Power Up!!

Every once in a while fates turns it's head and smiles on you or in this case me. I have been fretting about having to get new set of batteries for my power chair. I have been considering a new set of batteries for some time—since I found out my insurance will no longer do their once a year purchase—which was one of the main reason I opted to buy a power chair new. I was led to believe if one does buy a power-chair new with their insurance the batteries are always provided by he insurance. Wrong!

So, I have been putting off having to purchase a set of batteries as long as I could, but, this is becoming less an option. The batteries I have now drain more and more quickly. Thankfully I have not be stranded as yet but I must be vigilant and charge at every chance I get. Even if I charge all night and my batteries register at 100 percent when leave the house I am now down to the mid 80's by the time I get to work and if I don't plug in with my “at work” charger, I best not be going anywhere for lunch and I had better get my charger on the batteries a good two hours before I leave for home or have my phone be ready to call Dianne when I get to the train stop for her to fetch me in the van. This kind of living has been do able but is getting to be a real pain and the fact remain I still need new cores.

So last week I actually started my physical therapy regimen at up at the University and decided I might as well to 'bight the bullet' and buy the batteries since I was out anyway. Dianne was occupied when I started calling round to different battery houses and I mystified to see there was almost $100.00 difference in price of one batter and I needed two. I knew if I were able to buy a set of batteries somewhere I could get my friends at Utah Center for Assistive Technology do the install saving me some money. I finally found three places where I could but the batteries for les then $200.00 a piece more like $150.00 which is strikingly high but compared to $250.00 much more palatable. One place I called did no have any the size I needed and would take a week to order the batteries and the other place one battery and would take an hour to have someone bring another from the warehouse and then yet another who had two cores in house but these batteries cost two dollars more then the lowest cost but there were in stock and I swooped over and picked them up.

An hour later I was over at UCAT dismayed and tired. The batteries were too large for my battery box—the batteries would not work. So, now I has to shag ass back to the battery store return the cores and have them put the money back in to my account and get over to the hospital for dinner with the family of the new born. Which I did.

yesterday I spoke with my friend, the director of UCAT, who gave me the name of the person he goes to when he needs batteries for the wheelchairs he works on. I called and found I was eligible for the State's cost of batteries since I was a state employee-sweet--. I have an appointment for friday afternoon following my physical therapy. So $300.00 for a set o batteries is far less then $500.00 but still way uncomfortable especially since one of the reason I went for a new chairs was the battery perk but that was then and this is now and I gotta power on.