Wheelchair seat cushion

[swimrunmom]

Hello!
We are heading to Disney in a couple of weeks. We have rented a wheelchair to come to our resort for my 16 year old who is awaiting surgery for hip dysplasia. We are bringing a donut type pillow for him to sit on, as his hip problems cause referred tailbone pain when he sits for long periods. He thinks he will be ok riding rides as they are pretty quick and he is not sitting for too long. So, this is probably a silly question, but do we leave the pillow on the wheelchair when he goes on rides? Or do we remove it and bring it with us on the rides? ( I'm guessing we would have to put it in a bag and not have him sit on it for safety??) We have never rented a wheelchair before so I don't know if it allowed to leave things on the chair.

 

[leo711]

I would think that you could leave the cushion in the wheelchair. I would put his name on the cushion. you can prop it sideways in the wheelchair even if they fold it up.
Having completed many wheelchair positioning evaluations for pt.s. I usually suggest an E-Z dish cushion. It's made special for the tailbone pain relief. Easily found on the internet. I hesitate to recommend a donut style cushion as is can cause shearing on the buttocks skin if using for an extended period of time.
Hope you and family have a wonderful time.

 

[KPeterso]

We use a wheelchair at Disneyland all the time. My mom does have a wheelchair for her wheelchair and we just leave it with the wheelchair. Also, the park back pack usually stays hanging on the back too. That backpack has nothing valuable (more like hats, blanket, phone charger, etc...). Never have had a problem leaving it that way.

 

[swimrunmom]

I would think that you could leave the cushion in the wheelchair. I would put his name on the cushion. you can prop it sideways in the wheelchair even if they fold it up.
Having completed many wheelchair positioning evaluations for pt.s. I usually suggest an E-Z dish cushion. It's made special for the tailbone pain relief. Easily found on the internet. I hesitate to recommend a donut style cushion as is can cause shearing on the buttocks skin if using for an extended period of time.
Hope you and family have a wonderful time.

Thank you for the reply and advice on the cushion!

 

[ppony]

We always leave our seat cushion and backpack w no valuables and have never had issues. a lot of the time, CMs are standing around the areas they leave the chairs. Not always, but I’ve never felt worried.

 

[SueM in MN]

I would think that you could leave the cushion in the wheelchair. I would put his name on the cushion. you can prop it sideways in the wheelchair even if they fold it up.
Having completed many wheelchair positioning evaluations for pt.s. I usually suggest an E-Z dish cushion. It's made special for the tailbone pain relief. Easily found on the internet. I hesitate to recommend a donut style cushion as is can cause shearing on the buttocks skin if using for an extended period of time.
Hope you and family have a wonderful time.

As a nurse, I was going to say the same thing about donut style cushions.
The can also cause too much skin pressure along the edges of the donut - since no weight is being put on the cutout area, there is more pressure on the edges

 

[serenitynow]

I always leave my own cushion on my rented ECV. Only problem I have with it is being asked all day where I got it from

 

[MinnieMSue]

We had a 4inch thick cushion for my dad’s wheelchair from Amazon that was amazing. It made the seat high enough he could stand up with minimal to no help. We left it on the seat when he rode the few rides he rode that the wheelchair couldn’t go in. No issues. We did not leave any other belongings in the chair.

 

[Groot]

I’d say get a thick (at least 3”) cushion. I have hip issues too and rented a powerchair last year and the model I got (Drive Cirrus Plus) had a cushion that was barely an inch thick and it would flatten like a pancake and would basically meant that I was sitting on the seat frame of the wheelchair.

By the end of the day I told my mom that chair was not worth it and that I should switch to a scooter for the rest of the week so I could be comfortable all day.

 

[RoseGold]

It’s like a stroller, you can leave whatever you want on it. ECVs are parked everywhere loaded up with tons of stuff. Throw a poncho over it if you’re worried about it.

For rides, this is a much smaller space with a lot of people around. I wouldn’t worry about anything getting taken, though I guess it could happen. If you’re worried about it, put it in a bag or something like that.

 

[elvispursley]

If it's going to be a while before surgery, I'd recommend a ROHO cushion. I broke my tail bone in a fall years ago and don't have much, er, "natural padding" on my backside. I have to use a ROHO when I sit in an airplane, bleacher, movie seat, office chair, etc. They're not inexpensive and am letting my mom use mine in her scooter when we go this summer. I plan to bike-lock it to her scooter if we aren't heading into a show.