Trucking With The Power Wheelchair

It's been a busy couple of days. I didn't feel up to writing yesterday what with laundry to do and Emma's party to attend. That's a full day for me. Today was just as full. David took me out to Cross Iron Mills for lunch, then to Costco for shopping. Believe or not, that took all of five hours, so my day is done. Well, almost done. I'm writing and enjoying a giant bowl of breakfast cereal for dinner. I had a big lunch.

The real objective of today was to see how we could get me in and out of my truck using my power wheelchair. It's something David and I have done before. It's something others have done with me too. But it's been a while since last winter, so we both rightfully wanted a refresher. Since my truck is once again insured, today seemed like a good day.

There were new lessons learned today and old lessons re-learned today. The first lesson was about my feet. We initially tried to transfer me up into the truck, which is about two inches higher than the highest lift on my power wheelchair. We left my feet resting on the wheelchair pads which in turn held my legs back as David tried to push me up the slope. I slid sideways, slipping half off the transfer board and lodging between the truck and chair. After some effort, we managed to get me reseated. We tried again.

The second lesson we learned was about getting me up that two inches. After placing my left foot into the truck and my right foot over on the left foot pad, David pulled me up the transfer board, not all in one strong motion but in a series of smaller, easier tugs. It took longer but it meant even someone not so strong could probably do it. That's important for future users.

The third lesson was that it's a lot easier to get me out of the truck than into it. This is not new news. I can remember this from last summer when Lewis and Meg were here. On the other hand, Lewis had no problem just shoving me in up that board. Not everyone has his strength.

Of course David had to relearn how to get the power wheelchair up the ramp into the back of the truck. That only took him a minute or two. The big hold up was when we realized that this new iteration of my chair won't drive forward when tilted back. You can only tilt so far and then it stops. So he had to get that tilt positioning perfect in order for the chair to fit. He got it perfect. All was well.

So now I am home, exhausted, shaking as I write. As I said, long day.