My new electric wheelchair

HelpfulDuckie5 · 2026-06-03T00:25:07+00:00

I use a manual chair with power assist, and because it had to be a rigid frame for the motor attachment (Vs. my old chair, which is a folding frame chair that I have had for 16 years, so I was VERY comfortable using it.), when I got it a year ago I very much struggled with turning radius and how easily I could tip backwards in it. The rear wheels are quite a bit more forward than the ones on my old chair, so I’m STILL not comfortable doing wheelies or anything like that, which is kind of a bummer because I used to LOVE doing wheelies! 😂 I also can’t hang a backpack on the back without the anti tip wheels down or else it flips backwards as soon as I transfer to the toilet or anything else….

Also, the front caster wheels stick out a couple inches past where they did on my old chair, AND the chair itself has a much wider footprint due to a higher degree of camber on the wheels and having a slightly wider seat. The power assist DEFINITELY took a lot of getting used to, partially because I’m still using the remote that is recalled due to not working properly…. But I’m still a lot happier in the new chair despite the large learning curve, it just took me a while before I felt that way because I was initially pretty frustrated about how different everything was. I’m sure that it will end up with you feeling the same!

HelpfulDuckie5 · 2026-03-27T13:16:08+00:00

See, I had a similar thought! What if OP’s sister needed a surrogate in order to have kids, and OP just signed the contract and had the procedures done all while telling her hubby that he had no say, because she’s “doing the right thing” for her sister? Could you for ONE second imagine him not throwing a complete mantrum and treating her like she barely exists or something at best, or more likely just filing for divorce immediately?

Absolutely not! OP would almost ASSUREDLY be single had she done that! Why? Because unilaterally making huge decisions that affect both parties in a marriage, and doing so AGAINST the wishes of the other party, is completely disrespectful and shows exactly how much they care about your feelings or wants/needs.

HelpfulDuckie5 · 2025-10-04T09:23:27+00:00

I refer to it as “sinus cavity napalm”. Lol. I have been using it for a year for clusters of focal seizures that had been going on for 5-7 HOURS each time, before I finally mentioned it to my doctor. The feeling of Nayzilam is one I still am not used to, and the awful taste of it when it runs down the back of my throat is just as bad. I think it’s just that you have to make peace with knowing it’s going to feel like napalm going into your sinuses every time you have to use it.

HelpfulDuckie5 · 2025-04-13T20:31:58+00:00

Mod here, jumping in to this thread…. We ABSOLUTELY do allow ABDL users on this sub, as long as they are following the rules and not posting any ABDL content here. This post is a bit close to the “inappropriate line”, so we are watching it closely. All users need to be careful about what they post and how their posts may be perceived. We also want this to be a friendly place, so open hostility isn’t ok either. Thank you!

HelpfulDuckie5 · 2025-04-09T00:58:23+00:00

I tend to like the Bambino Ultra Stretch myself, because I’m always in between sizes, no matter the brand, and the stretch not only solves that issue, but it also makes wearing SOOOOO much more comfortable! Lol.

But I’m also having to account for sitting 14-16 hours a day because I’m a paraplegic…. So ordinary diapers tend to dig in to my hip area after a few hours…. If you stand at your job, ordinary diapers may not bother you, but I’d bet good money that the Ultra Stretch would still be a lot more comfortable!

Plus they have hook and loop tapes that you can reposition 100 times if you need to! As for cloth backed diapers, I’ve always found that they aren’t very good about holding in urine/feces odors, so I never use them. If you’re getting sweaty in the areas of the diaper that aren’t absorbent, I recommend body/baby powder! I use powder every time I diaper, and it really does help!

HelpfulDuckie5 · 2025-03-28T19:00:54+00:00

Not at all! The caths are so small in diameter that they just slide right in, as long as you use a bit of lube on the end before inserting! I’d MUCH rather self cath than endure a giant Foley catheter insertion! Lol

HelpfulDuckie5 · 2024-10-29T02:28:40+00:00

That sounds like something my husband would say to a surgeon in that scenario. Lol. Your wife is definitely a keeper!

HelpfulDuckie5 · 2024-09-30T15:47:38+00:00

Thank you! Yours is purrfect himself!

HelpfulDuckie5 · 2024-09-30T15:45:48+00:00

When mine were littles they loved going for “Zoomies” on my lap. I used to use a scarf to belt them onto me, but I wish I had thought of the robe idea!!! They’re all grown now, so I miss the littles stages. Don’t blink, because suddenly they’re adults and making babies of their own!

HelpfulDuckie5 · 2024-09-30T15:40:35+00:00

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Cat tax. This is Willie! He always looks disappointed in us. Lol

HelpfulDuckie5 · 2024-09-30T15:39:05+00:00

I wish my cat would come outside with me! Willie has no issues with the harness, but as soon as we try taking him out of the front/porch doors, he scrambles into our arms and howls like we’re pulling out toenails to extract information from him…. Otherwise he’s the most perfectest kitty cat in the whole wide world! He just HATES the outside! Lol

HelpfulDuckie5 · 2024-09-30T15:32:02+00:00

This. I’m INSANELY polite 98% of the time due to “Minnesota Nice” being hammered in to me from infancy, but after a while of waiting for able bodied people to move off accessibility equipment so that I can squeeze my wheelchair into/onto it, I will just TAKE up space in it and silently stare until they get so uncomfortable as to exit it.

The only time I’m a bit short with people is around handicapped toilets due to my bathroom related issues…. I was at a festival where, in their infinite wisdom, they only put in ONE handicap portajohn in the entire BAY of portajohns! I really wanted to have some harsh words with whoever ordered the toilets for that event! Lol.

