Progress

Despite being out of the house from 10 – 2, I managed today to talk to several people regarding ordering a wheelchair. I talked to Liz, the scheduler, and Nancy, the PT over at Sharp Rehab. I also talked to Vann at Mobility Solutions. And the end result is that on Friday I have an appointment with Vann to see if we can hammer out exactly what I want to order, and do the measurements necessary, and to also see if we can come up with wording for a letter of medical necessity and prescription. Hopefully Vann will have enough info or the right documents to look like a prescription, and I surely can manufacture a convincing letter for my doctor to sign. If we get stuck and need some supporting wording, Nancy will be happy to write up an addendum. So, if all goes well, I should have the proposed order form, and supporting documents to my insurance company by the middle of next week! Then we have more waiting.

Adding up the time spent on this – it was about 2 hours total, though it was 10 min here, 20 there, with the first conversation at 8:30 AM and the last one around 4:30 PM.

3 other disability related activities today.

1. Saw my PT today, for my neck, which has generally been doing well for some time now. So, we decided I should take a break for a bit, and my next appointment is in a month. My PT says I’m doing well, I feel good, and so I guess the home stretches I do are working. I like going in to see her, and always feel better after she’s worked on my neck. But with only so many sessions paid for in a year by insurance, I think it’s smart of me to not use them all now when I’m doing well. My guess is that when I finally get a new chair I’ll be needing more help then.

2. I stopped by the Ability Center for some service on my chair topper (the machine on top of my car that picks up my chair and stores it). In the past few years I have heard a lot of stories about slipshod service there, and I admit I haven’t seen their best. But today, I went in without an appointment, and they took care of my problem for free, so I have to give them credit. 2 weeks ago when I went to the car wash, I parked my car between the pillars, paying attention to where I was so that the front car door could swing open all the way, and I could get out. What I didn’t pay attention to was where the chair topper would be as it opened. So, when it extended all the way, oops, it bumped one of their vacuum cleaner pillars. It seemed to work fine these past 2 weeks, so I didn’t worry about it. Today, coming back from PT, I noticed that the plastic housing of the whole thing was cracked. And I watched it operate more carefully and realized that one part was not straightening out all the way. So, even though it was doing the job I needed, I thought it should be looked at. When I stopped at the Ability Center I told them that I really only wanted a quick check today, to be sure it was safe, and that I’d come back another day with an appointment if needed. But they straightened out the part that needed it, and pushed the plastic so the crack isn’t large, securing it on the back. Granted it was only 10 -15 minutes, and duct tape, but I expected them to charge me anyway. I appreciate their assistance, and do feel reassured I didn’t create any serious damage.

3. Jim is away, so again I’ve got a cat helper. This time though, a 12 year old neighborhood girl is helping to catch Jasper so I can pill him. Jasper doesn’t exactly like getting pills, but he isn’t freaked out about it anymore either. The whole procedure takes about 5 minutes, and this is a much easier level of accepting help for me! Why can’t they make cat medicine in cat flavors!

4. Total time spent on disability today – (wheelchair order, PT, Ability Center and transportation) about 4 hours. Tomorrow, finally I see the hand specialist, a day to focus on my wrist.