[Blind-rollers] I'm new

Mon Jul 20 04:02:47 UTC 2015

Hi,
The original manual chair I purchased myself so I have not applied to
Medicare to get one. My Dr. said Medicare would make me pay a percentage and
it might be expensive. They might not allow it because I can still walk most
of the time.

 The manual chair I have now is the loaner that the airlines' claim company
loaned me and I chose to keep. 

Are power chairs all heavy? Can they be folded up? How do you get them into
a cab or on a train or in like a Greyhound bus? One of my coworkers uses
one. I might see if she can let me look at it. I've never looked at a power
chair that thoroughly. 
Thanks
Lauren

Blessings in Jesus' name
Philippians 4:6-7
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
My digital evangelism blog is at:
W w w . ask in Jesus name . o r g
My book, in audio format, is at:
W w w . audible . c o m 
Cats Are Terrifically Superb:
W w w . catlInes . c o m
(take the spaces out to go to the above links)

-----Original Message-----
From: Blind-rollers [mailto:blind-rollers-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Maureen Pranghofer via Blind-rollers
Sent: Sunday, July 19, 2015 3:14 PM
To: Blind wheelchair users list
Cc: Maureen Pranghofer
Subject: Re: [Blind-rollers] I'm new

Hello Lauren
Have you purchased the manual chair or are you borrowing or renting it?  I 
ask because if it isn't yours yet it's not too late to try and obtain an 
electric power chair.
I had a manual chair bought for me from my church group when my bone disease

started getting worse in the early 1990's.  I found that without someone 
sighted to push it getting around myself was virtually impossible as I 
didn't know where I was going.  There are one handed manual chairs but they 
are very difficult to steer.  In 1994 I was able to convince the insurance 
company to get me a power chair (my doctor had advised it for years but 
insurance said no) and that was the best decision I ever made.  I could 
drive it with the joy stick in one hand and white cane in the other. 
However Medicare will not let you have 2 chairs so if you haven't purchased 
a power chair I'd seriously work toard that goal.
Maureen Pranghofer

-----Original Message----- 
From: Lauren Merryfield via Blind-rollers
Sent: Saturday, July 18, 2015 10:00 AM
To: blind-rollers at nfbnet.org
Cc: Lauren Merryfield
Subject: [Blind-rollers] I'm new

Hi,

My name is Lauren Merryfield. I am a long-time Federationist and the
secretary of the Davis Canes and Tails chapter in the Bay area in
California.

I happened onto this list this morning and I am new. I have had difficulty
walking and even more difficulty standing for years. My feet are problematic
and, as a dr. put it, my tibias don't have a floor to stand on. And now my
legs and feet are swollen due to the effects of congestive heart failure.

I have had difficulty with some people who are only blind, or those with
much stamina, who do not understand why sometimes I have to back out on some
activities. Right now, I never know how far I can walk or if I'll get stuck
somewhere standing, so this year I used a wheelchair for the first time at
national convention. It was interesting because I am not very strong to
wheel it myself and I could not use both hands on the wheels and hold my
cane out and use it. A couple times, a blind person pushed me with someone
ahead of us giving directions. This was somewhat workable. However, most of
the time, I had hotel staff or UPS volunteers wheel me around. The problem
with that was availability or lack thereof and sometimes being late for
somewhere unless I purposefully went early, which is what I usually did.

I am interested in how others function this way. My chair is manual. So far,
I haven't used it anywhere except national convention, but one never knows
when I might need it again. It is hard to get in someone's car and most of
the time, they don't have the room or the energy to put it in.

For years I've wondered if there might become a division in the NFB for
those who are multidisabled blind. But PURRhaps this list is it. (I spelled
PURRhaps that way on PURRpose because I am a cat PURRson.  Cats always know
when I am not doing well. They are very intuitive.

Sorry to ramble.

Thanks

Lauren, who was really surprised to find this group. I wonder if there's
anyone here that I would know.

Blessings in Jesus' name

Philippians 4:6-7

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving,

present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

My digital evangelism blog is at:

W w w . ask in Jesus name . o r g

My book, in audio format, is at:

W w w . audible . c o m

Cats Are Terrifically Superb:

W w w . catlInes . c o m

(take the spaces out to go to the above links)

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