The Squeak Has Moved
My wheelchair has mostly stopped squeaking. Unfortunately, another part of the operation has become considerably louder.
In “The Chair Has Entered Its Squeaky Era”, I described a chair that had begun announcing my arrival with squeaks, rattles, and other noises suggesting it had developed opinions. I was sitting directly on top of those opinions for much of the day.
Recently, my wheelchair rep came out to a recent PT appointment and tightened several components. The push handles. The armrests. And, most importantly, he adjusted the brakes.
The brakes are now much harder for me to engage, which is mildly annoying. But, once they are engaged, the wheels do not move.
At all.
This is a considerable improvement over brakes whose interpretation of “stop” had become more of a suggestion. I would prefer an easier lever, but I am very much in favor of staying where I put myself.
The cumulative effect is ridiculous. The chair feels tighter, sturdier, quieter, more secure. Almost new. Apparently, some of what I had been experiencing as the general deterioration of an aging wheelchair was several things needing to be tightened.
The squeak that earned its own essay has mostly disappeared.
Which would make a perfectly satisfying ending if I were not also getting an actual new wheelchair.
One Day
I am now going through the replacement process under the five-year schedule involved with my insurance coverage.
Wonderful.
My current chair arrived on November 3, 2021.
My COBRA coverage ends November 2, 2026.
One day.
I miss the five-year mark under my current coverage by literally one day.
I did not miss it by six months. I did not miss it by a few weeks. Those would be irritating gaps, but at least they would have some substance. This is twenty-four hours. Of all the possible ways for these dates to line up, this one is almost artistically stupid.
The calendar appears to have developed a sense of humor. I preferred it when only the chair had a personality.
Theoretically, my insurer could make an exception to the normal five-year restriction. There is a possibility that the replacement process could move quickly enough for my current insurance to cover the new chair before COBRA ends.
Maybe. Technically.
Do I think that is going to happen?
Not especially.
This is not a catastrophe. I am getting new health insurance afterward, and I should still be able to get the chair. The difference is that under my current coverage, it could effectively cost me nothing out of pocket. Under the new coverage, there may be real costs involved.
And, custom ultralight wheelchairs are not exactly impulse purchases. Nobody casually adds one at checkout because the color looks nice.
Approaching Retirement
So, my old chair now feels almost new while I wait for a chair that actually will be new, and I am hoping an insurance bureaucracy can move fast enough to rescue me from twenty-four hours of extremely expensive timing.
Meanwhile, the old chair is behaving beautifully.
There is something endearing about that. It has carried me through nearly five years of life. The ordinary routines of my day have been built around it: how I move, where I fit, what I can reach. It has become part of the physical infrastructure of being me.
Now somebody has tightened its bolts, fixed its brakes, and quieted most of its complaints just as retirement is approaching. A strong performance this late in the job.
I am excited about the new chair. It will almost certainly be better. But, replacing something this important is more complicated than replacing an appliance. I can be ready for the next one and still feel some affection for the one that has carried me this far, even if it spent several months making sure I heard about it.
The original squeak is mostly gone. Once the new chair arrives, it should be gone entirely. The chair problem is being solved.
Unfortunately, health insurance is one big horrible squeak.
I can tighten the armrests, adjust the brakes, replace the chair, and eventually silence every annoying noise coming from the thing beneath me.
The system paying for it is apparently harder to lubricate.
Squeak: gone
Insurance remains
I have to wait
