Saturday morning, August 22 at 8:30am, I was sitting up to the bottom of the Q6000Z in a pile of gravel. While trying to gain access to a ramp, I realized I should have backed my van up beside the ramp. Instead my chair got stuck. It's too easy to do this with 4 casters of each corner and the drive wheels in the middle. Time and time again these casters have caused the chair to get stuck.
The other reason I will remember this day is the chair had reached 500 miles. Having this feature of total mileage and trip mileage makes me wonder exactly how much we travel yearly by all means of moving. I bet the total would be shocking.
8/22/09
11/12/08
257 miles
While preparing myself lunch I pulled the throttle backward and the joystick started beeping loudly. Green light to red began to flash, s stop sign appeared and a error code #35. This was followed by a message to contact a service technican.
I called Mobility Concepts only to discover most everyone was out-of-town. The lady who answered the phone told me to bring the chair in for service the next day. Prior to the trip I loggged onto pridemobility.com and the Owner's Club. Corey Lewis stated that the throttle had been shifted off centered. Matt hooked it up to his hand-held computer. This device is much like what car dealers use. He confirmed what Corey had told me and that error # 36 or 110 is also a code for this. Matt said to turn the chair off and wait 90 seconds to clear the code out and it should be fine.
I took this opportunity to order a new button that controls the speed and new trim pieces for my van that go in the floor where my chair parks.
I called Mobility Concepts only to discover most everyone was out-of-town. The lady who answered the phone told me to bring the chair in for service the next day. Prior to the trip I loggged onto pridemobility.com and the Owner's Club. Corey Lewis stated that the throttle had been shifted off centered. Matt hooked it up to his hand-held computer. This device is much like what car dealers use. He confirmed what Corey had told me and that error # 36 or 110 is also a code for this. Matt said to turn the chair off and wait 90 seconds to clear the code out and it should be fine.
I took this opportunity to order a new button that controls the speed and new trim pieces for my van that go in the floor where my chair parks.
9/3/08
190 miles
Between my last post and now I have had to go back to using my old leg rests. The new ones hung lower than my old ones. They must also be made from a lighter material since they bent way to easily. When I would underestimate ground clearance the footrests dived into the ground and with the force of the entire chair and myself pushing, they never took the impact.
I have had unbelievable hip and right leg pain. I thought is was due to my seat being lower in the rear than the front. After raising it I discovered it felt much better but would not work. The angle and height of the footrests were thrown out. There is now way to raise the footrest due to the length of the mounting bar and if I could then my knees would be too high. Arthritis and bursitis and other joint pain are to blame. Taking Tylenol and getting out-of-my-chair during the day helps relieve the pain.
I have had unbelievable hip and right leg pain. I thought is was due to my seat being lower in the rear than the front. After raising it I discovered it felt much better but would not work. The angle and height of the footrests were thrown out. There is now way to raise the footrest due to the length of the mounting bar and if I could then my knees would be too high. Arthritis and bursitis and other joint pain are to blame. Taking Tylenol and getting out-of-my-chair during the day helps relieve the pain.
7/24/08
150 Miles
Pressure sores are a major concern to us that are in a wheelchair all day long. I try to get out of my chair at least once during the day when possible. Recently the foot plates and chair legs have come bent drastically. I am 6'6" tall and sitting down I still am 4'10" tall. In order to have some headroom clearance in my Caravan, I have to sit in a low chair. The end result is the fact that the bottom of the leg braces ride just a couple or less inches off the ground. Sidewalks and ramps cause collisions without warning.
Since day one of getting the new Quantum 6000Z, my right leg sits higher than my left. I notice this especially after sitting for an hour or so. That's when my right hip begins to ache. Dropping my foot off the leg rest helps some. Getting out of the chair stops the pain. When I drive I have even less space to stretch my legs and less time before the pain starts.
I had a similar problem with the Jazzy 1122, but I was able to sit much longer before the pain would start.
Since day one of getting the new Quantum 6000Z, my right leg sits higher than my left. I notice this especially after sitting for an hour or so. That's when my right hip begins to ache. Dropping my foot off the leg rest helps some. Getting out of the chair stops the pain. When I drive I have even less space to stretch my legs and less time before the pain starts.
I had a similar problem with the Jazzy 1122, but I was able to sit much longer before the pain would start.
7/7/08
Swing!
My time outside with the Q6000Z has been great compared to my former Jazzy 1122XL. The terrian and places that the Jazzy would not tackle are manageable now. Before the Jazzy would stop and need to be reset to keep going. Eventually moments like that caused the motors to wear out prematurely.
This home movie shows the hills that are a breeze to ride over now. Watch and Swing!
