J.P.’s new wheels

Posted on May 29, 2014 by jeffcuz

I was recently waiting for my 2010 Honda Civic to be serviced when I was approached by a sales manager and told that the dealership was very interested in obtaining cars like mine.

The sales manager said the news 2014 Honda Civics had many additional upgrades, keyless entry, blind-spot cameras and other cool stuff, and with a trade-in like mine, I could have the new car for next to nothing.

Of course, I took the opportunity to check it out and was interested, so I told the sales manager to write up his best deal, and I would look at it.

When he did, it was, of course, way more than I had any intention of paying right now (about $10,000), but I’m still really happy with my car, so it was no big deal.

Fitting the new wheelchair — J.P. gets fitted into his new wheelchair.

I believe J.P. today felt a lot like I felt while I was sitting in the brand new Civic and enjoying the new-car smell, cool accessories, etc., but he actually got to keep his new wheels.

J.P. has spent about nine months not really fitting into his wheelchair, and it had become very difficult for him to stay in it for extended periods of time.

For a while, we actually thought the wheelchair was making him nauseous, but I now wonder if that was actually a shunt issue. That remains to be seen.

Custom Mobility delivered his new wheelchair Thursday morning, and they spent some time making sure he was sitting in it perfectly. It’s pretty advanced, and I almost felt like I needed an owner’s manual to remember all the instructions I was given.

He was very happy sitting in it and smiled a lot as he got used to the new tilt-in-space and reclining features. It also has knee blocks and a special cushion that should help him stay seated and not have a seat belt so tightly around his waist.

It’s a big deal for him. He always get’s excited when we get the wheelchair out because he knows he’s going somewhere. I truly believe one of his favorite things to do is to go for a ride in the van and get out of the house.

It’s also another sign that he’s growing up and seems, in many ways, to be thriving.

As the Custom Mobility representative told us today, “This wheelchair is bigger than the last one, and the next one will be bigger than it.”

We are so lucky that despite the medical roadblocks recently, J.P. has graduated to the bigger chair as he grows into a young man. May he put many miles on his new wheelchair in the years to come.