Let me explain for you the whirlwind I have been in since my power wheelchair has been having problems. My Mom and I figured out that my chair was not holding a charge so I keep it charging all day while I watch TV. My house is very small and I don’t move around that much. It’s probably less than 10 feet from my bed to my TV in the other room. We talked and decided that I should call Diane at RIM to get my chair looked at. Take a look at how quickly and with such precision she works!:
I called her on December 19th late in the evening to leave a message for her to call me back. I woke up to a voicemail from her on December 20th that said she had also left a message with my Mom. She spoke with my Mom in the next couple days and told my Mom to have me send her copies of the front and back of both of my insurance cards. My insurance has changed since I first received my chair and now in addition to being on Medicaid, I am also on Medicare now. She also told my Mom to tell me to leave a message with my doctor to get prescriptions for both a “Wheelchair Evaluation” and a “Wheelchair repair.”
Brad, my wheelchair tech. came to my house on December 23rd. He did the evaluation and adjustments I needed to my armrests and my foot pads and then would talk to Diane about what I needed to do next regarding repair of my chair. Brad told me that day as soon as he came in and hooked my chair up to some kind of hand held voltage/Watt evaluator and told me that my batteries were not holding a charge. I did not know that I had more than one battery in my chair and I have been riding this thing for 3 1/2 years!
So, I already had the diagnosis of my wheelchair before Christmas and it wasn’t until after New Year’s dad I had an appointment to have my chair evaluated downtown at RIM. I went down to RIM with my Mom to get my chair evaluated on January 4th. It was there that Chris told my Mom to call NSM (National Seating & Mobility) set up an appointment what for my chair to come in and the worked on. Diane explained to us that it is better to have my chair go to the office instead of have them come to my house because if they get my chair on site, they have all the necessary components that I might need in the repair of my chair.
Chris and Diane both said that it is best if I do NOT accompany the chair to their office. Where am I going to sit?! I am in my chair most of my waking hours! My Mom just made the appointment for Monday. My chair is going out to Troy for a noon appointment. We rented a van to take my chair there. I will remain at my house. We have figured out that my Mom will get me out of bed and into my manual wheelchair and then Sean will come here to be with me while my Mom is in Troy with my wheelchair.
so, it seems that from late in the evening of December 19 to January 10 my wheelchair will be scheduled for a, “Tune-up.”