Joystick bracket installed and lowered…

I was starting to feel that getting the new bracket for the joystick installed was going to take forever.

I never really thought I would get the new joystick bracket before, or right after, Thanksgiving. It's good I was not anticipating a Thanksgiving gift of the bracket being installed because it didn't happen.

The regional ombudsman checked with me every week. Then I was told the manufacturer's rep (who had worked with the vendor) would come in on December 1 and install the new bracket.

I was busy working away at my desktop PC when Jason (manufacturer's rep) showed up that morning with the nursing home's therapy manager.

Jason thought it would be easy to remove the bracket and install the new one. Well, that's what he thought until he tried to get the old bracket off. He could not loosen the fasteners. He was using an Allen wrench and getting red in the face. He explained to me that he might have to break a fastener in order to get the old bracket off.

I told him that the vendor's tech said they used Loctite on  the fasteners in. Jason said that Loctite should never be used on aluminum. He also said locking fluid was not even necessary.

It seemed like it took him an hour to get the old bracket off the power chair. He definitely broke it.

I told him he might want to remind that vendor's techs NOT TO USE locking fluid. He assured me he would.

He put the new bracket on quickly. I couldn't believe they actually had a bracket that was adjustable.

Then Jason asked me where I wanted the joystick positioned. For so long it was impossible to reposition it and now I had to decide exactly where I wanted it.

I had him move it down. I was trying to stimulate where the joystick was on my older power chair – which was my only frame of reference. But, I was having a hard time. I hadn't used that old chair since early June.

He put the joystick in the position where I thought I could reach it. I showed him that I could move my arm away from it without lifting my arm. I felt much better about that.

I went out in the hallway and tried it. I asked him if I could have some time at least a week or so to try it out. He said that would be fine. But, he did not give me his email address. Instead, he told me to email Mr. M through the manufacturer's customers forum. I told him I would do that. He said I could also email Nan the therapist here at the nursing home.

I thanked him for helping me out.

It'd taken so many months to get this done. It's terrible to say that it almost seemed like an anticlimax.

As I headed to lunch, I realized I would be using the joystick in yet another different way. But, I could operate the chair and I was so glad my arm was not stuck sitting on the joystick.

Within a couple of days I realized that the joystick would need to be raised.

When I am one out with a friend shopping a week later, he told me the joystick needed to come up one half an inch.

I kept using the joystick. But I said it needed to be raised. The right place for the joystick was only one half an inch higher.