My Journey with MS and Other Ailments Part 3

I think I had left off in my earlier post that I was using a power chair and a back of the van chair lift I mentioned this worked for quite a while. Then as time went on it became more and more difficult for me to get from the front of the van to the back. I found different places to go hold on to the van and tottered to the back. It became increasingly difficult to hold on to the van and open the tailgate. One day as I was holding on to the back of the van I went to open the tailgate and missed my handhold. I slowly started going down and ended up sitting on my butt and then my torso fell back and my head hit the concrete sidewalk. I have learned the fall so when my head hit the concrete it was not a serious impact but it made me realize the days were numbered that this setup would work. A number of my coworkers ran over immediately to help me. I felt really bad for them to have to see this and feel helpless. It was time to find a van I could drive into. A ramp van.

But guess what – there is not anyone in Cedar Rapids that is equipped to sell these. My choices ended up being a Rolix which are manufactured in the Twin Cities. I found many listings on Craigslist, the MS website and the Siebert’s website. There were a lot of used vans in Minnesota that were well priced. The same for Chicago area. The only problem was very difficult logistics. Driving that far to see a vehicle that may or may not work introduced to many obstacles. There was also a place in Waterloo but they didn’t have any vans available. Their process was that you find a van with power equipment doors, purchase it and they send it off by train to be modified. I ended up going down this Siebert’s which is located in Iowa city. They did an assessment and were very good to work with. I had been steered toward Iowa vocational rehabilitation by a friend, John, who is wheelchair-bound also.

Siebert’s were great to work with. I found the modified vans are quite expensive. A good new one range between $50,000 and $60,000. Iowa vocational rehabilitation would help about 40%. I looked at used vans and they had a Toyota van and 2 Chrysler vans that fit my price range and’s features. I lean toward the Toyota because of Toyota’s reputation. Janette and I went down and I test drove it. I really liked it. Siebert’s worked with Iowa vocational rehab and I used our home equity line of credit to purchase it. They added a drivers seat that would power backwards so I could drive in the van and slide into the driver’s seat. Then the seat would go forward and I could drive.

During the same time frame we started looking for a house that would suit me better being in a wheelchair all the time. That’s a whole another story and I think I’ll save it for the next part of my journey documentation. It sure turning into a long story. I guess that’s the engineer in me. I was an engineer but still said and engineering mind is a character flaw. Ha ha.