And welcome to the first blog entry in three weeks!
Yup, thanks to a horrible infection that I managed to pick up, and which did not play particularly well with my MS, it has indeed been three whole weeks since we (unknown number, possibly three) met.
So you might very well be not even considering asking, what’s been going on?
To tell the truth, not a lot.
On The Mend
The aforementioned infection put me well and truly on my derrière, and the treatment, a course of antibiotics called Nitrofurantoin, were almost as bad. However, after a week of constant headaches, the approximate strength, speed, and agility of a comatose kitten, and powers of concentration only matched by a three year old just before nap time, I think I’m just about better.
There might have been more to tell, there really might. If only the hire car people could have done something resembling their job, then I might have tales of a new brum-brum to regale you with.
Sadly I don’t.
Crash Course
To fill you in more completely, just over a month ago the car had a small collision. I say the car did, because I wasn’t actually in the vehicle at the time, in fact neither was the gentleman who owns the over vehicle.
It was the snow that was at fault, causing said gentleman’s car to roll downhill and hit the back of mine whilst we were both attending the same 40th birthday celebrations. As is often the case in these situations details were swapped and I got in touch with the local garage to investigate repairs, insurance, and the rest of that rigmarole. It was during this conversation, that I was told, pretty categorically, that a courtesy car would be no problem whatsoever.
Self Control
Okay, you may think, a courtesy car, pretty standard. A driver is to be without his or her vehicle for a bit, it’s pretty run of the mill for a temporary replacement to be offered, most if not all insurers will offer it. Of course that’s before you factor in hand controls though.
I use hand controls to drive my car. You pull up on a lever by the side of the steering wheel, and by the magic of a series of mechanical parts, the car is propelled forward. A push down on the same lever has the opposite effect and will bring the car to a halt. For some unfathomable reason, these are referred to as push/pull hand controls.
Now, this obviously puts a little bit of a fly in the ointment when organising the courtesy car. I mentioned this to the no doubt genuinely jolly gent on the end of the phone and was again reassured. It would be no problem. A company called Easidrive would source a suitable vehicle. I was impressed, very impressed, This feeling did not last.
Fiesta Time
It was two weeks later that I went down to the garage, at the time and date indicated on the confirmation text message and waited with a more or less undrinkable cup of coffee for the arrival of the car I would be driving home in. I waited. Then I waited a bit more. Then a bit more, Then I rang them. Ah, I was told, they had so far been unable to source a vehicle. This was news that should have been relayed to me earlier that week (you guess). I would receive a phone call midweek though to make sure delivery was definitely, 100%, nailed on. Definitely.
To be fair, it was only Tuesday, seventeen days into the process, that I was called by another cheery soul, to tell me they had found a Ford Fiesta with the requisite modifications, and would that be suitable.
Operation: Improbable
I thought about that for a bit. My wheelchair needs to fir in the boot of any car I get into, at least if I don’t want to fall out the passenger side door into a pitiful heap and, well, just stay there indefinitely. There was also the fact that my lovely mother-in-law, Gwen, was due an operation in a couple of weeks time, meaning the back seats would need to be at least partially usable, and thus the boot space might be less than ideal. A brief discussion with the Mrs and we decided to go ahead. A Fiesta might not be ideal but it would at least keep me, and possibly my wheelchair, on the road. I was pretty content, at least until the following day.
That was when I got a call from a less cheery but very apologetic person who told me that, although a car had been sourced, the cost of obtaining it was too much for them to pursue it. I was, I think understandably, less than happy.
I enquired as to any other possibilities, and even suggested getting a bog standard automatic and kitting it out with the (removable) controls to make it workable. After going away and investigating (?) this they remained apologetic but, ultimately, unhelpful. This was now three weeks after my first phone call and only two away from the Mother-In-Law’s op.
Over & Under
In the end, I did the only thing I could which was to put the whole kit and caboodle on hold. I need my car. When family are undergoing serious medical procedures and I’m pretty much the only driver close enough to home to get Tina, my lovely wife, there and back there is little other choice. If I had been told it was a no-go from the start then that would have been one thing. There would have been time to have the car repaired and back to me, time to sort out alternatives. Due to being over-promised and under-delivered on the service offered though these options have been taken from me.
In a perverse twist of fate, the operation has been cancelled anyway. It’s a horrible situation for Gwen but it does give me time to get back on the phone tomorrow and hopefully get the car seen to quickly and with the minimum of interference to life’s smooth(ish) progress. I’ll still feel somewhat badly done to but the sooner I have the car back, the better.
Hopefully, this time..
Until next time…
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