Received great news yesterday (Oct 13, 2021) - AADL (Alberta Aids to Daily Living) has officially approved my application in purchasing a powered wheelchair 🦼. They will be purchasing the wheelchair itself, the cost of the tilting mechanism (~$3500.00) plus granted me another $4000.00 towards the cost of the Vigo technology to run the wheelchair. Maximum Healthcare is the name of the vendor providing me with the wheelchair as well as other accessories to help with my daily living such as a lifting of the wheelchair seat so that I can speak to someone at eye level for a change. The total cost for me will be $8003.00 for upgrades and accessories. So just like buying a new car or a house even, that is what has gone into purchasing my powered wheelchair. There is the basic powered chair (~$20,000) + all the upgrades (~$12,000)

Excited to see what doors will open, literally. The major accomplishment for me, is going through the door of the sunroom area. My manual chair’s width prevented me from going inside. How exciting to be able to have my visits with family and friends there instead of in my room. To know I can gain some independence is thrilling, almost like I am gaining back something that I thought I had lost. This will be such a blessing in my life, being a part of a community again. 

Here are some videos of my trialing the powered wheelchair using a Vigo headset and Bluetooth to control the wheelchair. The chair I used didn’t have a tilting mechanism, so didn’t quite allow me to be more upright in the chair. 





Comments

  1. Unknown18 October 2021 at 05:54

    YAY, AMEN, and HALLELUJAH!!
    So pleased you got the approval and will soon(?) be zooming around spreading your joy more freely

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Meeting Dr. Chris White - Neuromuscular Physician

On September 22, 2018, my friend Marilyn and I had the opportunity of attending an education session at Mount Royal University hosted by the GBS/CIDP Organization. The topic was GBS and IVIG treatment (intravenous immunoglobulin). The last speaker was Dr. Chris White, a neuromuscular physician from Calgary’s South Health Campus Hospital. In his presentation he described how IVIG treatment works depending on the type of GBS variant you have. In the presentations earlier left me a bit disheartening as I keep hearing people’s questions asking, “ I have been taking IVIG treatments for the past 2 years.. ”. I thinking, “ Are you kidding me? I only got in the beginning, September 2016 and now it’s 2 years later. Has my recovery been slow because I haven’t received additional IVIG treatments while in hospital?” But Dr. Chris White’s presentation helped me turn my feelings around. There are various variants of GBS and how you use IVIG treatments depends on your variant. Okay, feeling better
Read more

Happy 50th Birthday to me

On September 17, 2020 - I turn the big 5-0!! Imagine I will be a half century old - 5 decades. How it has been a learning journey as I look back. Thought I would be reflective as I move into a new decade. Seeing how I evolved into the person I am to, you can see your strengths and weaknesses to your personality. Also you can see how events you have in life can change the direction you would have been going down. Of course, these same events can “forever change your life”, and one needs to learn how to pick up those pieces to continue on with your life. Some people don’t like to look back and only forward. If you lost someone, you don’t feel comfortable talking about this person, maybe as it hurts too much to remember the pain of losing that someone. I am of the mind - looking back helps me see how far I have come or what I have overcome.  In November 2009, I hit a low, probably a form of depression. I didn’t realize at the time, I was heading into a pool of darkness and negativity, not
Read more