Norah's Wheels

The last month Norah has been going to the site that provides her physical therapy instead of coming to our home. There Norah has been using a Kaye reverse walker and loving the independence she has with it. Every time she has a beaming smile that you can see from across the room, so proud of herself using a walker. Our therapist, Emily, who does such wonderful work with Norah, said it would be a good time to get Norah her own walker.

I checked with our insurance company, and they will cover a walker but at this point it would go to our deductible.  I had a prescription to get it, unfortunately I had a hard time finding a business that was able to order the walker with the specs we needed. The insurance company had given me a list of businesses, none of which was able to help us. After an Internet search I found a great price for the walker and was going to chance buying it, then submit a claim.

Before I actually bought the walker from the Internet, I found out about Katy's Kloset. This place is truly remarkable, it is a library of medical equipment. They take donated medical equipment, and loan it to those who need it. Keep it as long as you'd like or need, just please return it when you are done and let others know about it. I was nearly overcome with emotion (it could be the pregnancy hormones, but still) seeing the rows of walkers, standers, strollers, wheelchairs, commodes and bath chairs. There were also lots of other miscellaneous medical supplies.

Norah loved picking out her walker. We had a hard time finding all the pieces to make the Kaye walker she needed. Most did not have wheels, or were missing legs, but I kept looking at this purple walker thinking it might work. As Jason and one of the volunteers were working on putting pieces together, I started playing with the purple walker. I adjusted it to it's lowest height and tightened all the adjustable parts, then brought Norah over to check it out. It was meant to be, she took off down the aisle at full speed. I think she was about to start running. It's slightly higher then what is ideal, but she'll grow into it. We cannot figure what brand it is, we just know it was made in Germany, that's it's only identifier. Jason is off to ACE Hardware to see if he can find a caps to put on the ends where some are missing, then to the drugstore/medical supply store to see if he can find new hand grips for it.

Check out Norah using her new wheels.

It's a simple idea that has been put into action. I'm sure there are lots of people out there that don't know what to do with their old/outgrown equipment. I think every community needs a place like this one.