Anyone own a Collapsible scooter??

[TaraF]

I was with my Mother at a specialists appointment to get results on a bone scan she had done yesterday and the Dr diagnosed her with Charcot Foot. Essentially the bones in her left foot are "melting". They did temperature readings on her feet and her left foot is literally several degrees warmer than her right foot. The Dr described it as, "If you left chocolate balls in the car in July they'd melt, but if you removed them they would solidify again", and that's what they need to do with her foot. She has to be in a cast for 4 months straight so there is no pressure on her foot to give her bones the time it needs to re calcify. If she doesn't do this, well google the word charcot foot and check the images out to see what will happen. Warning, it's disgusting.

Anyways, she will be getting fitted for the cast next week and it is a full cast from the foot to the knee. It will be a removable one (I think it's called a balloon cast) so that when she gets into bed at night she can remove it while she sleeps which is good. Now we have a walker for her to use around the house which she is using now but when she goes out she doesn't want to use the walker. Her mobility isn't the greatest to start with and without the cast on yet she is finding herself hunching over the walker at it's fullest extent. So she was mulling over getting either a wheelchair or a collapsible scooter.

Now, if she got a wheel chair it would be a basic one. The problem with that is that I would need to be with her EVERYWHERE she went to be able to push her in it because she doesn't have the upper body strength to be able to push the wheels herself and the point is that she wants to be able to retain some form of independence. So she thought of maybe getting a collapsible scooter. I was wondering if anyone here has had any experience with them? Yourself, a family member, friend, etc.

While we will be going to a specialist store I believe today to look at different options, I was wondering what anyone here thinks of them. The big thing I want to know is how heavy is it? Because if she is out on her own she would have to drag it out of the car and unfold it and if it's over something like 20lbs I don't think she will be able to do it. And also, do you find that it's sturdy?

Any opinions on a collapsible scooter or any alternatives you could think of would be appreciated. Thanks!