Wheelchairs, powerchairs, scooters, and a variety pack of walking-related tools enable mobility. They make freedom of movement and independence possible; when they work. I will be the first to tell you I have enough disability-related accessories to make me Cerebral Palsy Barbie. They all make our lives easier when they work. But the centerpiece of my accessible arsenal was inconsistent.
Towards the end of 2020, I got a new scooter. It was sassy, faster than I ever had; it even had a built-in cup holder. I was excited that it would get me where I needed to go faster with less lingering… Maybe it would take my 15-minute masked grocery runs down to 10 and have room for my phone, keys, or a drink.
But the honeymoon period didn’t last long. After some time, it started to just stop, speak to me through beeps and require six or seven rounds of turning it on and back off before it would start to move again. Initially, It would go the same speed, but gradually the maximum speed declined to 20% of it’s predecessor’s max speed. We saw each other so much; I was on a first-name basis with my wheelchair repair guy. It eventually died completely while I was out with my kids. Color me disempowered.
Through the magic of research, I found out that after a number of repair appointments with no solutions rendered, my wheels were a lemon. Through all the supply chain nightmares of 2020/2021, I received a working new floor model scooter. In the same model, I went through nearly the same experience in a shorter period of time. Unfortunately, it stopped working while we were on vacation.