6/29/08
Sweet Release
Since my last entry I have got out of my van from level parking to parking with the front facing down a hill without any problems. The large castor hesitates some since it still rubs below the door sill. This fix happened just in time for today I notice that the right drive wheel had started destroying the carpet as well.
After publishing Barbara's last email I wrote her:
Barbara,
Surely I did not just read "I may consider a different van." You've
got to be kidding? The problem has been coming on and getting worse as
the carpet wore out. The trial period I had was a few minutes not
hours to determine if any problems might occur. MC never put a new EZ
Lock in the floor, only on my chair bottom. They did relocate the base
to accomodate the Q6000Z. The electronics has nothing to do with this
issue either. I felt you needed to be aware of this in helping someone
in the future. I also contacted you looking for a different chair and
a way to trade.
she responded:
You know I only put the statement of considering a different van in as a
last resort. Please contact Mobility Concepts and work with them on
resolving the problems. You need to work with them and/or the manufacture
first. If they cannot resolve the issues, then talk to them about a
different base. I do not think they can just trade your chair for another
one and I do not know what base would be better than what you have for the
problem you are having as again that is beyond my scope of practice. We work
as a team with the supplier to determine what equip will meet the identified
needs of an individual. We do not have hours to try out sample chairs in the
clinic. We also do not have a sample of every chair with every option for
assessment. We have to make educated recommendations based on what we see
during the eval time with avail equip. We often obtain other chairs and have
people return to clinic for further assessment, but even then, until each
individual receives their chair built to their specific order, it is hard to
know the outcome. I do appreciate being informed of the problems you are
having, and will keep this in mind for future recommendations for others.
However, every individual is different regarding their needs and no one
chair meets everyone's needs.
After the fix on the 26th, I sent Barbara and Mobility Concepts, Inc. another email and Blaine responded: Excellent! Glad to hear things are working!
Until our next episode, this problem is solved. 129 miles and counting.
After publishing Barbara's last email I wrote her:
Barbara,
Surely I did not just read "I may consider a different van." You've
got to be kidding? The problem has been coming on and getting worse as
the carpet wore out. The trial period I had was a few minutes not
hours to determine if any problems might occur. MC never put a new EZ
Lock in the floor, only on my chair bottom. They did relocate the base
to accomodate the Q6000Z. The electronics has nothing to do with this
issue either. I felt you needed to be aware of this in helping someone
in the future. I also contacted you looking for a different chair and
a way to trade.
she responded:
You know I only put the statement of considering a different van in as a
last resort. Please contact Mobility Concepts and work with them on
resolving the problems. You need to work with them and/or the manufacture
first. If they cannot resolve the issues, then talk to them about a
different base. I do not think they can just trade your chair for another
one and I do not know what base would be better than what you have for the
problem you are having as again that is beyond my scope of practice. We work
as a team with the supplier to determine what equip will meet the identified
needs of an individual. We do not have hours to try out sample chairs in the
clinic. We also do not have a sample of every chair with every option for
assessment. We have to make educated recommendations based on what we see
during the eval time with avail equip. We often obtain other chairs and have
people return to clinic for further assessment, but even then, until each
individual receives their chair built to their specific order, it is hard to
know the outcome. I do appreciate being informed of the problems you are
having, and will keep this in mind for future recommendations for others.
However, every individual is different regarding their needs and no one
chair meets everyone's needs.
After the fix on the 26th, I sent Barbara and Mobility Concepts, Inc. another email and Blaine responded: Excellent! Glad to hear things are working!
Until our next episode, this problem is solved. 129 miles and counting.
6/26/08
Tossing & Turning
During last nights sleep I worked on this problem over and over. I also prayed for a solution. This morning when I awoke God reminded that my chair had the ATX Suspension (Active-Trac® with extra stability) which incorporates front OMNI-Casters for enhanced performance over more varied terrain, yet fails in my minivan. What to do? Why not lift the carpet to the same height of the plastic trim or higher. Then when the castor rolls into place, the cool suspension will lift the left front castor up only. Thus leaving the rest of the chair in its normal level position.
A good friend of mine had given me a sheet of undestructable white plastic awhile back. I took it to him and shared my idea. He then cut a 14"L x 3.5"W x .5"H piece and I tried it. Whoola! It worked! Praise the Lord, he not only answered my prayer but sent a friend to help accomplish it.
To keep the piece from moving it was placed beneath the carpet and the plastic trim reattached. Now the carpet is a tad above the trim. There is some resistance due to the castor spinning outward into the wall of the van. So far so good. I have successfully parked are removed from the EZ Lock 7 times. Please excuse the mess, work-n-progress. Stay tuned for updates on this to follow.
A special thanks to Barbara, Dave, Blaine and Matt for my emails and concerns. Hopefully you will not be seeing me anytime soon.
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