I feel like Lori. I have also had more chairs but I hate all the tweaking you
go through when you have to replace a chair. My chair looks like it has been on
a long ugly road, but I'm use to it. I have seen 25 year old Peremobiles. I
have no idea how to get one with CMS. I may wind up replacing a TDX3 with a
TDX3. It is as if they don't learn. They buy cheap junk and have no idea why it
doesn't last as long as one that costs more from Europe. My chair is over 10500
hours but has only read it has gone 4 miles for about a year. It was up to 2200
miles before it freaked out. they have me on a 2 month waiting list to see a PT
that just retweaked the orthopedics on my old chair. Can't we just skip on down
to ORDER THE DAMN CHAIR! Is there a rule that it has to take 6 months to a
year. Have any of you had a chair that eats batteries? I think it began when
the electronic odometer screwed up.
I do not feel I have been ripped, but chairs have improved. The people I work
with, DME, CRT, OT, and PT are all pretty good at making sure I get a
combination of what I need and what CMS pays for. I definitely don't sign jack
unless what they have is right.
Don't be afraid to ask them to put on a MyDesc desktop or power out system.
That runs my bed and tv when the power goes out so definitely hold out for the
biggest batteries you can get and if you don't fly, you do not need gell cells.
maintenence free deep cycles is all you need with the most amp hours you can
get in the size you want.
john
________________________________
From: Lori Michaelson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Greg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; quad-list@eskimo.com
Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 7:56:59 PM
Subject: Re: [QUAD-L] Big Tires in Front
I most certainly agree with you Greg! The dealers are essentially salesmen
(like any salesperson) and they are looking at the big $$$$ that are going to
come from insurance companies or Medicaid that pay for these power chairs that
have very high price tags now.
The downside however is that when you get a chair from a dealer (vendor) then
they are responsible for all the repairs and if Medicare or Medicaid paid for
the chair -- Medicare or Medicaid will pay for the repairs or ongoing
replacement parts. And the great majority of people here on the list do not
have the money to just buy a chair from someplace else (not a dealer) and any
other monies to pay for any ongoing repairs or parts.
I feel that I know my body best and therefore I would be telling/asking the PT
(no matter who pays for the chair) WHAT EXACTLY I need. Over the last 29
years, I have had only three wheelchairs. The first one (gotten for me when I
was still in rehab by the supposed experts) was a simple Everest and Jennings
power chair. A sling seat with a motor and a switch.
Looking back at photographs now and what little that I remember -- I did not
fit very well in the chairat all and my upper torso was "humped over." After I
came home, I always remember wanting people to stand behind me and pull my
shoulders back so I would sit up straighter. Being a "new quad" -- I was still
figuring things out as far as my body and adjusting to this new world.
This was 1980/1981 when I got the chair and I do not thinkback then they had
the TILT or RECLINE features. OMIGOD - I could never go without one or the
other now without being so uncomfortable that I would rather stay in bed!
I got my second wheelchair around 1984 and it only had the recline feature.
But it was perfect to adjust my back forward or backward and I did it
constantly with the flip of a switch. I had that chair (FORTRESS SCIENTIFIC)
for 12 years and then in January of 1999 I got the PERMOBIL with both the tilt
and recline features.
I use the TILT feature constantly to relieve pressure off my upper torso and
neck muscles. But I rarely use the recline because it makes me shift a little
bit down in the chair and it has always been uncomfortable - UNLIKE the FS I
had for 12 years.
Pros and cons, pros and cons. I am long overdue for a new wheelchair but it
takes my body so long to adjust to a new wheelchair and I have not had the
energy or endurance (not to mention a million other things going on in life) to
do try out different ones. This chair will be 10 years old in a couple months
or less but I am too used to it.
Lori
On Tue, Nov 25, 2008 at 7:59 AM, Greg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
To those who bought through a dealer. I would never buy a chair directly though
a chair dealer again. I had too many problems doing that. I found going through
a PT helps a lot. They have a dealer rep meet you with them so they both can do
a real evaluation. Measuring, weighing, checking for spine curving, seeing if
you need special needs, and pressure mapping, etc. My spine is curving from
years of not using trunk/lateral supports, my legs spread out from my Roho
cushion, etc. So I needed extra pad/supports to hold me straight. (I have an
appointment to get my trunk/lateral supports fixed because they keep popping
open and I tip over. I've tried a number of swing away types. I guess I just
need to try fixed ones not swing away.) Best thing about using a PT is you can
call them if it's not perfect for you and they call the chair rep. They get
thing fixed better and faster then. I find chair reps just try to rush you
through not caring if it's what you
want or exactly what you need. The PT I used gave me a few good Ideas I never
thought of and previous reps never mentioned.
Greg
--
Lori
C4/5 complete quad, 27 years post
Tucson, AZ
