New wheelchair and stuff.

A couple years ago I was getting a new backrest put on my wheelchair and Don the Occupational Therapist asked, "How old is your chair?" I really had no clue. So they looked it up and they found out it was purchased in 2001. I could not believe how old it was. They also could not believe how old it was. They were going to give me an award for the oldest chair to come through the door.

The reason why I never got a new chair was because there was really nothing wrong with the one that I had. Like I said I had to put a new backrest on it but that had nothing to do with the actual mechanics or the motor of the chair. Also over the years I have gotten new seat cushions to help with pressure and stuff but my chair was still the same old chair. The only thing I have ever had wrong with the chair was the wiring got a little brittle in one spot where they would get kinked. But my brother-in-law Brad rewired it and it was better than when it was new.

Another reason why I like my wheelchair is because I have made quite a few modifications to it. The two biggest modifications were of course related to hunting/fishing. Priorities. My crossbow mount attaches to one of the wheelchair canes. The canes are the posts that come up behind my back that have handles on them. My rifle mount is attached underneath my seat and has been customized to fit that particular chair. Also my fishing pole holder attaches to the same rifle mount. It would be hard to give up these things or to modify them on the new chair. I would rather stick with the old chair and be able to hunt then get an upgrade.

When I was getting the new backrest put on the chair the therapist said that I really should be looking into getting a new one just in case something goes wrong with this one. He said it is good to have a backup because most chairs do not last as long as the one that you have. So this spring I decided to pull the trigger and order a new wheelchair. I guess insurance will pay for a new one about every five years. So I was long overdue. For 19 years my wheelchair did me good and we did a lot of stuff and things together.

The problem with ordering a new chair was I needed to make sure that the frame and base was the same exact size as my old chair. I needed this to be exact because my pickup was built around my wheelchair. I was a little leery about ordering something and then finding out when I got it that it would not fit in my customized pickup. That would suck. But then I thought to myself if it didn't fit I would just sell it on the black market and make some cash.

The ordering process started on May 27 for the new chair. Jeanne at Altru told me that the new chair would probably come in three or four months. She was about right on because the chair came in sometime in September and I made an appointment to get fitted for the chair September 16.

I worked with Altru Performance Center in Grand Forks because they're the best at what they do. I do not deal with Scamford's Healthcare Accessories in Fargo anymore unless I absolutely have to. They suck. Altru's Yorhom Medical Essentials in Grand Forks are much better to work with.  

The people at Altru Performance Center in Grand Forks are awesome to work with. Jane the Occupational Therapist Extraordinaire, Jeanne the Assistive Technology Practitioner Genius and Luke the Wheelchair Technician Magician are top-notch. I went back up there September 16 to get my chair adjusted. Jane made sure everything fit right and was going to work for me. She even made some adaptations so I could turn the chair on and off. She also got me in and out of the chair a couple times while they were making adjustments to the new wheelchair. Luke put the new bolt on the bottom of my wheelchair that slides into the wheelchair locking device in my pickup. He made all of the adjustments and swapped the stuff and things I needed from the old chair onto the new chair. Luke also unrolled my Roll-o-Ramp and drove my old chair into the back of the pickup. Plus he tied everything down and made sure everything was secure before we left Grand Forks and headed home.

The ride home sucked. I didn’t like the new chair right away. It didn't feel right. I was in pain. My body did not like it. Especially after the two hour ride home from Grand Forks. I went to bed right when I got home and didn't get up the next day. I wanted to go back to my old chair. I was being Mr. Negative. I don't like being negative. It sucks. But like Sarah said, "It is going to take time." She was right, my body was used to the old chair. After almost 20 years it is hard to get used to something that quick.

OT Jane even checked in with me a couple days later to see how I was feeling with the new chair. This is the message she sent me, "This is Jane (the OT) – I wanted to check-in and see how you are doing since we made those changes a couple days ago?  How is your back?  Pain?" I really appreciated that. I told her that I was not feeling very comfortable in the chair and she told me to keep track of all of the things that were bothering me.

So I made a list of things I needed changed for the next time I went to Altru. I needed them to cut out some of my shell that forms the backrest. I needed them to move the wheelchair canes forward because it felt like I was slouching. Also needed them to figure out the display screen that has the clock and other stuff on it. I also needed to figure out why I was getting a red spot on my right thigh since switching to the new chair. The sound from the electronics was also too loud and I needed that to be lowered. After two hours or so at my appointment on September 29 they made everything right. It now feels comfortable and just like how I felt before but now in a new chair. The only thing that is really different about the new chair is the electronics and the new fancy shiny rims. They are a little too fancy for me. But I think I will be able to rub off the shininess in short time.

Don B and I racing. He did well for an able-bodied fellow.

With the new chair been pretty much similar to the old chair it was easy to adapt my fishing and hunting mounts. I was worried about nothing. The crossbow mount was as easy as to taking it off the old chair and bolting it on the new one. The rifle mount was another story. It would attach to the new chair but we needed to do a lot more modifications. Cutting, fitting and modifying. The new chair has a lot more electronics and we needed to make everything fit around them. But after some meeting of the minds with my dad, Don B and T-rav, everything came together perfectly. I have been hunting with the crossbow and shooting rifle with the new chair and everything works slick. Giggity…

I can't thank the people I worked with at Altru Performance Center enough. They made everything easy and they made the transition to the new chair work as smoothly as it could. They made the four-hour round-trip well worth it, three times. Service like that is hard to find and when you find it you better use it because it doesn't come around that often. Thank you Jane, Jeanne and Luke.

Thanks for reading, Clint.

Just me giving rides on the new chair doing stuff and things I do.