He has gotten much use out of it. And, it has by far, been the best chair he's ever had!
(Peanut Max, the day he got his chair.)
(Max at 5 years old)
It's a fantastic chair, in that it is a floor sitter (good for therapy and playing), a wheelchair that is ti-in ready, a car-seat, and a seat for an airplane. In the past year, it's been useless. Well, except for this...
I tried, in a last ditch effort to make it work for a while longer, since we've been waiting for months and months for the large size to be approved...
(Max 6 years old, WAY too big for the chair!)
But, it's just too small for him. So, we're still waiting on the approval from insurance. They denied it the first time, saying it could be used outside of the home...what a stupid reason...everything COULD be used outside of the home...and most of the time SHOULD be used outside of the home. But, alas, we wait.
Until . . .
Last week, I got an email from the rss feed I have set up for this chair across all of Craigslist.org's pages. One in Tennessee popped up, size large, at a fraction of the cost of a new one. We scrambled around to figure out who we had in Tennessee to pick it up for us and ship it. We just happened to have friends that were there at a conference...and had just happened to drive...and just happened to be headed out of town the next morning and could pick it up for us.
It got here today!!!
After blowing through every package of sani-wipes I had left from last flu season, we had a clean chair...and a very excited Max to try it out!
He looks so great in it! And he has room to grow!!
It even came with his own name-plate...
We're so happy to have it! And, if the other one gets approved, so be it. But I'm not holding my breath! Everything is being denied these days, and some things are worth fighting for, like a bath lift, and others aren't!
Thankful again, for our global village that is always ready to help our family out.
8 comments:
Awesome!
When did his legs get that long??? Gosh, he's growing like crazy! Such a wonderful thing.
I love it! Lookin' good Max!
Wonderful!
That's great! There really needs to be a place where parents of children with special needs can share equipment. Is there already a place in cyberspace like that?
Hi Deborah,
There are a few places, but they are mostly local to their cities, it seems.
The ones we have here are :
Kids Mobility Network
http://www.kidsmobility.org/
They provide gently used equipment to families who have no insurance, or have had denials on the equipment from their insurance companies. Started by 2 parents with a daughter who uses the same equipment. They have yet to not be able to grant a request for equipment. They are great people, and have started a Kids Equipment Synopsis for our community here in Colorado, where vendors come from all the major companies and share the equipment options in one place, for families to look at and try out. We have donated several pieces of Max's old equipment to them, and they have placed it immediately!
Another group we've been able to work with is Rocky Mountain Medical Outfitting & Recycling. They are a great organization that takes in equipment and places it all for free, with the only request that it not be sold when you're done with it...the point is to reuse and recycle.
http://rmmor.org/
On their page, there was a great list of other places around the country that recycle and reuse equipment....
http://rmmor.org/nonprofits.htm
And, I just saw this one in No. California...
http://www.ablecloset.com/
Assistive Technology Partners, part of the University of Colorado, have a bank to loan out AAC devices and equipment....
http://www.swaaac.com/Catalog/default.asp
It is amazing how Max has grown. You are taking such good care of him. It is a blessing that God has people in the right place at the right time to help with all of our needs! So glad for you and the new chair. Is the bath lift the next priority? With this little guy growing so fast you need equipment to help you.
We love to read your blogs. Gma
Hi Grandma!
Yes, we have an order in for a lift for the bath next. We have to get pretty creative to bathe him now...meaning I usually get soaked in whatever I have on!
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