Brenda Baraniak, 59, a T7-8 para for 26 years, has been frustrated since her injury at the absence of wheelchair scales to track her weight. The best she could do is weigh at her annual physiatrist’s appointment. “So I was thrilled to find the Lilypad home scale on Facebook. I contacted them right away, became a tester during the development phase of the product and was able to purchase one on a special deal for $500.” How has it worked for her? “I have lost nearly 25 pounds since I started using it in May.”

Baraniak, like so many wheelchair users, has been unable to keep a close watch on her weight until now. “I weigh every day. The scale is very sensitive, so the weight will vary a little, but it is accurate over a period of time. It may vary by as much as 2 pounds from day to day depending on how you sit in your chair, but that’s because it is so sensitive to your every movement.”

The scale is lightweight, foldable, and portable. It uses a rubber mat for its base. The weighing mechanisms are plastic, battery-operated sensing pads, one for each wheel, that attach to the 32-by-36-inch mat with Velcro strips. Each of the four pads is approximately 8 by 6 inches, but the weighing surface is half of that — 3 by 4 inches, which requires careful positioning of wheels. To set the scale up, the user first rolls on to the mat and centers herself. Ideally, a second person marks the center point of each tire. Then the Velcro strips are applied at those locations on the mat, and finally the pads are attached to the Velcro. To place the sensing pads just right for your individual chair takes some fine tuning, but it is a relatively simple process.

The design of the unit is basic and uncomplicated, but getting a readout of your weight takes downloading a special free app that connects with Bluetooth. Most users simply use their smart phones to connect to the scale, wait to be told that the scale is ready, then roll on, click “weigh,” see the readout on their phones and roll off.

The key to losing weight is, of course, exercising and eating right. But a scale is essential to the process for two reasons — recording your weight and motivation. Not being able to weigh regularly is a hindrance to keeping your weight down. Also, weight charts are not made for people with bodies of different shapes and sizes due to atrophy or certain congenital characteristics. The Lilypad app allows the user to record the weight or weights of individual wheelchairs, so it automatically subtracts that weight from your total weight when you roll on the scale.

Other Than Home Use
The Lilypad can also be used in a medical setting, preferably in a small private practice.  However, each time a different sized wheelchair is used, the sensing pads have to be adjusted to fit the particular wheelchair user’s chair. Also, the unit is not sturdy enough to weigh power wheelchairs. However, power chair users who can transfer to a manual or shower chair can weigh from a designated lightweight chair whenever they want. Baraniak has a friend with multiple sclerosis who transfers from her power chair into Baraniak’s TiLite manual chair to weigh on her Lilypad.

Dr. Edgar Miller, in his 80s, has been a practicing osteopathic physician for decades. His office manager, Babette Antognoni, told him about the Lilypad after her husband learned of it at Olin College, where he teaches. The founders of the Lilypad, Molly Farison and Amos Meeks, developed the product in an engineering class at Olin. Using the Lilypad, Antognoni weighs an elderly wheelchair user who has Parkinson’s and is overweight. She also plans on using it to weigh a friend of hers who is a wheelchair user.

Baraniak credits her success in losing weight to not only weighing daily, but also to three-per-week workouts while she watches Lisa Ericson’s Seated Aerobics video, twice weekly sessions on a Nu-Step exercise machine at her local wellness center, and eating right. “Lisa Ericson’s video is the best I’ve ever seen for seated aerobics,” says Baraniak.

Rick Hayden, 60, a T8 para for 39 years, participated in a 30-day home trial of the Lilypad. Some NEW MOBILITY readers may know Hayden as the president of United Spinal Association’s Southern California chapter. He also headed up Colours wheelchairs from 2009 to 2012. “I think the Lilypad is a very nice product,” he says. Hayden posted a review of the Lilypad on his chapter website (www.scchapter.org) for anyone who is interested.

Hayden likes to set up his wheelchairs with a tapered front end and a very short wheelbase, which positions his casters quite a bit inboard from his rear wheels. To access the Lilypad, he had to pop a wheelie to get over the first pair of sensor pads, since they are set up for the rear wheels at a different width. It was a minor inconvenience, but worth mentioning for those who use wheelchairs with very short wheelbases.

While Hayden likes the product, he decided not to buy one. “I figured, I’ve gone 39 years without a scale, so do I really need it?” Part of his decision had to do with the price. “Almost $700 [$638 is the actual retail price online] is a lot to pay,” he says, “especially if you can go to your rehab center and weigh if you want to, but I understand that not everyone has access to wheelchair scales, so the Lilypad would have more appeal to them.”

I also tried out a Lilypad as part of my preparation to write this article. I had an initial problem getting the pads just right so my chair was stable and would not roll off the pads. But once I got them positioned right, there was no problem staying on them and weighing. However, I did have two pads malfunction for some unknown reason. One started weighing light, and the other had difficulty connecting to the app. But when I called customer service, they were prompt in sending out new pads to remedy each situation quickly. Both Baraniak and Antognoni said the batteries that power the sensor pads on their scales died after a few months. Each sensor takes two, so a total of eight AA batteries must be replaced whenever they run out of juice. “I decided to replace them with rechargeable batteries,” says Baraniak. “I found their customer service to be really responsive. They are really nice people, and they try hard to please.”

For more information on the Lilypad scale, got to www.lilypad.com.