What do you do when your wheelchair breaks?

[swalker]

As I posted in another thread, my 5-month old wheelchair had a significant malfunction last week. The seal for the left gear box failed catastrophically and oozed icky grease all over the place. The sound a wheelchair gear box makes with insufficient grease is kind of frightening.

It is now at the wheelchair place being repaired. I will likely be without the wheelchair for only a week because it is a warranty repair. If it was not a warranty repair, they said I could expect to be without the wheelchair for 6 weeks or more.

I am currently mobile enough that this is a significant inconvenience with increased risk of falling. However, I can get by for a week without a wheelchair by being careful and rearranging/deferring some activities. But, I feel like my freedom has been stripped from me. I will get through it, but yuck!

But, what will I do when I am more dependent on the wheelchair and it fails?

This leads to the question of what others are doing when a wheelchair fails. I have heard of some folks having backup wheelchairs. I have read of some that can arrange a loaner.

I need a wheelchair that fits me well because my most significant weakness is in my torso. Thus, I am skeptical that a loaner would work.

I am leaning towards buying a used, but well-cared for wheelchair as a backup.

What have you done or are you planning to do when your wheelchair is in the shop?

As always, thanks to everyone for the feedback.

Steve

 

[davbo49]

the asla as put back 500 for any work needs done. i know when me and nerdo was racing through the house and in turn 4 we Brock. jane called up the ones we got it from. it took some time but it was done with no pay.

 

[GregK]

My backup is a manual wheelchair.

 

[Nuts]

You can often find used PWCs for anywhere from $1200 to $5000 on Craigslist. Since most people cannot afford them without insurance, and the copay is so much less than the true value, most people get them new through insurance and there's not a huge market for used. Certainly no one is going to pay 40K for a used one. Since you need such a large chair it might be a good idea to start looking now. We found a (not gently) used Permobile for $600. It is much older, was filthy, and needs a battery, but will allow hubby to get around upstairs in the house for as long as he can use the stairglide. Cleaning it was a chore; now to find time to get it to the dealer for that battery and a once over.

 

[davbo49]

My backup is a manual wheelchair.

my mwc was a big backup for me when my chair was down. the only thing jane should never try to drive lol.

 

[MaxEidswick]

>My backup is a manual wheelchair.

us 2

 

[zoohouse]

We were blessed in that our ALS society has a great equipment locker and sent us a PWC for backup. We have had to use it a couple of times and it was horrible but better than nothing. The last time his chair broke down, I thought he might have to spend his time in bed, but thankfully it worked itself out after being unplugged for 3 hours.
Paulette

 

[krnNdug]

I would check with the local ALSA or MDA Chapters loan closets. Ours have quite a few chairs, donated by surviving cALS.

 

[texastracy]

>My backup is a manual wheelchair.

us 2

Ditto

 

[Barbie]

we have a backup that we bought on eBay for a couple thousand. it is not the perfect chair, but if his goes down it is better than laying in bed.

 

[John1]

I still use scooters. At home I use a Pride Go-Go Elite Traveller and have an older one for backup. They are very inexpensive compared to wheelchairs.

 

[swalker]

I want to thank everyone for your replies. They have been most helpful.

I picked up my fixed PWC today. They had it for 9 days, which appears to be very quick turnaround for wheelchair repair of this nature.

Based on all the feedback, my wife and I have decided that a backup power wheelchair is necessary. The biggest problem will be finding a place in the house to store it.

I am not sure if I will get one similar to my main wheelchair or one that is quite different and complements my main wheelchair. I see pros and cons to both approaches.

I have started the search, but have not yet turned up any likely candidates. I think having one within the next couple of months should be soon enough.

Again, thanks for the feedback.

Steve

 

[Green Queen]

Good luck with the search Steve. Sometimes too much choice can be just as bad as not enough!
God bless, Janelle x