After the previous weeks adventures we enjoined a calm beginning to the week. Monday and Wednesday I was able to get long massage and stretching sessions. Really showed how important moving and stretching are to keep me comfortable. Tuesday we enjoyed a delightful lunch with friends. On Thursday we worked to get things off the list. Cindy made several phone calls and we even gave Quincy his walk in the morning before it got hot.
After lunch we started on errands. One stop was at the ALS Association office to sign and do more paperwork to get the eyegaze system. One of the mornings calls had been to find out if I had duel core system in my device. I do and that meant that eyegaze would " only " cost $9000 rather than $15000. When private insurance was paying for my toys it was different than medicare. Thanks to all of you for your contribution.
Our last stop was at the eye doctors to see what had happened with the dark glasses I had ordered. Sometimes my chair works well in prodding people.
This had been one of those days when I had trouble lining up the bolt on the bottom of my chair with the slot on the latch. Why some days I can slip right in and other days need numerous tries is beyond me.
This last stop I continued to have trouble and somehow managed to really wedge myself in. Cindy struggled unsuccessfully to get me free. The parking lot has a slope so we decided to move to a lot across the street. An added bonus was the shade. Once again Cindy struggled to maneuver the chair.
When she admitted she could not get it we decided to drive to Todd's thinking 2 people could do it. Wrong. By now the chair was wedged in a way that the door would not close.
Okay now what. Tried calling Todd but it proved to be a good thing he did not answer. Next called Auto club. After explaining the problem the woman put Cindy on hold. It felt like forever but probably was about 5 minutes. She came back and said they did not think they could help.
That left the option that Cindy wanted to do in the first place. Call 911. Her first words were this is not a life-threatening situation. Once again she explained the situation and said we needed two strong firemen. While we waited I wondered if it would be a man that went to high school with Cindy and Todd and now is one of Todd's swimming buddies. It was not long until we saw the red SUV. As Cindy had requested we had 2 firemen. The fact that they were also young and nicely built did not hurt. After examining the situation they went back to look at various equipment. They then announced they had a plan. After attempting that solution for a while they rethought. I told them together with my chair I was 504 pounds. The next attempt included a giant ax and a crow bar. When I asked how they were going to put this in their log, one laughed and said public assistance. The ax did not work as a so it was back to take another look at what they had.
They came back with two heavy straps with large hooks on the end. This time they said they were resorting to brute force. Cindy had told the 911 operator that we needed two firemen and brute force. Right again. One fireman knelt in the drivers seat and wrapped the strap over his shoulder and around his torso so his entire body was pulling. The other one wrapped the strap around his hand and got into position so his legs would do most of the work. Count of 3 and they lifted the chair up and over. Cheers all around. We thanked them very much but forgot to get their station number so we could take treats.
I have often said as a joke that I would stick around as long as I could cause trouble. Guess this means I will be around for a while but you better think twice before you go anywhere with me.
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