TiLite ZRA Series 2 – Page 3 – Peter Tan

First Impression Of My Tilite ZRA Series 2

Peter Tan – wheelchair user – Tilite ZRA Series 2.

After a few days of looking forlornly at the partially assembled Tilite ZRA Series 2 wheelchair, I got Wuan to spend some time to perform minor adjustments and finally got to use it for a full day yesterday. Most apparent with this new wheelchair is that I am seated higher and my bare feet are very comfortable on the footrest with one piece ABS cover.

I am seated higher due to the very taut seat upholstery and the new two-inch Supracor Stimulite Sport cushion that I got to go with the wheelchair. Although the Stimulite Sport is firm, it is also surprisingly very comfortable. My buttocks have never felt so pampered in a long while.

This wheelchair will take some getting used to. The dynamics are different from the folding ultra lightweight aluminium that I have been using for the past three years. It is very responsive due to it being rigid. Over the next few weeks or even months, there will be minor tweakings to dial it in to give an even better fit.

The Tilite ZRA Series 2 wheelchair with accessories costs US$3100 (RM9920 at time of purchase) plus US$420 (RM1344) for shipping. The Supracor Stimulite Sport is another US$290 (RM928) excluding shipping. For the amount I paid, I earnestly hope this wheelchair will last a long time or at least until I have saved enough to be able to replace it.

In the meantime, I will have the broken cross brace from the aluminium wheelchair disassembled and sent for welding locally. I was quoted JPY24,000 (RM900) for replacing it. That cost excludes shipping from Matsunaga’s factory in Japan and workmanship. I figured the replacement is not worth it as this wheelchair is now relegated to being the spare wheelchair that I will hardly use.

TiLite ZRA Series 2 Finally Arrived

Cheeky checking out the box with my TiLite ZRA Series 2 wheelchair.

I was informed two Fridays ago that the wheelchair that I ordered with Bike-On had arrived at the shop from TiLite and that it would be sent to the shipper in the morning. Someone from FedEx called me last wednesday to ask what was inside the box for customs declaration at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. I told that him it is a wheelchair. He said he would declare it as such and there should not be any tax.

FedEx Shipment Travel History – Where the wheelchair went before it arrived in Malaysia.

After five nail-biting days wondering about the status of the shipment, it was finally delivered this morning. (I did not have the tracking number to follow the process.) I have installed the brakes and wheels and am now waiting for Wuan to help me with the rest. The backrest angle needs to be adjusted. I specified 95 degrees but this looks like 90 degrees. Other than that, the wheelchair looks good. I cannot wait to get on it and do a few spins around the neighbourhood.

Busy And Tired

This blog has not been updated for a week now. Firstly, I have been asking for advice at the CareCure forum on some aspects of the TiLite ZRA Series 2 that I was not sure about apart from scouring for more information from the Internet. I am almost done with this pending quotation for shipping and some extra parts that I am ordering together with the wheelchair.

Secondly, I am currently attending the 1st Regional Senior Disability Equality Training (DET) Trainers’ Training since Monday. There are four of us undergoing training as facilitators for DET TOT, namely Ms. Saowalak Thongkuay and Mr. Sawang Srisom from Thailand and Ms. Eunice Marie Gato-Factor from Philippines. This course is conducted by Dr. Kenji Kuno of the Japan International Cooperation Agency Malaysia (JICA).

Running concurrently with the course beginning today is the 2nd Regional Training of Trainers on Disability Equality Training (DET) where the four of us double up as co-facilitators with Dr. Kuno for sixteen participants from the Asia Pacific region. These two courses are as interesting as they are tiring as we have been attending full-day sessions that will continue until next Friday. Until then, updates will be irregular.