About 3 weeks ago we had a thunderstorm that zapped my power lift chair. I could have still used it had it not died in the “up” position! I had so hoped it was just a loose connection but no such luck. The next thought was that perhaps there was a reset button underneath, somewhere near the motor. Nope. Do you want to know what my next thought was? No, you don’t.
For a week I thought I was going to have to buy a new motor. I didn’t even want to go online and search for the correct model. I did though, and it wasn’t as expensive as I thought it would be, but wondered if we could even manage to replace it ourselves. I didn’t know how difficult it might be.
The more I thought about it, the more I thought that it wasn’t the motor after all. The power box would have been hit by a power surge first. The light on the box wasn’t lighting up, indicating that it was not getting power. So, I searched for a replacement. Luckily it was much less than the motor would have cost. Less than $20 compared to just under $100 for the motor…the more favorable is obvious! I ordered it and waited patiently for Amazon to ship it.
In the meantime, I struggled to get in and out of my old recliner. I had to have help a few times. The damn thing was just too low, too soft, and it rocks. That made it difficult to get out of without twisting and turning and my bones just can’t handle that these days. My back (and knees) hurt like hell because of all the twisting but I shoved along…praying that the new power box would indeed, fix the problem with my power chair.
Day of delivery came (June 21) and I was terribly disappointed when I received word that my shipment wouldn’t arrive until the following Tuesday. I checked the tracking information and found that on June 20, it was in MO where it should have been but for some idiotic reason the damn thing ended up in Minnesota! So I had to push through a few more days of hell.
By the time Tuesday came, my back hurt so bad that I was nearly in tears. When the power box finally arrived, I was so happy but still worried that it wouldn’t fix the problem. We pulled my power chair out of the corner, plugged in the new box and gave it a test. IT WORKED! I was so happy!
I’m back in my power chair, careful to unplug if we’re going to have a storm. I need to get a surge protector next time I venture out. I don’t want to do this again! My back is slowly beginning to feel better. I find I can get up from the power chair sometimes without using the lift mechanism because it’s firm, not so low and it’s stationary. But at least I have the lift when I need it.
Being Aunt Debbie 