Stand Up!!!

For years now we have tried to find the right stander for Max. There is just one problem with most standers...Max has to be STANDING when we put him in it to be strapped in. This is already his most unstable position. He feels very little control, and when I'm trying to hold him up, and strap him in at the same time, we all end up very frustrated.

But Max does love to stand up. We've tried rock climbing harnesses, which give him the feeling of standing, but don't really control his legs and keep him in a good position while standing, so we end up a couple of people holding on to him to let him stand. I usually get the top half, and his PT, Betsy gets the legs. And it is exhausting for us, because really, Max just wants to stand, not so much do the hard work!

A while ago a company Easy Stand added me to their Twitter followers. I read through a few of their updates and saw they had good links for the disability community, so I added them. After a while I went over to their webpage to see exactly what they were all about. I guess the name should have clued me in, but I didn't know until I got to their site that they were a Durable Medical Equipment company, making what else, standers!

I asked one day if they could recommend a stander for a little guy who hates standers. They recommended the Bantam. I called up our DME provider and asked him if he could get his hands on one, and we set up a date to try it out.

Today was the date, and it WORKED!!! Max really had a great time standing up.

Here are the pictures, notice how we are running out of room with all of Max's chairs! I think we had 4 different seating devices in the living room this afternoon, not quite sure how that happened. They are usually spread out throughout the house. It felt crowded!

You can see Max in the background in his wheelchair. The Bantam isn't much shorter than his wheelchair while in sitting position.


We got him moved over and T.D. started getting him strapped in. Max was happy sitting, and had no problem with being strapped in.


We put the tray on and...okay Max, are you ready? (You all know the sign by now...MORE!!!)


And here he is...wow...is he really that tall?


I think he must be! He was really proud to be standing so tall.


Really really proud.


It's a whole new world up here.


In total, he was in the stander around 45 minutes. That's the most he's ever tolerated a stander. And he stood the longest he ever has, around 10 minutes at a time. T.D. took the specifications back with him and will get it ordered. As these things go, it will likely be 2-4 months before we actually get one. But once we do get it, I think we'll have a guy who wants to be standing up a lot!

And in case you didn't know what Max looks like standing without a stander...here's a look...




And this is seconds later...of being too tired to "stand up" any more...