Buying a wheelchair is more complicated than you might think. There are dozens of options, which I expected, but little in the way of advice about which options are the right ones. For example, do I want hard or soft castors? Why the hell would they be soft? What size should the castors be?

More importantly, what camber (tilt angle) do I want the wheels set to and how should the centre of gravity be configured? I want the chair to be comfortable and manoeuvrable for everyday use, but I also want to minimise the energy I need to push it over long distances. It seems as though these things ought to be trade-offs, but I’ve no idea how to work out what’s best for me.

Fortunately, finding stuff like this out is what this blog is about, so sooner or later, there will be answers!

Sooner, hopefully. When I ordered the chair, the company sent me a ridiculously confusing order form with tick and/or number boxes for each option. I worked through it as well as I could and asked for advice with the rest. When I have it, I’ll spill it and the chair will be ordered.

I’ve no idea how long after that it will be until I get my fetid claw on the chair itself. I’m guessing at least a month.

I chose the colour, though, which is the main thing.