Never Feel Ostracised Again With Your Own Personal Table! Whenever I go out, I never go without my personal table. Having a table at the correct height for me helps me with my back pain. Constantly reaching a table that is either too high or too low causes severe pain in my back. Having my own wheelchair table means I can eat and drink independently. I do not have to ask friends and family to keep passing me my drink or other items off the table!
Disabled people are made disabled by design. This table changes a small but essential part of this. I will talk you through attaching it to your wheelchair and whether or not it is sturdy and effective.
The Problems I Face
As an electric wheelchair user, I often find tables in public places unsuitable. They are either too high, too low, or not wide enough to fit my chair under. Reaching for food and drink puts strain on my back, which causes me a lot of pain. I hate asking for help, so I often just suffer the pain.
If the table is too high, I can’t reach up to it; if it is too low, I have to reach out and down. If the table is not wide enough, I can’t fit under it due to my front wheels. This means I would have to move forward further, which I cannot do while holding a drink or food.
The Table
I searched for a wheelchair table for a long time. They were all so costly. I found this one on Amazon at a much cheaper price than others. It has a smooth, soft surface to it. Black is the only colour available. It is height-adjustable and can swing away to the side if needed. The images for the table advertised on Amazon are not all correct. This does NOT come with the extension shown in one of the images for a mouse. It is possible to have the table fold down at the side of your wheelchair, but to do this, you must undo the latch under the tabletop—something I find impossible to do myself.
There is a feature (shown below) where you can raise the front of the table to use as a wrist rest when using a laptop. However, mine is difficult to implement, and I have pinched myself many times when trying to put it away. In my personal opinion, this is not worth the effort.
It comes with a pole and clamp, so you can attach it to your wheelchair. This is so you can feed the table pole into this. This is where you can set the height of the table to suit your needs. There are two clamps but due to where I needed to clamp it, I could only use one clamp. This still makes the table very secure. I have tried to work it free but it holds every time lol.
Measurements
My table has plenty of room for an A5 notebook, a mug and my phone. I’ve had my dinner on there and used my tablet with ease. I haven’t used a laptop on it yet though.
Conclusion
I love my table. It is a lifesaver when I am out and need somewhere to rest, eat, and drink. I took it with me on my last cruise and used it daily. While doing quizzes, bingo, etc., I found it invaluable during the day! If you have (like me) trouble reaching and lifting drinks, etc., get one; you won’t regret it.
Top Tip: Keep an eye on Amazon’s prices; they tend to go up and down.
If you like my blog/reviews and want to work with me, don’t hesitate to contact me. Feel free to leave a comment below.
