It is often only a short moment and suddenly everything changes. A stroke usually comes unprepared and then quick intervention is called for. The effects can also be very different, some are lucky and get away with minor restrictions after a rehabilitation phase, some have a very difficult way back to life ahead of them. This also applies to mobility: Will I be able to drive a car independently again or which wheelchair can make my life or the rehabilitation phase easier.
Stefan was lucky because everything suddenly changed for him a year ago. A stroke turned Stefan's life completely upside down. The left side of his body was severely impaired: From then on, he was dependent on outside help in everyday life, and even driving a car was no longer possible without outside help. With great difficulty, he fought his way back into everyday life, his professional life and his mobility. An important milestone: his new adapted car.
To pick up his Ford Puma, he came to the PARAVAN mobility park in Aichelau wearing a very special T-shirt - "PARAVAN - I say thank you". The mobility consultants were surprised; this kind of thing doesn't happen often. "Everything changes," the 55-year-old domestic technician answered spontaneously when asked how his life would change with the car. "You just take back your life, your freedom, your independence!" In the future, he will drive an automatic vehicle. He will steer with the help of the PARAVAN MulitMote with his right hand. The multifunctional steering wheel knob can be used to operate the vehicle's most important secondary functions. It also ensures a return to work.
"Most often, customers come to us with limitations on the right or left side of the body," reports mobility consultant Joachim Glück. In this case, for example, a pedal shift from right to left can be installed in the vehicle, which can be switched at the touch of a button. If one hand is also impaired, a steering wheel knob or a multifunction knob - such as the PARAVAN MultiMote, which integrates the vehicle's most important secondary functions - can be installed. If the customer is dependent on a wheelchair, other conversions are also possible, such as a wheelchair loading device or a slide board. Even in the case of greater impairments, individual solutions can be found, such as the use of a cassette lift or the Space Drive driving and steering system for accelerator and brake.
PARAVAN GmbH also has solutions in its portfolio for more difficult cases. Be it ride-on solutions in the vehicle sector or wheelchair solutions. For example, the use of the PARAVAN PR 40 stand-up wheelchair or the PARAVAN Biolution therapy wheelchair can provide a significant therapeutic advantage. For example, if mobility has been completely lost on one side of the body, a stand-up wheelchair can provide an enormous therapeutic advantage. Patients can once again actively participate in family life and, if necessary, go on small excursions. Standing exercises are thus also possible independently at home, which are otherwise only possible in the context of rehabilitation or at the therapist's with a standing board. Corresponding standing curves can be stored directly in the RNet control of the wheelchair.
"Uprighting the patient also has an extremely positive effect on the entire circulatory system, the entire central and autonomic nervous system and breathing, which can positively influence the rehabilitation process," adds Stefan Ludwig, head of wheelchair systems at PARAVAN GmbH. In addition, the tilting or reclining function of the wheelchair can relieve pressure on the buttocks or ischial tuberosities and the diaphragm, allowing patients to breathe more easily. Thus, the standing wheelchairs offer an optimal possibility of mobilization and are an important building block for active participation in everyday life.
