Elevating

I never realized how disabled I was until three years ago when I had my stenosis operation which left me more dependent than I have ever been in my life. Up until that point for some reason I is seen in my disability as an inconvenience but not a disabling condition. Oh, I could sense something was coming, and I would debilitate but that's something far off down the line I thought. I did not think debilitation was relevant to me at the time boy, was I wrong.

Since those days following my waking from the operation which left me more impaired then I had been all my life, I began to contemplate the place that assistive technology plays in my life. Power chairs rocker knives, zipper pulls, it's and electric beds. I take off almost daily (in good weather and bad) in my power chair not thinking specifically that I can be stranded literally out on the tarmac in many times I have causing me know little about stress. Luckily, each time I have been stranded out of the tarmac I've been able to get assistance from altruistic passerby's . I truly appreciate their intervention. There is nothing more unnerving to me then when my systems fail. It's like one seconds the universe Superman, hero of independence in the next second is sitting on the sidewalk at 400 pound piece of art not going anywhere just been admired by passersby. In that instant the reality of your disability is brought to bear front and center in your mind. What is really weird is that you are basically safer having your fail in publicthen at home.

That is what happened to me this morning just after 6 AM. For some reason I had woken up around 4 AM hand had not been able to get back to sleep. Finally around 6 AM I decided to get up and do some cleaning before my home health professional arrived. I cooked a roast yesterday and some other items the kitchen floor was a mess. I had clothes I still had to hang the washing from the weekend and when I went to actuate's my pendant to raise my bed so that I might transfer into my chair to bed would not. The other functions of the pendant worked just not the raising and lowering of the mattress/bed. The bed was in the down position, as low as it would go in a new there's no way I was going to be able to do a traditional transfer from the bed to my chair, I could about one time but not now. I mean I was stressed, a little freaked but I knew that worst-case scenario I could call my brother who would come over and get me out even though he is at work or I can just wait around in my own health person would eventually show up and do the trick but that was still an hour and a half away. I laid in bed and fretted for a while – – there was little else I could do. Then towards 6:30 AM I left at the front of the bed of and I also lifted the back of the bed that changes the better to select a chair and when I did that I realized my hips were very close to the same height of my wheelchair. I realized if I swung my legs ove r the seat and scooted to the site of the bed I can throw myself partially on the cushion of the power chair and then pull myself onto the chair after which packages the power functions of the chair to set me up. This I did! I could tell this was not healthy for my chair up a lot of stress on the front of my chair but I could do it I could make the transfer.

My home health person came over and I got my activities out of the way. I called the manufacturer of my power chair after finding the number of the files for its purchase. I spoke with a young man named Ben. He advised me that rather than a burned-out motor which I sort of thought might be the problem that I should check to see if a wire had come undone on the side the motor. He said many times this was the situation. Later on my brother did come over and sure enough we found the wire which was the culprit. My brother reconnected the wire and then zip tied the wire into place and now I'm safe from having the wire from coming loose. Once again I was back in the race. I would be able to get myself to bed and up again independently.

I'm so lucky to have the technology I enjoy. I must remain vigilant however not it over confident and be ready to accept anybody's help, anytime anywhere.