For several weeks, the right wheel on Patti’s
wheelchair had been misbehaving, increasingly rubbing against the chair
creating everything from annoying sounds to resistance.
More significantly for Patti, the only arm she
can still use is her right and this one ability could not be compromised.
Chasing my tail, time and effort was
continually misdirected looking for solutions whether through her care facility
physical therapy department, researching replacing the wheel and or wheelchair
itself and banging heads with insurance, or even tinkering myself. (While
wheelchairs have been part of family life for over 15 years, I’m not a real
mechanically oriented person and tend to ‘argue’ with inanimate objects.)
Confounding the process, Patti in the chair
could never remember the problem.
“If you don't feel you can handle simple wheelchair repair preventive maintenance yourself, you should always ask a friend, neighbor, or family member to help you.”
Visiting with Patti’s family on Sunday her
father and brother took a crack at the wheel and I entered a world I never knew
existed - the land of spokes.
Her brother went right to “truing the wheel”. Spokes
actually push and pull a rim while a wheel rolls. Proper tension keeps the
wheel round and straight. A younger version of him learned these skills working
on motorcycles.
Lacking a proper shop, instead spinning the
wheel on the wheelchair axel as the chair lay on its side, he found the high
spots in the rim and corrected by tightening and or loosening corresponding
spokes in low spots. … and all this accomplished while Patti sat and played
games at the table in another wheelchair with her Mom and our daughter. Truing
time can be family time.
Patti originally chose her wire wheels because
she liked the look. Mag wheels, I’ve
learned, are allegedly maintenance free while wire wheels require spokes to be
adjusted periodically to insure proper tension. My Bad!
While Patti’s wheelchair now comfortably rolls,
I’ve learned that even this caregiver approaching his 22 anniversary of MS
caregiving can use some truing - “ask for help” rules!
Caregivingly Yours, Patrick Leer
videos: www.youtube.com/daddyleer
That was interesting, Patrick! I wouldn't have known you had to do that with wheels like this! Good that someone was knowledgeable in the family to be able to help you guys out!
ReplyDeletebetty
LOL, I would NEVER have imagined all the problems wheel chairs and power chairs can present. They look simple, don't they? LOL
ReplyDeleteTruing wheels has always seemed like a mystical process with the secrets on how to do it properly revealed only to a few who likely went through an initiation process of sorts. I've known folks who took their spoke WC wheels into a bike shop and had good results.
ReplyDeleteAnother reason, aside from the obvious, that I hope my chair remains a rare occasional use item -- I have spokes instead of mags.
Thank you all for the comments. Yes indeed it so often comes down to 'never imagined' though the bigger lesson learned for me - ask for help!:)
ReplyDeleteI am SOOOO thankful that Pete's every need (and most whims) are cared for by some department at the VA. When he has an issue with his wheelchair they send a mobility specialist to our house to fix it, is a wonderful thing really.
ReplyDeleteHe has had so many issues with it in the past year I can see it would be a total nightmare if we had to try and fix it ourselves or pay to have it done.
Thanks for reminding me we actually have it pretty good here.