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Do you save wheelchair parts?
Growing up, Dad was Mr. Fixit when it came to my chair. We saved everything and made use of it all one way or another, even on non-chair-related projects. Old tires became wagon wheels. An old battery may not be good enough to power my chair, but it might be good enough for something. An armrest bracket worked great for a feeding tube pole. Nothing went to waste.
My father is no longer with us, and I’ve been going through the DME supplier for most repairs. Old habits die hard though as I discovered a drawer full of random wheelchair parts I saved.
I don’t think I need them; I don’t even know what most of them are. By the branding, they’re from a previous chair. There’s even a brand-new joystick. It pains me to get rid of the stuff, but I don’t need it. Finding new homes feels daunting considering I’m clueless as to what I have.
What do you do with spare parts?
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1 Reply
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Not anymore.
Growing up I never threw anything away, certainly it could be repurposed, reused, donated to someone who needed it… Both of my parents were children of the depression, so they learned it from their parents and I from them.
After both my mom and my dad passed away, all the stuff dad had saved(surely it would be useful) needed to be carted away, which as I could not help meant my sister had to either do it herself or find someone to do it for her. Ultimately, I realized that I don’t have extra room for things I can’t fix on my own and although wheelchair parts aren’t that large, finding someone to can put them in is a major challenge.
Anything medical just costs so very much.
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