I am taking a deep breath before I write this blog. I have put off writing about "The Scooter" because every time I think about it my blood pressure rises about 200 points. Today I have taken my medication with hopes that I can make it through this without having a stroke or killing some one. (Can you guess who that someone might be?)
Someone who lives in my house with me has been getting weaker and weaker. Some days his breathing is OK and other days he is dragging butt. When his breathing is bad he can't move from the couch to the kitchen without pausing every other step, Around the house this isn't a problem because the condo is not huge and there are lots of places to sit on the way to the bedroom or kitchen. BUT when we have to go to the VA to see a doctor the journey becomes almost impossible. We have changed many appointments to video chats but there comes a point when a doctor needs to SEE The Man in person. (It is SO frustrating to make the journey to the VA only to have a doctor make you wait an hour and then not even physically examine you. Don't you think a pulmonologist appointment would involve at least listening to your lungs?????? Apparently not ! )
One of the major problems with visiting the VA is having enough oxygen to last the entire trip and visit. One tank of oxygen only lasts about 2 hours and even less when The Man has to turn up the flow rate because he is exerting himself by getting in and out of vehicles and wheel chairs. It is also a problem because I am pushing the wheel chair while The Man is rolling the oxygen tank in front of him. It is ridiculous and exhausting for both of us. We no longer drive ourselves to the VA because it is too much on me hauling the wheelchair in and out of the car, we now use VA transportation. That is working well. They arrive, wheel him out to a van, strap in the wheel chair with him in it and I get to ride along. When we get to the VA they get The Man and wheelchair out, push us up to what ever floor our appointment is on. When the visit is over we call the transport company and they send someone to pick us up. Unfortunately the last visit we had we ended up waiting 2 hours for our ride. We had to go back into the building, go up to the 5th floor to get a full oxygen tank because ours had run out. The VA is very accommodating so that isn't a problem, except for the push back and forth. The elevators are a real challenge for me as I may have written about previously.
Considering all this I thought it would be a GREAT idea if The Man got a scooter. The VA will provide an electric wheel chair or a scooter for anyone who qualifies. THREE years ago I started planting seeds in The Mans head. I would whisper in his ear, "SCOOTER". I would find articles in magazines and on the internet that talked about different types of vehicles available. Every time we were out and there was a person zipping along on a scooter I would casually remark " Look at that guy ! He's got a scooter! WOW! Look at him go !" Of course I would finish with, "THAT COULD BE YOU!!!!!" All my hinting and seed planting were ignored. I will give The Man credit that he never yelled, "WILL YOU PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT SCOOTERS !!!!!!" He just let it all fall on deaf ears. Until 2 weeks ago. The Man had a phone call with his VA social worker. He complained about how difficult it is getting around so they suggested he apply for a scooter. It was like he had NEVER heard this before. The Man got off the phone and said, "You know, I should get a scooter!" DUH ! What have I been talking about for 3 years ?????
The social worker set us up with an appointment with the wheelchair clinic and off we went to meet with someone who would access our needs. The young woman, Kate, was lovely and very helpful. She showed us all the things that were available to The Man. He chose the one he thought would work best for him. He sat on it, drove it around a bit and the young lady started writing up the order. It will be delivered to our home in 4-6 weeks. The VA will build a ramp for it to get into the house. They will instal a lift in the car that will pick the scooter up and swing it into the back of the van. We were ALL SET TO GO !!! NOT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was at this moment that The Man looked at me and said, "WE have to talk". OH GOD ! NOW WHAT ??? But I knew exactly what the problem was. We never mentioned to Kate that The Man will be returning to MI in about 6 weeks, probably never to return to FL. (The trip back and forth has become too much for hm to handle.) That was my signal to step in and say that The Man was leaving FL to return to MI in about 6 weeks. Would it be better if we waited until we got to MI to order a scooter from the VA up there?
OF COURSE IT WOULD BE BETTER TO GET ONE IN MICHIGAN WHERE HE LIVES !!
And so all of our time and energy to get to this meeting was a waste. Well, I guess not really. At least it gave The Man a chance to find out what was available so that when he gets home he has a starting point.
Will all this actually happen ???? Who knows. Guess we have to wait for the next blog.
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