mobility

matt360

im not sure what to do.

my elderly parents care for my sister. they have just chose a nissan leaf on motability. with a high lip on the boot which is hard enough to put a manual w.chair in. but unable to fit the electric chair in. they chose this car as they can no longer 'lift' the electric w.chair... Also my sister gets shoved in the back with difficulty as my dad is neuro diverse and sees himself as a 'co pilot' when he sits in the passenger seat- yet my dad is not under any pip or mobility part of pip and has no issues with public transport and such.

At the moment i am sofa surfing and staying at my parents as oppose to be homeless. I csnt rock the boat too much or i will be out on the streets. My Sister also has limited voice when communicating their needs, as both parents have well evolved ways to getting their own way.

I have just recently started living there- and want to be sensitive to different family cultures. every family has their odd ways off getting by.

There is love, and care in many ways- but its a very tricky situation.

matt360

the result of this, is that the electric chair now stays in the conservatory and my sister has lost that part of their independence in one fowl swoop

Alex_Alumni

Hello there @matt360 and thank you for reaching out, I'm sorry to hear how tricky things are for you at the moment.

I can understand how your sister has lost the independence of using her electric wheelchair, now that your parents needed to change the car they are using.

Did they consider getting a car boot hoist adaption at any point, which could help them with lifting the chair? I'm aware that these adaptions do sometimes come at additional cost, and you can find out more from Motability if it would help.

I'm sorry to hear that you've been having to sofa surf as well, have you been able to reach out to any organisations for support, like Shelter? It can be tricky to balance relationships with family in these situations, so please reach out for support if you need it.

Can I ask what support your sister is getting at the moment, either from your parents, or her GP, or your local authority, just so that I can understand things more fully?  

matt360

thankyou I suggested the hoist. Still working on the shelter thing

Alex_Alumni

I see, thanks for explaining @matt360, I'm sorry they weren't keen on the idea of a hoist. Let us know if we can help with anything further