Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are usual. I called Medicaid again yesterday because I was still waiting. It seems like it worked, though. I haven’t received the official acceptance letter, but the renewal disappeared from my benefits page and both my end dates (I get Medicaid and a Medicare Savings Program from the state) have switched to a year from yesterday. That’s one less worry for now. Now, I just have to keep worrying about the wheelchair. Which is what this post is about! If you want to catch up on the Wheelchair Saga, here are the previous parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. I’ll try to keep this latest installment short.
On Friday, September 18th, Universal sent Ricky (a different tech) out to work on the chair. He doesn’t know anything about Quickies either, but he’s a little more willing to experiment with things than Randy was. He spent like five hours here trying to get the joystick to mount directly to the armrest with what he had on hand. It didn’t work. No matter what he and Dad did. But he did want to see me in the chair, so I finally got to sit in it! I learned a lot. I think Ricky and Dad did too. Plus, Ricky got Gustavo (the most experienced tech they have who happens to be in Florida) on a video call. Gustavo mentioned maybe getting a Quickie rep out here who knows what they’re doing and what kinds of modifications are possible. Dad’s been saying they should do that all along, but honestly, Universal is the kind of company who will exhaust every one of their techs and the client before they’ll shell out money to bring in specialists. Even though it probably costs them more in the long run. It’s annoying.
Anyway! Here’s a revised list of things that need to be fixed/adjusted/tweaked before the chair will work for me.
1. Joystick issues. It needs to be mounted directly to the armrest instead of six inches away from it. The button still needs programmed. And I need to figure out the best mounting places for the two button boxes.
2. Footrests. Those hangers that I hate because they’re ugly? They also stick out way too far, so my toes barely reach the footplates. I need swing aways because I can’t straighten my legs to get my shoes on/off or my pants off, so we have to be able to flip the footrests back out of the way. Otherwise, I probably would have tried the behind the knee model that’s standard with this chair. But my feet also sit fairly wide apart, so don’t think that model would work for me anyway. I just need hangers that go straight down instead of jutting out. Tried my old ones on the new chair, but the part that goes into the mount is too small. Boo.
3. Armrests. They’re too high. That’s always been a problem with my Quickie chairs. Even when they’re at their lowest, we have to put a piece of wood under my seat to get me where my elbows can both rest comfortably. Hopefully these go lower (they’re completely different from my old chair, so maybe), but it’s not a problem that really worries me as much as the first two issues.
4. Headrest. It’s a matter of finding a new mount or clamp. The mount on my old chair is for a round pipe. The new chair is all boxy angles. Hopefully they can figure something out since it’s literally their job. But I also feel like it’s an issue Dad and a trip to the hardware store could solve if need be, as a long as everything else works out. So, I’m not losing sleep over this one. They don’t make side mounted headrests (I can’t be the only person who needs one, can I?), so it’s always an adventure rigging one up when switching chairs.
5. Thigh supports. Once everything above is taken care of and I can sit properly, we need to fit those to keep my fat ass from sliding around every time I hit a bump.
6. Ventilator. After we’re sure the chair will work for me, they need to move my vent over and hook it to the batteries of the chair.
7. EZ Lock. We need to figure out how to get a bracket for the new chair and install it so I can ride in the van. I don’t know if Universal can order the bracket or not. That’s usually done through the van modifications place and they charge ridiculous amounts to install one (they won’t just order it and give it to Dad for the cost of the part).
8. Seat cushion. My left leg went to sleep when I was in the chair, but I couldn’t sit normally, so it might turn out to be fine. We’ll have to see how I feel once I’m positioned properly. We may or may not need to get a Roho (my air cushion).
That’s all I can think of off the top of my head. It’s still a daunting list, but there are really only a couple major issues that need to be overcome. The rest is either stuff we deal with every single time I switch chairs or just things that need tweaks. It makes me feel a little better. This turned out to be rather long. Oops. My bad.
