In Praise of Wheelchair Van Rentals

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gardenvessel

Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2019
Messages
12
Reason
CALS
Diagnosis
03/2018
Country
US
State
WA
This may be a "preaching to the choir" post here, but today my partner/PALS had her ALS clinic visit today (always a stressful day for both of us) and for the first time we rented a wheelchair accessible van for transport. It was the BEST thing, and we are both over the moon about it!

Over the last year and a half, we have had to take an accessible taxi to and from the clinic. They are very affordable, but the trade off is that they are usually old, creaky, smelly, tiny vans with steep ramps that cause my partner physical pain to ride in because her wheelchair has to be sitting fully upright to get the door closed. The other medical transport services are either extremely expensive (thousands of dollars) or do not accommodate power chairs (too heavy) or are only available for emergencies and not appointments.

My partner looked up a few rental options and our clinic social worker offered some suggestions, too. We found a company that--for a fee--would deliver and pick-up, and the van is practically brand-new, so much room inside for the wheelchair to recline and store all the gear we have to take, the ramp is not steep at all, it smells fresh and is clean, and we can use it on our own time while we have it. It took away SO MUCH stress. The cost was still a little prohibitive, but you get what you pay for. On our way there and back home, every time I checked the rear view mirror she looked totally blissed out. She loved riding in it and I enjoyed driving it. I felt like a frickin' boss!

The rental requires we have it for a minimum of two days, so I'm taking another day off work and we are going for a joy ride! Something we used to enjoy together before DX and that we haven't done at all since her tracheotomy last summer. No destination planned--just gonna enjoy the drive!
 
I'm glad it worked out. Have a great day with Jen, Erin.

Best,
Laurie
 
I call the drive around our "family dog trip". Sometimes I roll down the window and bark at people. I know right
 
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