The Voc Rehab power chair

So, as you can see I got two power chairs without all that much trouble. Yes, there were snags. No I did not get exactly what I wanted. But I got most of what I wanted.

Then after I moved to a nursing home, I needed a new power chair. BVR came into the picture again. My counselor was a colleague from the past who thought I should be working at the nursing home where I lived. So he made some arrangements and had me do some writing and developing of plans to get me in that direction. He also provided some rehab engineering that helped to evaluate and update my workstation. I needed a new computer, scanner, printer, monitor etc. BVR helped with that.

But I did not get the new power chair until I became a part-time communications coordinator for the nursing home where I lived. I did their family newsletter and developed an employee newsletter that was passed out once a month. They both were popular.

BVR worked with me and the occupational therapist who evaluated me for the chair had some ideas. We put our heads together and came up with a chair that worked for me. It was different from what I had had in the past and it was a different brand. But, I was able to adapt and use that chair.

Was it the best chair for me? I don't know about that. It was pretty swift and I have to admit I had some problems with it. I felt it went too fast. There were a couple of times I went off my modified van's lift (a 3 foot drop) – into a parking lot – because I could not slow the chair down. You could say that chair had a lot of speed. It would go really well outdoors. It seems in the world of power chairs I seem to almost always get some of what I want – but it's difficult to get all of it.

I knew the next power chair HAD TO BE different for my own safety.