When It Rains It Pours

The title from this post comes from my Aunt.

So, I had been waiting for several months to get the motors repaired on my chair (the Cadillac).  The gears had been grinding, and locking up when I would try to turn or back up.  After numerous calls to my insurance provider, and yet another trip to the doctor to “establish medical need for the wheelchair” (you’d think they’d realize by now I have a lifelong disability that unfortunately requires co-dependence on a motorized device), the prior authorizations had finally come through after a month of waiting.  My vendor ordered the parts, picked up the chair last Monday, and had it fixed by Wednesday.  I was delighted.  The tank. my 16 yo chair which I have been using for the past few weeks, is wonderfully reliable and durable, but operates like its namesake.  So with chair fixed, and raring to go I went into work Thursday morning.  As 5 PM neared, I rushed out the door.  To my dismay, it was raining, and not just a little rain either.  I rushed to the bus stop, desperately seeking to minimize the chair’s exposure to the rain.  The buses rushed by, as I waited in the shelter, throwing up tidal waves of water over the feet of everyone else waiting in the shelter.  Finally, my bus arrived.  I board the bus, eager to get home, and rode the 3 blocks (normally I’d just take the chair directly home, but the rain was awful and I didn’t want to risk the chair acting up).  The bus dropped me off two blocks from my apartment.  I soldiered through the rain, the driving deluge soaking me to the bone.  Three minutes later, I arrived at the apartment, completely drenched.  My caregiver opened the door.  I rolled inside, and parked in my bedroom to get changed.

Dry and dressed I readied myself to continue on with my evening.  I pressed the on switch … nothing.  I tried again, but, alas, no luck.

Now, most every powerchair user has had this happen before.  Usually a good drying out will do the trick.  My caregiver threw me into the Tank, and put fans on the chair.  We aired out the chair all night.

Friday morning came.  I was getting ready for work.  We turned off the fans, and went to turn on the chair.  In the words of Dr. “Bones” McCoy “He’s dead Jim”.

So, like my aunt said upon hearing this story, when it rains it pours.