Traditionally, children with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) have been issued strollers with full recline capability as a mobility option — strollers such as the EaSyS or Kimba with full recline and full leg extension capability. These, however, do not have much growth potential for children past 7 years of age, after which these children have to use reclining manual wheelchairs as their only option.
In February 2014, Addison, age 8 ½, came into National Seating& Mobility’s Milwaukee office for an evaluation to replace her current EaSyS stroller. She met with Sean Auter and me to determine what could be done to grow her existing stroller base until a new wheelchair option could be decided upon. She was 55″ in height and weighed 50 lbs. The parents had done a very creative job in extending the EaSyS support platform using PVC pipe tubing to accommodate Addison’s height. When Addison was in public, her nurse walked in front of her, as her head stuck out 23″ longer than the stroller’s front casters. The nurse did this to prevent people from walking into Addison during outings.
Defining a Successful System
Jeff & Sean Auter
