About those Medicare scooters ----- I know a lot of people

[hedgehog]

sneer at them, but I just wish my FIL had one. As it is, he can't use one in his house so I doubt it'd help him much. I see a lot of them in action helping a lot of people get around.

Knowing how many people resist the use of even a cane, I'd think twice before accusing those using scooters of being lazy.

[nc4bo]

1. Sorry hedgehog but what's your post in reference to?

Been gone for a bit so may have missed it. Who said scooters weren't helpful?

BTW, I agree they do help many people who can no longer walk due to health conditions.

[JVS]

6. It's a flamewar from DU past.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=1033892&mesg_id=1033892

[NYC_SKP]

10. Title: "So What's With These Little Scooters That Lazy People Ride Around On?"

I wonder why that post went so wrong...

:P

[nc4bo]

14. Just going by the title alone: oh dear. nt

[nc4bo]

13. k, thanks JVS. nt

[pipoman]

2. I work in a retirement community

and see the good and the bad with these. The good is that some are able to maintain their independence longer because of decreased risk of falling and mobility within their home as well as in the community. The bad is that it contributes to a sedentary lifestyle. They are sometimes used as an alternative to otherwise painful physical therapy after a joint replacement or other medical procedure. It is also sometimes used to reduce the need for physical exercise for weight loss. A small version which may help your fil is the "Jazzy" powerchair, they can go about anyplace a person can go.

http://www.pridemobility.com/jazzy/

[Viva_La_Revolution]

5. I've seen the bad too..

Gram bought one for herself because of slight arthritis in her hips. She used that damn thing instead of walking even in the house, and now cannot move without extreme pain.

[TreasonousBastard]

12. My mother lives in such a place and the scooters are...

a godsend good for many of the residents but not only do they discourage walking, there is that bumper car thing-- sometimes it's damn near a demolition derby in the halls.

And some of them take up more space than wheelchairs (and can break your leg if you get nailed by one).

[shraby]

3. I've seen many people able to get to the grocery store

by themselves with a scooter..my son-in-law's mother inherited one from another person in the assisted living place where she is. She can get to the library, store, and even take a ride on the walking trail here that runs along the lakeshore.

I've seen others using them to go shopping locally. Saves them from having to wait or ask for someone to be free to take them.
When people are in their late 70s and 80s they are a blessing.
I agree, if they need one, they should have one.

One more thing..those joint replacements don't always turn out well. No guarantee that a doctor is going to do it right and return mobility to a person..seen that happen also.

[pipi_k]

11. The joint replacement problem...

I agree...joint replacements don't always work out well at all.

Mr Pip has been suffering for years with really bad knees. His PCP told him 7 or 8 years ago that he should get them replaced. I didn't want him to. Well, October of 2009 he had his left one done. He wanted both done but the surgeon wouldn't do both. OK so he had one done.

Now he's sorry.

It's more painful than it was before it was done. He has morphine for when the pain gets really bad. He doesn't like taking it, but sometimes it's necessary.

He's glad he didn't get both done at the same time, and he said he would not get the other one done.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. They are very expensive to buy on your own. Medicare will pick up the bill

(or part of it) if a doctor prescribes it, which basically means that the person is too disabled to walk on his own. My dad had one (actually a motorized wheelchair), and he was able to use it in his apartment - but at first it was like pulling teeth to get him to agree to the thing. He didn't want to admit that he needed it, but eventually he was glad to have it because trying to walk had become much too tiring for him. The thing made it possible to get out of his apartment and see people in the senior complex he lived in, which was important. They are great gadgets, and they can make a huge difference in the quality of an elderly person's life. It never occurred to me to assume someone was lazy because they used a scooter or electric wheelchair.

Every now and then a guy goes by my house in the bike lane in a power chair - at a pretty good clip. He is evidently paraplegic because he seems to be controlling the chair by blowing into a tube. But he's all by himself. So here's a person who became more independent because of this device.

Of course, if they cut Medicare/Medicaid, there goes another thing that helps people. These devices are typically $5K and up, so a lot of people wouldn't be able to afford them on their own.

[spooked911]

7. I think people get more upset seeing middle aged very obese people on them

not so much the elderly.

[alfredo]

8. There was a quadriplegic on my mail route that used one. He'd get stoned and

drunk, climb onto his scooter and bomb around the neighborhood. He'd have this shit-eating grin on his face. I'd never deny a guy some joy.

[Dappleganger]

9. *snort*

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[hedgehog]

15. Sorry to post and run this morning - I had to leave. I just saw a passing reference

elsewhere to the scooters as an example of Medicare waste, abuse and fraud.

I've battled my own weight for 20 years, and I know I don't eat grotesque amounts of food or the wrong food and I do get moderate exercise. From what I've read, the only known way to lose weight and keep it off is bariatric surgery, which has its own risks. It doesn't make sense to me that surgery is the only real response to obesity. Something else is going on worldwide. Until someone comes up with better answers, if a scooter helps a person get around, I'm all for it. At the same time, maybe a Medicare reform we need is more physical therapy for those ( like the person with arthritis) who could benefit. Maybe the scooters are a cheap way to provide mobility, just lie pills are sometimes used in place of talking therapy for depression. Pills and scooters have their place, but not for every case.