possible and make it see what you can do to adapt the chair to make them as independent as possible as well, too. So that’s the tough part. But also the most gratifying part, because at the end of the day, you’re doing your best. You’re keeping them happy and comfortable.
The best way to make sure you find a good DME provider that works with your insurance is simply call your insurance company, say, “OK, who’s my in-network provider for durable medical equipment DME?” And then they’ll give you a list and then call and start asking questions in this, that, and another and see how they meet your needs over the phone.
And is that person relevant for you to pursue getting your durable medical equipment through them?
