Dad has mild memory loss (can’t work a washing machine or remember where he’s going), cataracts, poor hearing and is unsteady on his feet. He had his driving license taken off him 10 years ago. He’s now decided he wants a mobility scooter to cruise the narrow, steep roads with fast cars to go down to the shops. Very uneven pavements too. Should we discourage him? Do you need medical approval?
About 5 years ago, he road it into the hospital (FYI, he can barely even get the thing in the house, forget about actually using it IN the house) from the car, for a surgery where the surgeon swore to him he would WALK out ( that in and of itself is another ridiculous story). He could not even walk back to the pre-op and all of their oversized wheelchairs were in use, so they stored his scooter back behind the 'medical personnel only' doors. 12 hours later, imagine that...he ISN'T walking out of the hospital as promised. He is being admitted to the hospital until they can find him a rehab (where he would stay for nearly 3 months to get even a tiny bit of mobility back...sorry....bitter about that one...it was elective) Anyway, we had to gather the scooter. My SIL and I had never even been on one, so please queue comedic music as we tried to navigate that thing from the surgical ward to his room in the same hospital. I had absolutely no idea how fast that thing could be, how to stop it or how much room it actually took up until that day. Getting on and off of elevators...you'd better hope you get one alone LOL.
In our history with it, he has nearly run over small children backing up, cars have had to slam on brakes in the parking lot because he will ride directly behind parking spots at full speed without looking at reverse lights. In his mind he has the right of way - which ok I guess....but he doesn't do any due diligence to protect himself. He ran over my foot in an elevator (thankfully he caught just the toe of my boot and didn't actually hurt me, I managed to jerk my foot back as it was happening). He has left more tire marks in the oddest places. That thing is a danger I promise you. But he is so heavy at this point that pushing him is a lot of work in a wheelchair. Most hospitals don't have the oversized ones readily available - we usually have to ask for one if we are not taking him in with the scooter.
And as big as it is, (it weighs a lot) and as stable as it is - on 4 wheels and a big base....it can STILL turn over and has.
I've very biased I guess. I know they fulfill a purpose and they are lifesavers for a lot of people. I'm not going to lie and say we are not 100% dependent on his now. But if you can avoid it, please do. They are often much more trouble than they are worth and the more dependent, the more interventions you need to continue to use them. When you get into the 4 wheel, bigger base, stable ones...a lift of the car is usually necessary. Then it was a lift to get it from the garage to the door level. The thing can't be used in the house, so there are walkers EVERYWHERE to get him from point A to point B, a lift to get him upstairs of course. And the benefits don't necessarily outweigh the loss of mobility that comes with sitting down and being able to move quickly versus using a walker and having to expend energy. I'm not a huge fan!
You say they are mild memory issues but all it takes is a matter of seconds to have an accident. This is a safety issue.
Sure, it’s sad that you can’t please him by not allowing him to have independence but safety has to come first.
Best wishes to you and your family.
How often do you think he would go? Maybe load a little money on a credit card and attach it to an uber account. He could call someone to order the uber so he could get to the shops. If he's not that far from the shops, maybe a cab. If this is something regular he wants to do, maybe he has a friend who you could set up a deal with to take him on certain days of the week - might walk around with him - or have a prearranged time to be picked up. Just pay the friend enough to make it worth his while, for time and gas.
He can't see, can't hear, and is unsteady on his feet. Can't operate a washing machine and doesn't remember where he is going. O_o
So yor going to turn him loose on the streets? He could crash into something, not hear pedestrians, ram into them, or traffic, and fall getting on /off. No way should he have a scooter! A plethora of safety issues. What if he falls and breaks a hip? Runs into a car, child/pedestrians? Its more like-how long till the first accident. And the legal issues of turning him loose. They could come after you too.. Danger, Danger Will Robinson!!!
If he still wants one and you think he could use it at home, make sure the scooter is small enough to fit through doorways. Scooters are set at 4 or 5 MPH, and are not meant to be driven on the streets with auto traffic. They must be used on the sidewalk, unless you live in a very small community with light traffic and no sidewalks. A 4-wheel scooter is less likely to tip over than a 3-wheel scooter. To keep the batteries in good condition the scooter needs to be recharged at least every other day even if not used.
I’ve been using a scooter for 5 years and love my independence. My small town only has a post office, so I don’t travel far. It’s mostly used at home. Since Covid came along, I lost my housekeeper, and have had to learn to sweep, mop, and vacuum my home while on the scooter. I can still drive my car, but cannot walk. Transferring from car to scooter can be a challenge. Other times I can put it on the lift on my car and go to town and shop several stores or visit museums and other events. Senior transportation is another way to get to town with a scooter.
Good luck. I know how your Dad feels.
There are many different scooters available. Prices start about $700.00 and up over $4000.00. Pride and Golden are both good brands.
I live in a bike friendly city, so most roads have safe lanes for "pedestrian" traffic. It touches my heart when I see people that I know would otherwise be isolated in their homes. They do serve a good purpose, under the right conditions.
Bless You! Dr Jack Grenan
Encourage him to give it a chance, after the 1st time they are not so new and as time goes on perhaps they can become friends.
One thing that I have learned, parents like, some love, to complain about everything and anything, so not responding or acting upon the complaints they have has been very helpful and usually it isn't a complaint that they want me to address, they just want to make sure that I never forget how mistreated they are by me. Misery loves company is so true with my parents.
If he says he doesn't like the idea of being with someone new, tell him that it is a friend he just hasn't met yet and keep encouraging him to find things that he does enjoy about the person.
