My New Walker Needs a Name!

Part of what we realized, almost as soon as we decided to move to Alaska, was that I would need a better walker. What we didn't know, was how to find a walker that would work in Alaska, and it wasn't easy to find anyone with an idea. I tried calling a lot of people, physical therapists, dusability organizations in Alaska, even a spinal surgeon's office. All of my calls from Oregon told ne that I would definitely need something better than I had, but trying to find out what I would need, all lead to dead ends. Several people mentioned that there were these great walkers from Norway and Sweden, but no one knew what they were called, or how to get one.

A chance meeting, at our hotel in Anchorage, with a man spending the night at the same hotel, before flying to Phoenix for medical treatment, introduced us to Trionic walkers, also called rollators, and the news that there was a company based in Utah that had gotten a license to sell them in the US. A few web searches, conversations with the woman who was covering the office during the holidays, and several long calls with my insurance company ensued during our first few days in Fairbanks. Especially after the brake lines froze on the walker I was using in Oregon, and then the wheels froze too, we ordered the walker, even though we had to pay for it. We can submit a claim to the insurance company, who may cover part of it, (emphasis on maybe) but we knew I wasn't going to be mobile in Fairbanks, without a walker made to take the punishing winter weather in Fairbanks.

The walker didn't arrive by Christmas, but Tuesday, it arrived. Enjoy these photos of Scott putting the walker together! He is my hero, in so many ways!