When Limited Mobility/Independence Become Even More Limited

After my surgery gone wrong left me #paralyzed from my waist down back in June 2016, #mobility and #independence came to a screeching halt! 

About 8 months later, the hospital gave me a Ki Mobility Catalyst 5 Ultralight Folding Manual #Wheelchair with E-Motion wheels thereby making the wheelchair motorized 🦼 which allows me to move from one room to another independently in my home (WhooHoo).

Anyway, that is what we needed at that time because my honey was driving a Toyota Corolla and we needed to be able to fold the wheelchair to easily put it in the back seat or trunk.  As you know, a couple months ago we purchased a 2017 Dodge Grand Caravan (at a cost of nearly $50K) which is easier for me to get in/out of with the ramp as my honey just pushes me in instead of lifting me, then folding the wheelchair (which is very heavy because of the motorized wheels). Oh, did I mention our little girls finds the ramp helpful too, 😉

Patiently waiting for Mom

Fast forward to today, after using the chair for about 2.5 years, I’ve been having issues with the motor not starting easily.  For the last couple weeks, after I turn on the chair, I’ve had to wiggle/jiggle the joystick before the motor will actually engage. 

Because I am alone for about 2 hours every morning before my aide gets here and about 4 hours every afternoon after my aide leaves before my honey gets home, we didn’t want to let this go.  If I was in a particular room or facing a certain direction and chair suddenly didn’t actually engage on, I’d be stuck in that spot unable to move until either my aide or my honey came.

Now, sad as that may be, today I called the home medical supply company that provided the chair and was told because it’s mechanical it needs to be sent back to the manufacture. Tomorrow, Friday September 13, 2019 they will send a Representative to pick up the chair and they will ship to the manufacture. Umm, how much will the repair cost I ask, answer they will get back to me in “about a week and a half”!  We all know what “about . . .” means, it means doubtful in said timeframe.

After speaking with my attorney about what documentation needs to be done that would enable Medicare to pay for repairs (that’s a whole other story 🤦), he even said I’d probably be without the chair for a month! 

As a #person_of_short_stature/#little_person, I am unable to reach wheels to manually push, that means a month of not being able to at least move around my house independently!

Stayed tuned to learn when I actually get the chair back! Any guesses??

As always, I wish you days filled with wonder – take a minute to wonder what it is that made you smile today!

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