New transportation! ♿️

Power to the people

So, I just talked to my wheelchair agent ♿️ (yeah, that’s a thing), and I have everything in place to get my power wheelchair built for me. He’s calling his boss and making sure the new insurance rules don’t preclude him from helping me from here on out, and, if they do, he’s going to refer me to a new company to build my chair for my needs.

No more manual shove, shove 👩🏻‍🦽; onwards to vroom vroom! 👩🏻‍🦼

I wrote all that, and before I could even add the below podcast episode, he called back. It’s a go! Insurance said yes, I can work with him, and because of Ehlers-Danlos, I qualify for the most powerful chair type (there are three groups of power wheelchair; I qualify for the highest group).

Can’t stop me now! More independence, more getting out and seeing people!

I met this wheelchair agent because I thought I was stuck. I was at UVA hospital, seeing my neurologist, and no transport was available to push me back down to the lobby from the fourth floor. Normally I am too independent (read: stubborn) for such treatment, but I had just received my Botox for migraines, and my body receives that as an injury and all kinds of autoimmune stuff happens and I feel…well, inebriated. But everyone was way too busy and I was not going to sit there in shame; I got wheels, baby, I got this. Right?

Wrong. I made it to the first hallway past the elevator on the first floor, and it felt like I was going to faint, and as if my shoulders were going to sucede from the Union. I took break after break, but the symptoms were worse, not better.

Then this gentleman carrying a leather portfolio stopped me and asked me if he could help me. “No offense, but you look faint.” No offense taken, I was. He asked permission to push me. And I was so grateful. As we traveled to the front door, he told me what he did for a living, and I couldn’t believe my luck meeting this kind man, who helped me only because he knew I was in distress.

And now, after so much coordination, and physical therapy and doctors’ visits and phone calls, it’s all happening. I am getting my own powerful chair. I don’t have to exhaust myself on outings.

Want to know what it feels like to be in my body? Here’s one podcast episode on it. Here ad-free for subscribers, or everywhere else for free: