How Long Will It Be?
 

I'm having one of those, it's heck to be home alone, when you have MS, days. :( Scooter #1 decided to quit charging... DD came over and brought in my larger scooter#2 and put it on it's charger. All is well....Not!

I wake up from my much needed nap, having to go to potty, badly and scoot #2 had not charged. Charge light wasn't even on. :mad: I switch plugs, mess with wires and charger light comes on....yeaaaa....not....still doesn't seem to be charging.

I, very carefully and gingerly, as not to fall on ****, get to scoot #1, that has just enough charge to get me to the bathroom. That was 4 hrs ago and I have to piddle again. :eek:

I hate not being able to, at least, walk to the bathroom. :mad: It's not fun growing older, with MS, for sure. And having to depend on others for personal stuff, is the pits. :(

How do you all handle being alone with MS disability? Who do you call? What do you do? :mfr_wha::Help:

Is it the outlet, or could it be the charging cords that's acting funky?

Does the outlet have a GFI (Ground Fault Interrupter) switch on it? It's a little button between the upper outlet and the lower outlet. If the button is sticking out, the GFI might have been tripped. (we done that by accidentally bumping the test button for the GFI) Just push the button back and that should reset the GFI.

If it's the cord, you might have to get a new cord. A friend of mine used to work for The Scooter Store. She told me once that you can use the power cord to a laptop, or a newer sewing machine as long as the ends match. (but dont quote me on that, call the people you got the scooter from and ask)

I have the Life Line system which costs $53.00 per month. It is a necklace that I wear around my neck and if I need help, all I have to do is press the button and within a minute someone calls me and asks if I need help.

The system uses a special speaker phone tied to Life Line and not a regular phone, so a person just talks loud and is heard on the other end.

The first person on my list for them to call is my son, then my father and then the 911 people.

I feel very safe with this system because it can be used for anything from health problems to intruders to anything that is causing a problem. Help is very fast.

There is a lockbox with the key to my door on my front door so that the firemen or police can get in without breaking it down or breaking out a window.

Don't know what I am going to do when I get sick and can't get out of bed, but probably will have my son sleep over so he can help me. He is not married and has no kids.

Your concerns are very real and are my concerns too. Sure is lousy getting old and being alone with this debilitating disease.


gmi :hug:

Are those lifeline necklace thingies waterproof?? Like, if I got my mom one, can she wear it in the shower? (she doesnt have MS, just bad knees and bad back and not the greatest at walking anymore)

I've been thinking about talking to my dad about getting something like that for my mother, so that if I can manage to get back to school (as long as the MS trolls will let me go) I wont feel so bad about leaving her home for hours at a time alone.

They are waterproof and come in either a necklace or bracelet. I had the bracelet and it just bugged me because it kept slipping around my wrist all day.

Now I wear the necklace and like it much better.

gmi

Sally,

Do you have a manual wheelchair or a walker? I only use my power chair when I go outside.

In the house I use my manual most of the time. In the kitchen I use the rollator so I can get some exercise.

At night, I have the rollator beside the bed and use it to get up in the morning. I immediately transfer into the manual chair and go to the bathroom.

Most of the day is spent pushing the rollator and sitting in the manual. That way I can "carry" things on the rollator and push it while sitting in the manual.

Hope you can get situated with your mechanical "legs". It is hard to be so dependent on others or on machines.

gmi

Awww, that sounds pants sal. I thank my lucky stars that I'm not in your situation.

you need to have your scooter fixed! My mother got the charger plug repaired in hers. My sister used to yank the cord out of the charger by the cord. it made the charger head lose. Also Medicare will pay for a NEW battery if yours is not charging anymore.

Till then, get a bucket, or pampers, or camp out in the bedroom. Make some noise, get some help.

Hugs for ya. :hug:

Sally, does the MS Society in your area have a program where they repair scooters? Some charge based on income....some don't charge at all.

Sometimes the churches around here have programs where members will come to your home to fix things. Some of them have good knowledge of repairing specific things. I'm always leary of letting strangers into my home....even if they are from a church. I tend to not trust too many people regardless of where they are from.

I wish I lived closer to you. I'd come help you! Not sure how much actual help I'd be but we sure could have fun trying to figure it all out! :D

Thanks Friends for the encouragement and hugs to all of you, for your woes, as well. :grouphug:

DD came today and got my big scooter out of the way, 'cause it's not working, and brought my manual up from the basement. :)

Remember, DD also has MS, but is in remission, as I was, at her age (39), so I don't know how long, she will be able to help.....I hope the LDN keeps working for her and she stays as stress free as possible. She's on Prozac too..LOL!

I will contact the appropriate worker/fixer tomorrow, for both scooters. What a PITA!!

I'm okie dokie for now, had some lunch and going to take a nap, soon..:D

Sounds like they need new batteries. We have a spare in the basement too and we were told to plug it in every month and let it charge. Otherwise the batteries drain and can't be charged anymore. Glad DD was able to help! :hug:

That's it, I let the battery run out on the scooter in my van...It's daid. :o

The small one, I use in the house, is a different story, though. those are new batteries and a new charger (less than a year old), so it must be a connection problem???

I need to get them operating, because I have work to do and I get to exhausted, using the manuel WC.

Thanks, Sandy

Sorry to be just getting here now, Sally. My heart goes out to you since I'm basically in the same discouraging boat. Strange that you're having a problem getting your scooters to charge since mine is doing the same thing. I have a scooter in my basement that doesn't get used very often since upstairs I use the powerchair all the time. Had new batteries about six months ago and when my grandkids are visiting, the older ones drive it around. Figure somebody might as well use it. Now for some reason it doesn't want to charge. Wish I could get down there to take a look at it.

Anyway, I have a Life Alert which sounds like the other one mentioned here. It's waterproof so can be worn in the shower. I prefer to wear the bracelet in the winter when wearing sweats with long sleeves. It irritates my bare skin so either don't wear it or use the necklace thingy during the summer.

Yes, I know what you're talking about with the loneliness, being older and immobile. I sit for hours in my powerchair with my little dog sleeping on my lap, just staring at the TV. It's getting more difficult every day...can't get to the bathroom in time, hard to stand up to just stick something in the microwave, put in a load of wash, sleep in the lift recliner 'cause it's too hard and painful getting in and out of bed, up all night with pain, etc. I've actually been thinking that maybe it's getting time for an assisted living type place but this isn't the best time to try and sell my house!

My two friends/cleaning ladies come every Wednesday and many weeks they're the only "real" people I see since I never go anywhere. My "kids" aren't close enough to help much, but think I'm going to ask my daughter-in-law for a favor soon to help me pay bills. I'm behind on everything.......not due to lack of money, just the cognitive problems. It seems overwhelming!!! Funny how over time, people you thought were friends, seem to have disappeared.
Sorry I don't have any constructive suggestions, but hope it helps knowing you're not alone in this situation. Don't mean to be especially morbid, but I can understand why so many of "Dr. Kevorkian's" patients had MS.......sometimes it just doesn't seem worthwhile anymore. Take care! :)

I'm sorry about your carpy situation, Sally :hug:. I really think this an issue that the MS Society needs to help with. They don't have much help for people having these problems. There isn't much help for these of us with cog issues who need help with paper work and such either.

I'm glad you at least have some help from DD :). I wish I had some advice but I can't find much help these days either.

Sally...............:hug:

Joelle..............:hug:

:circlelove:((((((((Judy)))))))):circlelove:

DD and her DH are going to build me a MIL suite on their home, when that time comes. :)

That is terrific! Beats being warehoused somewhere.

gmi

Hey Salpal! Here's another HUG from me to you. {{{{Salpal}}}}

And back atcha, ya little Princess. :hug:

That sounds like an ideal solution, Sally. And a good suggestion that the MS Society provide services/solutions for people in our situation. Even now being in my 60's, I can't imagine living somewhere that houses only "older" senior citizens.
Now that people are being diagnosed earlier, it seems to me that there eventually will be more with the progressive type MS. There are alot of single/divorced/etc. people with this lousy disease who need HELP!!!! :)

A place just for us and our needs, Judy.....that would be terrific. :)

We could have WC races and other fun stuff. :D

My Scooter got new batteries and is purring like a LION (it's not the quiet one):D

Scooter #1, for the house, is still not charging, my new chager went bling. :mad: DS ordered the parts and fixed that one, the last time, so, as soon as he gets back in town, i'll see what he will do. :eek:

Although this scooter is a little big for my small house, I'm finding it a lot more comfy than the dinky one. It must be my old skinny butt. Padding ain't what it used to be. :D I'll see how it works out....so far so good.

Thanks for all your loving responses, here. I love You. :grouphug:

sally,
i'm glad you have family around that can help you.

when i move i'll have friends close too.