About EMP Living
We are a family of four who live in the Seattle, Washington area. Our youngest daughter has some physical challenges. She is a little person, has limited balance and has fused elbows. She cannot get on and off most chairs by herself. Once she was in a chair, she was stuck. Every time she wanted to get on or off a chair, someone had to lift her. By the time she was 6 she had enough and wanted her independence. We looked everywhere for a simple powered chair that she could get on and off by herself. We finally found this with the REAL Child from Mercado Medic.
We bought her the REAL Child and it changed her life. She was no longer trapped in her chair. She didn’t need to ask for help or wait for someone to get on and off her chair. With the REAL Child, she can do these by herself. She lowers the chair down to get on and off and then raises it by herself to any table height. The chair rolls easily which allows her to move the chair all over the house: to play the piano, to sit at the counter to cook, to sit at the table and play games, anywhere she needs it. She has also used it during summer camp the last few years.
At school, they had a different chair in every room she was in with one table that she could sit at. The chairs were plastic or wood and did not have wheels. She could not get into or out of the chair by herself and could not push the chair into or out of the desk by herself.
During one of her IEP meetings, her team was discussing how to help her be more independent on what she was going to need in middle school. The school’s plan was to get an adjustable height desk for every room she worked in. We told them about the REAL Child. The school would only have to buy one chair instead of many tables. The REAL Child would be more inclusive for our daughter by allowing her to work at any desk or table. Her school agreed and bought her a REAL Child. She loves it.
She gets on and off the chair and adjusts the chair on her own. She can move it anywhere she needs. She uses it in class, at lunch, to assemblies. She can move it anywhere she needs it. Our daughter is now in middle school. She puts her backpack on the chair and moves it from room to room all day long.
The REAL Child has empowered her, enabled her to be more independent and allowed her to more fully participate at school.
We hope our chairs help you as much as they have helped us.
Mercado Medic AB
Founded in 1971 in response to an arising requirement to accommodate special needs in the workplace and at home, Mercado Medic is a well renowned supplier of specialty chairs. Since day one, Mercado Medic have strived to assist people with functional disabilities to be more independent in the workplace and at home.
We also design and produce specialty chairs to various clinics, offices and industries.
All of our products are engineered and manufactured in house at our facilities in Sweden. Products are designed in partnership with the Swedish Handicap Institute.