So, yesterday we drove the 30 minutes to see my Mum and to oooh and ahhh over her recently acquired power chair. I'd given her the number of a power chair provider because she's not getting round as well as she used to, and every time we go out, I'm terrifed she's going to keel over and do herself an injury (she's fallen at home a few times - luckily, no broken bones - and my nephew, who lives about 5 minutes away has had to go round and pick her up off the floor). I'd got the number from my neighbour over the road who has a power chair and loves it. "Does your mother have Medicare?" he'd asked. I replied in the affirmative. "Won't cost her a penny", he said. And, it didn't. So far, she's not seen any sort of bill for it, and the folks at the place she's got it from say it's more than likely going to be completely covered by Medicare, her supplimental insurance, or a combination of both.
So, we ooohed, we ahhhed, and then we realized that the thing is HEAVY. Really heavy. It can be disassembled into two parts (the seat itself and the battery/wheel unit) which would fit tidily into our trunk. Except...we can't lift the battery/wheel unit (it's nearly 200 lbs). And, Graham's no lightweight when it comes to strength (I am - you know, like most chicks are unless they've been training for the girly version of Mr Universe). We couldn't budge it between the two of us, so there's no way I'd be able to get it into the car on the occasions when I'm on my own taking Mum out on the town. A look at the manufacturer's website revealed a handy tool for lifting the chair into your........wait for it......mini van. We don't have a mini van, and don't plan on acquiring one. So, all those commercials about how independant one can be when one has one's own power chair - not having to rely on one's friends or relatives to get them to their hair appointments and what-not - are a bunch of arse. To be fair, there are other sites online with solutions for the car, so all's not completely pants, but you still have to shell out anywhere from $800 to over $2000 for one of those things. You'd have thought that would be part of the included accessories for those chairs. I mean - they're not cheap...the model my Mum got was over $5000.
So, whilst we try and figure out how to get this mobile chair...well, mobile, Mum's got a really expensive chair with moving parts parked in her living room.