Best of luck. I do feel for your sister, shopping with a senior is very difficult for me. The slooowneeessss makes my body hurt, I just let them get ahead of me and catch up or visa-versa, I always have something that I am looking for, something new that I have never tried before, so that does help, but it is brutal. Give her a big thank you for doing what she can.
I didn't live near my mom, but when I went to visit, I saw a lot of evidence of her having many many many accidents with that scooter in the house. She would be sitting on her scooter, fall asleep, and accidentally turn the speed up...then she'd halfway wake up and her hand would hit the throttle and she'd crash into the wall. Or she wouldn't realize her leg was dangling off the side of the scooter and she's scrape it along the wall causing it to bleed. There were marks all over the walls where she had slammed into them, blood everywhere. She destroyed the house with the scooter...it was pretty terrifying.
One time she wanted to go to Disney World with me and my kids...she rented a scooter...she wasn't on the thing for more than 10 seconds before she ran me down and knocked me over. This happened SEVERAL times that day. She also hit other people. I still don't know if that happened because she was impaired or because she just didn't care. It is really sad to see someone lose their independence. I don't look forward to it myself...but we have to be careful with things like that...getting run over by a dang scooter is not fun!
Dementia gives you permission to tell white lies for their safety, because reasoning no longer works.
requires a license or
requires a doctor’s note or
can’t be driven on the streets or
whatever else you can think of that he would accept.
My dad had one that he used around the house when he was too weak to walk (Parkinson’s) and he would sit in the driveway. But he never wanted to go any further. His interest in it faded and there it sits.
As others noted, the more he can ambulate on his own, the better. One thing my mother harped on my dad about was Use it or Lose it! When her turn arrived... even after mentioning this to her, she just laughed and said yeah. Didn't change anything. When she moved into MC she was fully mobile and could do more self-care on her own (moved due to memory and safety issues, after she refused to let aides into her place.) Over time, sitting too much (her big thing, even before the move, was to sit and read stuff - newspapers, magazines, and her favorite - sales flyers!) led to non-use, which leads to weakness (AND weight gain!)
It was probably around the2 year mark that she asked for a rollator. I had the walker and rollator dad used stored here, so brought it to her. She did fine with that for over a year, but STILL would spend most of the day sitting and reading. Others would walk after meals, at least a few loops around the place. Not mom. Eventually this has resulted in refusal to stand or walk without help, partly due to weakness and weight gain, partly due to fear of falling. Even worse, too much sitting along with her (treated) high BP, she recently had a stroke. Made moving her even more difficult.
Find ways to get him up and walking, even with a walker or rollator. To the store is probably too far, but there must be places he can walk that might at least be interesting or fun. If someone can drive him to the store, make sure he WALKS around in the store - don't let him use one of the store scooters, if they have them!
Why does your sister always have to take him? Is there any other family members close that could take him? Maybe he just needs to get out of the house. I can relate to that.
Could you or someone else devote a day to get him and take him for a ride somewhere? My daughter does that for her dad. She told me that after church today, she is taking him out for lunch and they are going to go to a nearby lake so he can take photos. He loves playing with cameras and videos. Then during the week he can play with the photos he took today. It gets him out of the AL and also gives him something to do during the week.
These are not road safe.
My Dad had 1 and after the second time, with the police bringing him back in a police van with the scooter we donated it to the VFW. He would get lost, go on the roads that speed limits were 55mph. He used his arm to signal lane changes 😱😱.
No No No
If you do get a scooter, avoid a 3 wheeler. They’re prone to tipping.
At age 67, I bought a scooter for myself from Israel - the Moving Life Atto. Researched it on the internet. Good you tube videos help with instructions. Comes apart in 2 pieces and I could get it in back seat of my Toyota Corolla (one part weighs a bit, but I managed). I have spinal arthritis issues, overdid exercising my legs in the pool and wound up with chronic hip bursitis. Never knew from day to day if my legs would work for any distance, so I got the Atto scooter. Used it a few times in the shopping mall, taking it on the DC metro to see museums. Thankfully and unpredictably, my bursitis started to resolve after two years. So now I walk everywhere (too much doing steps will give me hip pain though - and no pool exercises again). I charge the scooter battery every couple months to keep it usable. The Atto folds up and looks like a carry-on suitcase. I keep it in my coat closet. When needed, I really like the Atto. There are still times when my legs stiffen if they’re tired . I think my dad would’ve enjoyed the Atto on trips with me to the mall or outside. I had no bursitis when I was caregiving for them and the Atto was not available then.
My elderly dad would run to one of those in the store. Could barely get on it. Practically ran me and sales lady over. Would confuse back up and foward. Funny I have not seen the scooter at our local home depot any more. Maybe thats the reason lol.
My mom would take him to the drug store as his outing for the day. He would have to walk that. A nightmare at grocery store. So those outings stopped.
When he asks, redirect the conversation to something else. Heh its lunch time, we better go in lol
Using a mobility scooter to get safely around is one thing. Using it to ride down busy streets, zipping through parking lots without paying attention to cars moving, backing up without checking behind you, racing down aisles in stores where people have to jump out of your way to avoid getting hit....
So...very long story short lol...if the only purpose of the mobility scooter is something dangerous.. I would discourage it. The tires aren't really road-rated, it isn't safe to ride in traffic, it causes sightline problems for drivers, it is very dangerous. And unfortunately you may see an actual decrease in mobility if he becomes dependent on it for other things and stops walking on his own with the walker.