Testimonial Nathan Stephans – Vicair Active

Nathan Stephens is a 25 year old Paralympic athletic who recently represented Great Britain in the London 2012 games. On his ninth birthday Nathan had both legs amputated after an accident on a railway line. This accident has never stopped him from aspiring to achieve his personal goals.

While competing at the IPC Athletics World Championships Nathan went on to win gold and followed this by breaking the world record F-57 javelin throw at the Czech Athletics Open in 2011.

Nathan is in training for the 2013 World Championships, building towards qualifying for a place at the Rio Olympics 2016.

Nathan has recently visited Invacare in Bridgend, to discuss his brand new Küschall K-Series; that he’s trying to keep in pristine condition before his big day.

“I would like sit in a stable position in order to relieve the slight discomfort in my lower back”

Nathan loves his new chair, however explained that he requires some additional support to help maintain a stable seating position. Nathan has a slight pelvic obliquity due to his hind quarter amputation; to compensate Nathan has a tendency to naturally shift his weight to the left side of his body. He uses the muscles in his back to sit as upright as possible. Overtime this has resulted in a slight discomfort in his lower back.

After considering the vast range of pressure relieving and positioning cushions available from Invacare the new Vicair Active cushion has been selected for Nathan to trial as it provides the comfort and optimal positioning needed at an extremely low product weight of 600 grams.

This cushion has been specifically designed for active people to make full use of their wheelchairs in everyday life. The front of the Active is made of ergonomically shaped foam. This makes it easier to make a transfer and increases the stability. The rear part of the pillow consists thee compartments filled with SmartCells. This provides a high level of comfort, positioning and stability.

The cushion has proved perfect for Nathan. Additional air cells were easily added to the left side of the cushion to provide extra support for the left side of his body. Nathan’s posture immediately improved with his obliquity taking the pressure from his left side resulting in a stable midline.