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Volume 17, No. 2, Spring/Summer 2009 |
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The AT Bargain Basement
Greetings, True Believers, and welcome to another action-packed edition of the AT Bargain Basement. I'd like to thank all of my return guests for finding their way back to the basement for more bargains. If this is your first time, welcome! As usual, before we can begin our festive frolic through the fields of AT bargains, we have to go over the rules for our first-time guests. I search for AT bargains and present them here for your consumption. I also bring you the bargains our fellow Basement fans send me. So what's an AT bargain? Well, it's any piece of AT that costs $100 or less. Now, you may have to order some bargains online or over the telephone, and those will usually have a shipping charge. I try to report that expense as well, but make sure you check how much the shipping charges will be before placing your order. And, of course, if you ever have any questions about any of the bargains I show you, please feel free to contact me at the New Castle County Assistive Technology Resource Center (ATRC). So without further adieu, let's get to the bargains!
Our first bargain is the Arcoa EZ Assist Reacher. It is a nice 26" reacher with suction cups on the end. While this model does not fold, it is still a nice, sturdy unit. Besides not folding, the only other draw-back is that it does not lock. If that's something that you need, this is not the reacher for you. I found it on the Walgreens website (www.walgreens.com) for $12.99 with free shipping. It's considered a web exclusive, so you can only get it through their online store. You can also check your local Happy Harry's (they're now owned by Walgreens), Rite-Aid, or CVS store to see what they have in stock. It is important to realize that a store's stock often differs greatly from their website.
Our next bargain is the Invacare I-Fit Shower Chair with Back, which can be found online at www.riteaidonlinestore.com. Please note that I did not find any shipping information for this item. It is a nice shower chair for the price at $49.99 in that it has a back rest and is designed to fit inside of a bathtub, all of which is an unusual find for the price. This chair is constructed of sealed plastic that's easily cleaned and disinfected, and it has a 400 pound weight capacity. If you can't get it at your local store, you can order it online or call their toll-free number 1-800-RITE-AID (1-800-748-3243) to order it.
Rite-Aid's web site rides again. Our third bargain is another shower chair, and it's got the extra part for transfers built right into it. It's the Invacare Transfer Bench. Now, while this unit does not fit entirely into the bath tub, it's not supposed to. It sits half in and half out of the tub so that you can sit on the bench outside of the tub then slide into the tub on the seat. Transfer benches can sometimes be a problem for people with shower doors or curtains. Since the seat straddles the tub, it will prevent a shower door from closing and it could cause a shower curtain to hang away from the tub enough that water may spill onto the floor outside of the tub. This can lead to a wet and slippery mess as well as a safety hazard. So beware of this possibility and make sure you are prepared. Like the I-Fit Chair, this unit provides the support of a back rest, is sealed plastic for easy cleaning and disinfecting, and has a 400 pound weight capacity. It sells for $79.99. If you're going to try to get it from your local Rite-Aid store, make sure you check whether it is a product they keep in stock.
The next bargain is something a little different. It is the Music Link by Sensorcom, and is an induction headphone for hearing aid wearers. Huh?! Here's how they work. You plug them into the headphone jack on your iPod, CD player, radio, or whatever you want to listen to that has a headphone jack. You then place the smooth little plastic hooks Photo of a man with the Sensocom T-Link connected to his hearing aid.over the backs of your ears and switch your hearing aid to telecoil or telephone mode, and bingo! Instant stereo sound! Now, keep in mind that this will not work with hearing aids that do not have a telecoil or telephone mode. Check with your audiologist to find out whether your hearing aids are equipped for this technology. This product is also supposed to work for people with cochlear implants. From what I've been told by people who have borrowed the unit we have available in our ATRC, it delivers very good quality sound. The unit costs about $49 (with free shipping) from Tec-Ear (www.tecear.com or call 248-867-2759–long distance). Sensorcom also makes an induction headset for cell phones called the T-Link that I've also been told works great, and it can be found at TecEar for $49 (free shipping). If you're not sure that either of these devices will work for you, call your local DATI ATRC to see about borrowing one through our equipment loan program. As usual, it's free to borrow equipment from us.
My final bargain for this edition of the AT Bargain Basement is the Timex Weekly Medication Manager. It's one of the most popular medication management systems that I am asked about. The unit features a four-compartment pill box for each day and has a clock with alarms for each of the four times you might need to take medicine. You can set the alarms to beep, flash, or say “Time to take your pill.” Do note that the alarms are not very loud, so if you're counting on needing to hear the alarm, this is not the pill box reminder for you. Two key features make this unit popular. First, it has an alarm shut-off button that allows you to keep a log of exactly when you take your medication. The reminder unit is removable from the rest of the device, so you can take it in to the doctor's office and they can see when you are taking your pills. The detachable reminder unit is the other feature people like about this device. You can remove it along with a pill box, slide them together, and lock them in place. That way, you can take your pills and your reminder with you when you're on the go. The Weekly Medication Manager costs $29.99 plus shipping from Sears. I'm not sure if you can have it special ordered from their stores, but you can certainly get it from their website (www.sears.com) or by calling them at 1-800-697-3277.
And thus, another heart-racing edition of The AT Bargain Basement comes to an end. As usual, you are always welcome to share your bargains with me via e-mail, telephone, or US Post. I'll be sure to post them here and give you all of the due credit and glory! So until next time, this is goodbye from The Basement and remember, just because it's inexpensive doesn't mean it's cheap!
