In the selection of a new wheelchair, there are dozens of choices, ranging from the model wished, all the way down to the type of footplates, with a myriad of choices in-between. But, there’s one choice that consumers overwhelmingly see as especially important: Color.
One would think that comfort and functionality would prove key decisions in wheelchair selection, aspects that certainly are important to one’s mobility. However, color selection is an aspect that many users debate the most – sometimes for weeks – before ordering a new wheelchair. In fact, I’ve known users who selected one model over another simply based on a particular color offered. Surely, some might view placing such importance on color as trivial. But, in my experience, placing utmost importance on color makes entire sense, and literally enhances one’s mobility.
If you think about it, color is one of the few true choices that we have toward our wheelchairs. Sure, we pick the model, seat size, armrest style, and such, but those really aren’t choices – they’re just variations of must-have items that are dictated by using a wheelchair.
However, color is completely at our whim. When it comes to color, no one needs an Octane Orange ultralight wheelchair, or Purple Passion powerchair – but, it’s what one wants. After all, the colors we choose broadcasts who we are, how we feel, what we wish to project. From brilliant black to lime green, the color of our wheelchairs is the taste, texture, and tone of our lives, expressed through our wheelchairs. And, it’s in this context that the importance of color – the vibrancy it adds to our lives – begins to prove itself.
Imagine for a moment that you’re newly disabled – or, maybe you can think back to such a time in your life. You’re in a rehab facility, getting fitted for your first wheelchair, and it’s all foreign and frightening. You’ve gone from relying solely on your body, to seeming confinement to a wheelchair, with virtually no time to emotionally adjust. And, now the clinician is running you through a litany of wheelchair specifications – to which you can’t relate.
But, then there’s selecting the color of your new wheelchair. Maybe you’re into sports, so you go for silver and black because the Raiders are your favorite team. Or, maybe you’re a hip young lady who has the pink Motorola Razor cell phone, so you pick pink to match. Or, maybe you’re a motocross fan, so you pick orange, KTM’s signature color. Or, maybe you want your wheelchair stealth, so you go with a black-on-black color scheme like seen on choppers and SUVs nowadays. Color, in this way, is a connection, from you to your wheelchair – it’s of you and for you, the opportunity to apply your personality to your wheelchair and express it to the world.
The fact is, the moment that you feel better about your wheelchair, you feel better about your life. And, that’s the color – the power – of mobility.
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