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JimInVA

Very helpful member
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Joined
May 29, 2014
Messages
1,013
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Lost a loved one
Diagnosis
04/2014
Country
US
State
VA
City
Poquoson
My fellow caregivers understand just how important each and every piece of equipment can be. We have to keep things working, maintain adequate supplies (i.e. hose filters) and perform periodic inspections. On Monday of last week, I noticed that our Honda Odyssey conversion van's annual state vehicle inspection tag had expired in January... and it was now almost March. Oh my! Finding time to do much of anything that is not "regular and routine" is pretty much not going to happen. And now I've got to find time to get the car in for inspection. That means taking a day off from work (which means closing the business for a day) so that I can sit and wait for the car or getting someone to take me in to drop off the car and to take me back to pick it up when done.

Fortunately, I have a wonderful daughter (Connie) who loves to be asked to help. I explained that I needed to get the van inspected and she replied with, “I can call in sick if you need this in a hurry. Otherwise, I can work my schedule next Wed to meet you at work in the morning and then come back after my first job is over and before my second job starts.” I opted for the latter. Now all I’d have to do is avoid getting a ticket for the next week as I waited for Wednesday to arrive.

And so yesterday morning, I got Darcey (my PALs) out of the car and into her office at work. My daughter arrived shortly thereafter and we were off to the “car place”. After dropping off the van, Connie returned me to our business before heading off to her first workplace for the day. Now all I needed to do was wait for the call that the van was done and ready for pickup.

Connie returned about 3PM but we’d not heard about the van, yet. Though not currently doing “hair”, Connie is a Licensed Professional Hair Stylist. So she filled the time while we were waiting to give both Darcey and me haircuts. And then the phone rang…

“Hi! I’m calling about your Honda Odyssey. I needed to let you know that I am going to have to FAIL the inspection due to a problem with the vehicle’s air bags. This is a very serious problem, sir, and you will have to take it back to the dealer or manufacturer of the conversion to get it fixed. And you have 15 days to get this done before the rejection sticker expires.” I probably looked like a fish out of water as I was gasping for air and trying to think about all that he’d just said. Rejected? More time for repairs? 15 days? IMPOSSIBLE! Shoot me because I’m sooo done!! I mumbled something about it taking over a week just to make arrangements for the inspection… and not being able to be without the van because of my wife… and they don’t do wheelchair van rentals… and how am I going to manage to get any of this done?!? I finally gathered myself together enough to ask if it was ready for me to pick up and he said, “I just need to put the rejection sticker on it and I’ll be done.”

For us, the van is critical for much of what we do. I am Darcey’s primary caregiver. She comes into work with me because it’s good to get her out of the house and because she has to follow her caregiver. And our business provides the group insurance that pays for her equipment, doctors and medicine. To not have the van would mean making some serious changes… and any changes would be difficult… even if only lasting a matter of days. My head was still reeling as Connie took me back to pick up my van.

As I walked into the car shop to reclaim my rejected van, the owner came up to me and said, “We’re not quite done with it yet. We’re trying to track down a State Patrol Officer, with the proper authority, who might be able to create a waiver for the air bags. We’ve also researched and found that there are clauses that allow for air bags to be disabled for `medical necessity’. So basically, we’re trying to find a way to legally pass the inspection for you.”

So while we were waiting to see if someone from the State Patrol would call back, the inspector and I were talking. I mentioned that I had never seen any indication of a problem with the air bags. As such, I suggested that it must be something that had just happened. I mentioned a wiring harness that connects to the removable driver’s seat from the side of the car. So he took me out to my van to show me what he was seeing and to have me show him the wiring harness/connection I’d mentioned. He leaned into the front seat and turned on the car. Two air bag indicators came up on the dash… and only one cleared. The other one (one that I’d never ever seen before that moment) refused to clear. So I removed the connector and reconnected. Again he leaned into the car, turned it on and this time the indicator cleared correctly. So he tried it again… and again… for 5 more times… and each time the problem light was back. “This is why I have to fail it”, he said. So I asked him if I could do what I do each and every time that I use the car… just to see if that light came on for me. He agreed. So I got into the car, sat in the driver’s seat, closed the door, fastened the seatbelt, put the key in and turned the car on. ALL INDICATORS CYCLED TO CLEAR. He said, “do it again”. And I did. Again, all clear. He had me perform the same turn the car off, turn it back on and check the indicators another half dozen times. At which point he looked at me and said, “I’m going to pass your van. I can’t fail it for something that I can no longer see and tell you to fix what I can no longer identify as being broken. That simply would not make any sense.”

The weight of the world was suddenly lifted off my shoulders. I so wanted to do one of Tillie’s “Happy Dances”… but sought to maintain a casually calm happy state. Inside I was screaming in joyous five part harmonies! Ten minutes later I was driving away with a State Inspection good for another full year. My oh my… such a lucky, lucky guy…
 
Oh Jim, you did SOOOOOO well!! I'm sure that many of us would have crumpled and not thought to walk through the situation the way you did. Boy and I glad it worked out as it did for you!1

Becky
 
Wow Jim!

Talk about saving the day at the very last minute :)

I just love these little stories of victory, every single one needs to be a huge celebration, and definitely dance material :D

thank you so much for sharing it with us
 
Jim, fyi our van seats measure pressure. The air bag lights go on and off depending on weight in the seats.
 
Jim,

I am so very happy that things turned out so well for you. I think I would have cried when I was told what they initially said to you. I think it was awesome the way they were trying to help you by suggesting the disarming the bags for "medical necessity".

The little things that need to be done like inspections, routine car maintenance, etc. that were so easy before are huge challenges now. I have no one to stay with my husband and can't be sitting at a car dealer's service department for hours waiting for my car. I have had to let many things slide for now.

Sharon
 
My stomach sank as I was reading when you got the bad news. I think I'd have crumbled into a puddle right there and then. Hurray to you for calmly walking it through and finding the solution. The image I got was the duck, sitting calmly on top of the water, paddling like heck underneath!

Soooo glad it worked out. Definitely a passage to include in that book you have to write someday! :)
 
Jim,

What a nightmare! I would have been in meltdown mode for sure. Glad you got it taken care of.

V
 
Wow! Jim, The thought of 15 days without our van would have been overwhelming. Like Darcie, I go to work with my husband though he only works a couple of days a week. Last November our van wasn't running well and then wouldn't start. It was three tow trucks, some missed work days, one chilly walk home and about twelve total days in the shop before they found the cause. Drove us nuts!
 
Each of our worlds now often revolve around various forms of equipment... some for which there are no quick replacements or loaners. Deep down, I know that regardless of what can happen I will find a solution or workaround. But when in the midst of some calamitous or unexpected moment, the accompanying panic, apprehension or anxiety can be profoundly crippling.

Jim
 
Jim, I can only imagine your anguish when faced with the prospect of being without the van. I have a backup wheelchair. Now do I need to consider a backup van?

Fortunately, we live in a place that does not require inspections (either for the condition of the vehicle or for emissions). While I am an ardent environmentalist, I am selfishly grateful not to have to put up with the inspections.

I am very surprised by the reaction of the person in the inspection shop. When I lived in a place that required emissions inspection, I never encountered such a caring person. It sounds like he went out of his way to help you when it seemed like the easy thing would have been to fail your van.

His initiative at finding workarounds and then letting you work with him to find a way it could actually pass both go above and beyond what I would have imagined encountering.

I am so happy to hear that this worked on well in the end.

Steve
 
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