wheelchairs are ok sometimes necesssary. i broke my ankle 5 yrs now still in wheelchair. i have a new walker so eventualy i can use it. good luck. keep walking.
Welcome Michelle! :-) I don't think necessary everyone ends up in a wheelchair because of ataxia. I do think most of the time our legs do tend to get weaker where allot of people having ataxia use them though. But I was diagnosed having Sporadic SCA in 2006 and don't use one. I have used walking hiking sticks to go up a hill but find there is a fine line between doing to much and not doing enough.
Have you checked out Dr. Tom Clauses site yet? http://walkingwithataxia.com/
Hi, sorry I'm so late adding in... Already you have great advice here. I get around at home a lot w/o help, but I have times when I need my cane and recently more: I just got a rollator ( and fully paid by insurance!) and love it. I feel so much SAFER! Wheelchairs are for safety too. Lots of people besides ataxians have to use them. My grandmother fell and broke her hip, so she became bedridden. I'm not looking forward to that, but no one knows what the future will bring.
I always have my cane with me to go anywhere, and now I will have a rollator too, should I think that would be best. A wheelchair is probably in the future. SAFETY FIRST!
Oh, I forgot...And I take gabapentin for the leg pain.