Questions you might have on use of the
Merry Walker Corporation Product line.
Will the Merry Walker® Ambulation Device tip over?
Is the Merry Walker restraint-free?
Is the Merry Walker able to go outside?
What about hospital use?
Should patients on psychotropic medications us the Merry Walker Ambulation Device?
Why is the Merry Walker safer to use than a standard walker or a walker with an anterior seat?
Will the Merry Walker Ambulation Device roll around when a person sits down?
Does the Merry Walker and the Merry Traveler fold?
What should a person do if the person using the Merry Walker Ambulation device cannot get up and walk, initially in the Merry Walker?
Does the Merry Walker Corporation make different levels of walking ability devices?
Will the Merry Walker® Ambulation Device tip over?
The Merry Walker must always be sized to fit the person using it. The height of the person's hips using the Merry Walker must match the height of the front cross arm. The Merry Walker is tip resistant because it is bottom weighted. The front and back legs are bent perfectly outward so it will not tip sideways. The Merry Walker must be used under observation and supervision of the caregiver.
Is the Merry Walker restraint-free?
The Merry Walker is restraint-free when the person is able to open and close the front gate independently. It is considered an enabler or justified restraint if the person is unable to close the front gate. Full instruction sheets and assessments are enclosed with each product. The Merry Walker assessment should be filled out by medical facility professionals and placed in the persons medical chart, if the person is living in a long term care facility. The Merry Walker Ambulation Device Assessment forms may be downloaded from this site. Please search under medical professional documents.
Is the Merry Walker able to go outside?
The Merry Walker is able to go outside on paved surfaces with the normal twin wheeled casters. Should the person require some additional heavy-duty casters, which are more appropriate for outdoor use, those are available for an additional charge.
What about hospital use?
The Merry Walker Ambulation device may be used for post surgery patients, such as, hip and knee replacements, abdominal surgery, heart patients, maternity, and all other patients who display difficulty in ambulating after a trauma. The Merry Walker is used in hospitals assisting staff nurses to walk the patients soon after surgery and to speed recovery. The faster the patient ambulates independently after surgery, the faster the patient can be released from the hospital. The Merry Walker saves time by having the patient practice walking by themselves.
Should patients on psychotropic medications us the Merry Walker Ambulation Device?
There are some people who have been diagnosed with a psychotic disorder and have been placed on anti-psychotic medications. These people need to keep walking also. It is recommended that the Merry Walker be used under observation and supervision at all times. Alzheimer's disease and related dementia diagnosed people often display "Sundowner's Syndrome" and these people are often administered anti-psychotic medications to control their displayed behavior of increased agitation. It is felt by the inventor of the Merry Walker Ambulation Device that these people should not be given anti-psychotic medications because it has been found that utilizing the Merry Walker seems to decrease many symptoms of agitation through walking. Utilizing the Merry Walker devices at the optimum level, to receive the maximum benefits through walking, it is deemed necessary for the person using the device to have the maximum brain function possible. Since anti-psychotic medications might distort some of those brain processes it is recommended that medical professionals monitor the medications given very carefully, if the person is going to receive the greatest benefits in using the Merry Walker.
Why is the Merry Walker safer to use than a standard walker or a walker with an anterior seat?
The Merry Walker was designed to prevent falls. The Merry Walker will strengthen leg, back and arm muscles through walking safely in the framed device. For a person using a forward pushing walker, pick-up or wheeled walker, by a person who is at risk for falls, these walkers will not decrease the fall risk involved. Any person who is at risk for falls should not be placed in a wheelchair, especially in a wheelchair with a chair alarm, because the person's quality of life has been taken away. Placing such a person in a Merry Walker will not only allow self-rehabilitation to occur with each step, but should the person continue to fall, most of the people will fall backward and sit down on the seat, defraying any injury from a fall.
Will the Merry Walker Ambulation Device roll around when a person sits down?
The Merry Walker was designed to roll freely because the Merry Walker becomes an extension of the person's body to whoever is using the Merry Walker. The Merry Walker must move in whatever direction the person wants to walk. When the person wants to sit down the Merry Walker will stop by the gravitational weight of the person using the walker, once the person is seated. The Merry Walker was not designed to be pushed around by another person, nor was it designed to be pedaled by foot as people tend to do while seated in wheelchairs. The person's weight on the casters makes pushing and seated pedaling very difficult. The Merry Walker was designed to be a walker/chair combination, designed to be used as a safe walking device.
Does the Merry Walker and the Merry Traveler fold?
Yes, the Merry Walker and the Merry Traveler fold for transport and storage. One folds the Merry Walker by removing the seat, opening the front cross arm and back cross arm, swinging those two arms out of the way and pulling the two sides up together, using the hook and loop straps in the middle of the side pouch and wrapping them around the seat rail and side rail holding the two together and keeping the Merry Walker in a folded position. Should the Merry Walker need to be placed in a small automobile trunk, the back and front arms may be completed detached from the Merry Walker, making the frame very small to fit in smaller trunks. The Merry Traveler folds in the same manner. None of the other Merry walker Corporation product line is able to fold, or is unable to fold at this time.
What should a person do if the person using the Merry Walker Ambulation device cannot get up and walk, initially in the Merry Walker?
If a person is unable to get from a sitting position to a standing position in the Merry Walker Ambulation Device, applying the back brakes and working with the person to get from sit to stand is the desired practice initially. If that does not work, please access this website and look at the Merry Stand By Me™. Using the Stand by Me from a seated wheelchair, will allow the person to regain sit to stand from the stable wheelchair and the stable Merry Stand By Me. When the person has regained this sit to stand ability, the Merry Walker should be reintroduced to this person and use of the Merry Walker will be facilitated.
Does the Merry Walker Corporation make different levels of walking ability devices?
Yes, the Merry Walker Corporation makes seven different levels of walking adaptations devices. Different levels of walking devices are:
