Update on My Wheelchair

A couple hours after I posted the blog post about my wheelchair, I figured out a way to get outside. I realized that we have power outlets outside around my house. So, I just unplugged my vent from inside and plugged it in outside. It was kind of funny though because Brody would come out with me thinking we were going for a walk. Although he got very confused when I didn’t have his leash and we never left my backyard! 

Also, my vent has an internal battery of about an hour. I ended up going on short rolls with Brody. However, I didn’t feel comfortable going for more than 20-30 minutes. I didn’t want to risk losing power away from my house and a power source.

The following Monday after they said the external box was short-circuited, I called to check-in on the order. They decided to send someone else out to see if they could figure out if there was one other thing they could do before ordering one. Although he checked everything and confirmed that because there was no power going from my wheelchair to the external box, that I would need a new one.

It didn’t end up coming in until Thursday, July 2. That’s when a third guy came to replace it. After doing so, he realized that there still wasn’t power going to the new external battery box. He called someone from the company and together they figured out that it wasn’t the box at all. The problem was that when he changed the two wheelchair batteries, he didn’t hook it up right.

Each battery is 13 volts, and my ventilator needs at least 24 volts of battery to run. When he went to hook the box back into the wheelchair battery, he only hooked it up to one battery and not both. Therefore, it wasn’t getting enough charge. It was such an easy fix for so much hassle! I should have remembered this because the same thing happened last year. Although it didn’t take as long to figure it out.

Well, I’m back up and running now. Lately I’ve just been getting outside every day, although the temperatures have been above 90°F. It doesn’t bother me though. One day when I got inside, I took my temperature and it was 96.5°F even with wearing a long-sleeved sweatshirt. I’m hoping to start getting away from my neighborhood and out to some stores now that they are open.

Jenni