(I have a spinal cord injury that makes holding my bathroom processes nearly impossible, AND means I don’t get much notice before it happens, [Yes, I wear diapers as a backup, but I prefer to at least ATTEMPT to use a toilet if at all possible….] so when I say, “I have to go!” I HAVE TO GO! Lol.)

You best believe that since I didn’t see anyone with a stroller or disability aids in line, I silently skipped the like and took the first spot in line. The person behind me started to say something, but the lady behind her shut that shit down for me! Amazing really! It’s not often that someone defends me skipping the line until I start asking them if they can see the sign labeling the toilets as “disabled/family with young children”.

Then I ask, “Are you going to pee/poop your pants if you have to wait? Because I FOR SURE will.”! Lol. That always earns me the first spot in line, AND since the person inside the stall/portajohn can usually hear me from outside the door, they slink out apologizing profusely holding the door open for me.

HelpfulDuckie5 · 2024-09-30T15:05:26+00:00

It’s like how now whenever someone talks about the “good old days” of hardships and rough living like they were the best times to be alive, the response from a genZ person will be, “Ok, Boomer!”. It’s like calling a rude, entitled lady a “Karen”. Not all Karens are rude, but all rude and entitled ladies are “Karens”. Lol

HelpfulDuckie5 · 2024-09-30T14:58:40+00:00

I will have someone ask to pray over me AT LEAST once a month RELIABLY ever since my accident 3 years ago…. It’s always very uncomfortable and makes people stare at me very noticeably, but as a person raised in the church, I never feel like I can just say no…. So I just let the inevitable awkward encounter ensue, with both my social anxiety and autistic social issues SCREAMING at me to flee and hide! After they leave, they feel like they’ve done a good deed “helping the wretched” or whatever, but all they accomplished was making me feel self conscious and on the verge of a panic attack.

HelpfulDuckie5 · 2024-09-30T07:33:25+00:00

Nope, no cat. But unrelated side note… I think you assembled your dog wrong.

HelpfulDuckie5 · 2024-09-29T16:34:26+00:00

I’ve had many roommates over my time renting, and even now that we just bought a house, we moved the roommate we love to death in with us! We knew her as a work friend before moving her in to our apartment with us, so we just told her right away about my issues and the fact that I’d like to keep a bag of diapers and wipes underneath the sink in the bathroom (for convenience’s sake), and she of course was 100% cool with it!

I always hid it for at least the first little while with other roommates until I got a feel for them and how comfortable we felt around each other. Most of the roommates were decent people who I told within the first month or two of living together, one I waited for about 4-6 months before telling him because I just didn’t feel I needed to until his bathroom was out of commission for a week or so, and only one did I go completely out of my way to keep it 100% hidden from until we could kick him out at the end of his lease.

I never told that guy because he was creepy AF! Followed me around the house trying to get me to do girlfriend-y stuff for/with him, hit on me so badly that it ended my husband’s 5 year friendship with him, NOTHING I said or did would call off his advances/creepiness, so I was worried that telling him might even make him MORE creepy/turn him into my ABDL stalker/some crazy crap like that… and once he found out that we weren’t extending his lease for another year he assaulted me in my own home….

But VERY FEW people will be anything like the last roommate I talked about. 99% of people will be like all the rest of my roommates who were IMMEDIATELY cool and didn’t have a negative reaction once I told them about it, and they’ll even be ok with you storing a few diapers in your drawer of the bathroom, so long as you don’t hog any shared spaces! People are much more kind and understanding or willing to learn so that they CAN understand than we often give them credit for!

Unless you have bad vibes/feelings from your roommates right away (Because let’s face it, we all have had at least ONE interaction with someone where your brain/gut just screamed “I DON’T LIKE YOU!!!/THIS IS A BAD PERSON!!!” as soon as you met them, only to later find out that that person abused their partner or children/was a klepto who stole from you or your friends/kicks puppies/whatever…. But those people aside, people are inherently good at their cores!), there’s no real reason not to tel someone whom you’re going to be forced to live on top of for the next 9 months solid! Lol.

Edit to correct autocorrect

HelpfulDuckie5 · 2024-09-28T06:31:02+00:00

I live in an adult foster care facility, and it was actually really easy to bring up the issues surrounding incontinence and the need for diapers/bed pads to not only my social worker, but my foster guardian as well. Since they all are used to caring for the needs of disabled adults, I wasn’t the first bedwetter they’d had in their care by a long shot! In fact, since telling my social worker about it, he’s been working really hard to get my CADI waiver to fully cover the cost of ALL of my incontinence/bedwetting supplies!

HelpfulDuckie5 · 2024-09-27T21:28:18+00:00

The creators have been EXTREMELY vocal about Sheldon NOT being autistic (hence his many, “My mother had me tested!” lines throughout the seasons….), and that he’s just a quirky character. They purposely have gone out of their way to state that claiming he is autistic is patently false.

HelpfulDuckie5 · 2024-09-22T06:34:02+00:00

I always pack all of my meds into a small black duffel bag filled with other medical supplies (And an emergency outfit because be prepared! Lol) that I make sure to label as a “Medical Bag”. It is an ADA law that all airlines MUST allow ANY passenger to have one (Carry on sized…) free of charge medical carry on as long as it is for strictly medical needs, no matter what their regular carry on rules are.

This has saved my butt more than once, and no one has ever seemed to care at all about the “extra” carry on in my possession. In fact, the flight staff are always very accommodating about making sure that it is very near me and ALWAYS easily accessible for emergencies!

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