Ugh.
Spent the morning yesterday dealing with DH's PWC issues. A new tech came out (I requested a different one than we had been getting, as he seemed inexperienced at best) and looked at the chair. He took it apart and decided that it needed a whole new back assembly because something was sheared off. And the elevate needed to be replaced. The elevate function had been spotty lately, but it was completely kaput yesterday. Oh, and he should have new wheels, casters and batteries.
The back part is the real issue. He said that DH should not use the recline feature, and be careful with the tilt as he deemed the back very unstable. This presents a problem, as DH uses them both heavily. He is constantly re-positioning the chair to try to stay as comfortable as possible.
The tech was understanding and said he would put a rush on the parts. Then, of course, there was the matter of the elevator - insurance will not pay. He got a sticker price of $4400 from Permobil, but said they would be able to discount it "some". DH and I spoke about it and decided it was not worth the money to replace it. I know we can appeal the insurance decision (did that to get it covered when he originally got the chair) or contact Team Gleason about a grant, but I don't want to slow things down. The elevate was a great help when I could get DH up from the chair to transfer, or pull up to a hightop table to eat by himself, but those days are long gone.
So the chair is scheduled to go to the shop for repairs next Friday, pending receipt of all the parts. The tech said he would come out really early and try to have it back by the end of the day. Until then, we try to cope. Oh happy day.
It's getting up into the 80s outside here, yet DH is still cold all the time. Meanwhile, I, the one who is always cold, am melting when I'm in the room with him. And he wants someone with him all the time. He wants/needs to be moved often - probably will need more, with the current chair situation - and he's still pretty big - 6'1/225 or so. He spends most of the day in our sunroom with the temperature around 78. Occasionally he will let me put the ceiling fan on, but I can't even open the windows to get a little breeze. Transferring him to the commode and back in the bathroom leaves me a sweaty mess! He was freezing all winter, but I was hoping things would get in the spring/summer. I guess not.
Hoping for a better day today.
Hugs all around!