Oh, Wish - I hope you get your PALS out of the hospital as soon as possible. Yes, what a depressing environment a hospital is (& in the US it entails an elevated risk of MRSA & other infections).
Deb, I'm glad to hear you are doing o.k.
For everyone else who has wished us well on our snowbird adventures, thank you very much and I will try to enjoy it as much as I can for all of you as well. OMG - what a comedy of errors this has been at times tho, and I wish I would have some days that are not so stressful. I am very pleased with Dave's physical tolerance so far. However, 2 days ago while backing the Permobil w/c out of the rear ramp of the van the legrest power strap caught on something and it ripped. Today I tore a hole in the large area rug at the rental cottage when said footrest (hampered by an ineffectual/torn leg rest lift strap) dug into it. I have not yet committed to memory the fact that our particular wheelchair does NOT do well on area rugs and any carpeting that is not glued down!! (remind me to tell you about the time we got stuck in a hotel elevator on a loose carpet ....... so much fun pressing the emergency button because a piece of carpeting has us trapped!).
So, this evening after returning from a trip to the beach to see sunset and grab a bite to eat I managed to steer the front left wheel of the Permobil OFF the portable ramp we have with us! I do much of the steering of Dave's chair, due to his limited hand control. I thought it would be better if I hit the ramp a bit faster than yesterday. Yeah, that was a smart move on my part; would have been fine if my steering was better! I had to get the portable lift, manage to get it finagled around the ramp (not textbook use / "do not try this at home style." One wheel of the lift was securely on the ground while one was a bit wonky to say the least!!). Anyway, while using the lift to get Dave out of harms way, once I swing him free of the Permobil I discover that one of the lift straps was literally through parts of the right armrest of the w/chair!! I had to grab a lounge chair cushion and place on the deck, lower Dave down to the cushion, get the offending strap released from the chair, re-attach the strap, and get Dave hoisted again. All the while I am staying calm (uhuh, I have been told I am "totally unflappable" under fire ....... my true strength!) and not telling Dave that one leg of the lift is not on the ground!! So, I manage to pull the lift back off of the ramp and onto the deck and, not once but TWICE pulling the edge of the lift over my unprotected, flip-flop sheathed toes. Yep - I left out a few wails, and found later that I literally peeled the skin back off one toe! O.K., now I have Dave safely on level ground in the lift, and for whatever reason (stress??) he has been farting up a storm for the past 2-3 minutes. We both got a good laugh out of that. Now, back to the 460# Permobil that has it's front left wheel hanging off the ramp. I put the chair into manual (push) mode and actually was able to back it off the ramp .... pretty easy since gravity was assisting me. Easy, except that I nipped the edge of my little toe on the opposite foot ..... the same one I nicked last week with said chair! You would think I would be wearing steel toed boots by now, right?! Well, I got Dave into the cottage and into the recliner chair. I was kinda pleased with my prowess and controlling the situation by myself and first and foremost "securing the patient's safety/removing them from danger" ...... danger I had put him in by my poor steering of the chair! We just recently got the assistant driver controller (in the rear) and IDK if it's just me but I hate the thing!! It is hair trigger sensitive! I need to see if there is a sensitivity switch on it that can be adjusted; there should be.
As I sit here writing to you I am enjoying my second glass of wine - boy did I need it!
Wish me better driving skills at negotiating the ramp?!
I intend to start my own thread soon, but not sure what to name the thread - "Unsafe at any speed"?
Hugs!!