Dark Days

I hate to categorize any day a bad day, a completely bad day. I like to believe I can find goodness somewhere in any day which is presented to me but yesterday was close. The day was cold as I started off. I knew this was going t be so , hence I was not too distraught. I had an early morning presentation at the Veterans Administration med center on foothill. I was supposed to have had a half of tank of gas but as I got to 45 south I realized I was getting low but I thought I might make it to the VA and I would get some gas on my way back to the office when I had more time. I as I neared 3300 South I knew I was in trouble and I would not

be able to wait till after my presentation. I swung into a Sinclair station and went through process of downloading, pumping the gas and reversing the while process. Now I was running late but I was still sure I could get to my designation by the proscribed time. In fact I did get there in time, The V.A. Medical Center is Huge facility, buildings are numbered and quite scattered about. I found the right building and I was doing great until I went to transfer from the drivers seat to the power chair. As I was leaning into my power chair preparing to make the jump, my hand slipped on the back of the power chair and my hand caught the cord to my control unit and pulled the cord, which is the power connector, out of the controller. I was dead in the van. I just sat there staring at my non-functional chair just minutes before my presentation was to begin to the Social work Department. There was no one to be seen anywhere on this part of the medical campus. I had a phone number and a cell phone but found when I tried to use it the number was for a pager. It was just then someone exited Building 8. I flagged him over to the van and lo and behold it was Craig the guy who was hosting the event I was to present at. I had to talk Craig through the re-connection of the power to my controller but the time he had the time was late and the Social workers had to get back to work—I gave Craig a packet of brochures and gave Craig a mini-presentation. Hopefully I will be invited back next month or month after for the ‘real’ staff meeting.

Back at the office, I plugged my chair and went back to work—I had another meeting at 3:30 and I wanted to make sure I had enough power to make the rest of my meetings. The office became quiet, I noticed and realized I was alone—everyone had left the office for a speech up at the university. As I was getting ready to leave for my meeting and unplugged by chair and doing so caused my chair to slip into “non-movement”. This happens sometimes when I disconnect and I have to have someone unplug and plug in my chair and “reboots” my electrical system. No one was n the office and once again I am stranded with no one round and I am not sure w\hen anyone would be round. Lucky for me just as I was getting my cell out and Warren the building maintenance guy let himself in and I was able to talk him through the process and I was free again.

These are just two events which darkly colored my day there were others, believe me but this by far was the toughest day I have spent in a long while. So far today is better.