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Joystick Placement
I can’t remember if I’ve posted about this before, but for the longest time I always had my joystick placed at the end of the right armrest on my chair. Once I got my current wheelchair though in 2017, I moved it farther to the left, and had part of my tray cut out to make room for it. This way, my right hand is a little closer to my tray, and I can move it back and forth a little easier.
However, the only downside to this is that the joystick itself is in a pretty tight space. It’s right in between my hip support and my tray. I try to keep it elevated a bit, so that I can still recline my chair back and forth. Earlier today though, I tilted forward a tad too much while trying to move my hand toward my phone, and the joystick got stuck. It sort of jammed against my tray, and it was a bit comical because of the position I was in. My robotic arm was in the air, and the hand was holding a cup of peanut butter crackers. Fortunately the chair was not on driving mode, and I could still reach the switch to turn it off. Still, I was stuck there for a few minutes, as my Mom was out picking up my niece from preschool.
Somehow, I was able to move the joystick just a bit so I could recline the chair back, but I was frustrated there for a minute. It would have been more concerning if I had been home by myself for a longer period of time, but thankfully I managed.
Anyway, this incident got me thinking about where people position the joysticks on their chairs, and how the slightest movement can make a difference.
Can you all relate?
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1 Reply
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Mine’s on the left. I tried putting it on the right a few years ago, but I didn’t like it, because I couldn’t multitask. My left hand struggles a lot, so I should probably just bite the bullet and move it to the right.
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