- Joined
- May 29, 2014
- Messages
- 1,013
- Reason
- 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…
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…