Our Story
Zchair LLC is a company dedicated to helping children with special needs to have the ability to experience greater freedom by providing the means to explore their world around them with mobility devices.
The original ZipZac® was created in 2010 for a 1-1/2 year boy named Zachary who has Spina Bifida. He has movement in his hips, but is unable to move his legs. I felt the need to make something that would help Zachary be able to move around the house and experience everyday things like most other kids do. With the help of a engineering friend, we came up with a design that was unique and gave Zachary a running shot at his world around him. From the moment we put him in the chair, he quickly figured how to move the wheels and began his new adventures. As you can see from the video on our home page, Zachary is now Zippin' everywhere.
How special it was to see him have the ability to pick up his toys and play with them, then move to another room and do the same. When a friend comes to call, he can head down the hallway and look out the window to see whose coming before his parents even make it to the door.
At one time, Zachary’s parents DeeAnn and Jason feared the day they would have to see their child in a regular wheelchair. But with the ZipZac®, their fears were lessened when they saw just how Zachary experienced greater freedom and enjoyed exploring things around his home. Even freedom for the parents.
Zachary, DeeAnn and Jason have made many visits to doctors and physical therapists with Zachary and his ZipZac® chair. It really helps DeeAnn and Jason so they don’t have to carry him all the time and Zachary can still work out some of his energy. Many people, parents, and medical professionals have commented on how this chair is so amazing and how they have never seen anything like it. Even parents who had children with Spina Bifida wondered how they could get a chair like this. DeeAnn would tell us regularly how much this meant to both Zachary and them, and wondered how we could get this out to other children.
We really felt the need to start a company that could provide this freedom for other children with the same needs, and began the process of building Zchair LLC. We are a small business, but our dedication for helping children is big.
On March 1, 2011 it really happened. A 2 minute story aired on a Des Moines TV station showing Zachary and his ZipZac® and how it has changed his life. Within a week, this story went national. From that week, we received many many emails and calls from parents with children who have the same need, we have since been propelled to make these chairs available as quickly as we can. We are working in many areas with physical therapists from different parts of the country who want to make this a regular part of their resources that are available for small children.
We look forward to serving you, your family, and friends who have a need or know of someone who does. However, the chair is not just for kids with Spina bifida, but can be used by any child who has mobility needs or just wants to have fun getting around the house. If you have any questions, please take a moment to fill out our contact form or email us. We would be happy to get in touch with you.
Thank you, enjoy the videos and get Zippin'.
Kent Nienaber
President
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