Rollin' Right Along...

Happy New Year to you all! Sorry I've been delinquent with my posts over the Christmas season. Time just flies during the holidays, and it seems to start earlier every year! I do hope all of you had a lovely time with your families during the celebration of our Savior's birth while we were apart.

We bought ourselves an extravagant Christmas present. We traded in our van with the power chair hoist in the back, for a ramp van! It was quite a challenging endeavor, but we did it and I've got to say it's already been easier to load and unload Jamey for a trip. Now that it's here, I'm sure we'll be getting out more and doing some of the things we've been putting off because of inconvenience. We've been wanting to go up to the SF Zoo and visit Walt Disney's Museum at the Presidio, too, so perhaps we'll finally do those things one of these days.

In case you someday decide to take the plunge, I do want to share our van-buying experience with you. There are actually quite a few places where you can purchase vans equipped with either a hoist with a wench to pull up a power chair, an attached (fold-up) trailer of sorts, or a van with a ramp like the one we purchased. Mobility Works in Santa Clara and Access Options in Fremont are just a couple of places to visit. We ended up at Mobility Works and they treated us like royalty! They did make the process fairly easy.

Converted Dodge Grand Caravan

One thing I do want to mention to those of you who might be in the market, a ramp van is not a small expense. Once you have decided on the van you want, you will have many extras to consider, which do add to the cost as well. We were able to buy one of their "rental" vans (every time it is returned after renting, it is serviced) and, although the mileage was a little higher than we would have liked, it was in great condition--looked new.

There are two choices for ramps; rear entry or side entry. The rear entry vans are great, as the middle seat remains intact and others can ride comfortably with you. It is also easier to park anywhere as there is no need to find a spot with an area to the right of the van for unloading. The drawback is that the person in the power chair must be strapped in and ride in the power chair while traveling. There is no option to transfer into a van seat. There are also two kinds of ramps; in-floor and folding. Both come out automatically when the door is opened. The in-floor ramp is sleek and slides right into the flooring so it isn't noticeable at all. It provides plenty of room for the power chair or scooter. The folding ramp takes up a little space in the doorway to the van, but it is easier to place next to a curb and tends to need servicing less frequently.

We opted for the side load and folding ramp. Since Jamey is still able to move from his chair, I wanted to be able to accommodate him in the front with me. As much as I liked the in-floor ramp, I knew we would have to park next to curbs often, and I liked the way the folded ramp was able to adjust to that; the in-floor doesn't fluctuate once it's on it's way out. The side load van does have a very cool feature. When you engage the ramp, the van "kneels" for you. In other words, the van tilts down to the ramp side and gives the person in the power chair a smaller incline to navigate. When you put up the ramp, the car comes back up into its normal driving position. Very cool!

This ramp is hinged in the middle

Be sure to look over all of the options available before you make a decision. The companies are there to service you, not the other way around. There is no wrong decision, it just has to be the right fit for your family.

Of course they offered me a service contract. I chose part of it but didn't want the entire package. One of the things I did take advantage of was a 24-hour ADA vehicle pick-up in case our van breaks down or needs service. In addition, I had them put in a front passenger swivel seat so that Jamey can transfer himself from the power chair once he drives the chair up the ramp. The other "must have" I ordered was a digital back-up view camera which shows up in my rear view mirror every time I put the vehicle in reverse. That has been such a huge help, especially since the van is much heavier and bulkier than I'm used to.

Gas/break on left and turning knob on right

I did run into a little snag with the van. This is not something most of you will ever have to deal with, but I feel the need to share it in case any of you might have disabilities in your legs or feet. After my stroke I had a left foot pedal put into my other van. But, California is easing those out of circulation and moving to hand controls in all of the ADA vehicles. Well, that presented a problem for us. I had to be evaluated by an expert ($600), had to take special lessons ($200), had to get a prescription for the hand controls, and had to have the hand-controls put into the van ($1600). Of course this delayed delivery of the van and we barely got it in time for Christmas. By the way, if you're used to driving with a left foot pedal, hand controls are far more difficult and even after a month, I'm still not completely comfortable. But it's a learning curve, as my chiropractor says, and I'm usually up for a challenge (God knows I've had plenty of them)!

With that said, I am very glad we made the move and I know in the long run it will be wonderful. If you need referrals for ADA vehicles or special hand controls, please let me know; I'm happy to recommend some excellent companies to you.

I've got to go drive now...talk to you very soon!