Scooter Saga

Grand daughter Zoe shamed me.  Actually I do wear a helmet while triking, but was cavalier about safety while scootering. So, I pimped my ride with a tall safety flag; 1 flashing white front light; 2 flashing red rear lights; Yield  I mean really ...  If a driver still can’t see me, he’s either blind, having a heart attack or is trying to hit me.  There’s only so much you can do.

The final rental at the end of May, a four wheeled (decided to go with stability) model.  Even with a small battery, I could handle the neighborhood hills (Earl followed me in the car since the machine was new and unfamiliar; did I mention he had fractured his leg and was on crutches?) and didn’t appear to lose a charge.  I could even meet my friend Barbara for coffee at Starbucks and not lose much battery power.  So Barbara went for her workout and I headed home. Going home, I discovered a full charge means on flat surfaces .  There were 3 hills going home. I made it up the first hill slowly but on battery.  By the second hill, I was officially out of battery power.  I’m desperately scooting with my legs to beat the band, to no avail (surprised?) .  I have to call Earl to come get me--did I mention he had fractured his leg and was on crutches?  “I’ll be right there with the van,” he says.  But when he went out, the van battery was dead ...

By April, I’m thinking a scooter is in my future.  Should I go with three wheels or four?  So I try a three wheeled rental scooter in Maui.  It was a bit more maneuverable, but less stable and had less speed to cross streets, and it was only about three pounds lighter.  I couldn’t keep up with Earl on a bike, but he was willing to ride out and back a lot, keeping me within watchful view.  Come to think of it, I couldn’t stay up with Earl on a bike when I was on a bike.  It was just fun going through the neighborhoods, cruising downtown Kihei, feeling the sun and ocean breeze and not worry about falling.  One thing I’ve learned with a walker--people give you a wide berth out of consideration.  With a scooter, they give you a really wide berth out of consideration and self-preservation.

In March, I rented a 4-wheeled scooter in Tucson for our annual girls' trip and enjoyed the ability to join my friends most anywhere as opposed to not going or being parked.  I can accompany casual and aggressive walkers, but not runners.  Top speed on a scooter is about 4.5 MPH. My friend Pam took me on a tour of the University of Arizona campus.  We went to a museum photographic exhibit and had my first “scooter adventure”.  No, it wasn’t in the museum.  Before leaving, I thought it was prudent to use the bathroom.  By that time, I was completely confident in my tight quarter manuevering.  so much so that I wanted to try washing my hands at the sink instead of using hand sanitizer.  So I scooted up to the sink a bit too fast.  I think Pam used the word “rammed”.  Yep, I wedged the scooter tiller under the sink. “Pam, I’m stuck!’ “What do you mean you’re stuck?” “I mean I can’t move.  If I stand up, can you pull?”  I d...

To celebrate our 40th Wedding Anniversary, Earl bought me this instead of a diamond ring.  Four wheels, a rearview mirror, a bigger basket, and a bigger battery. As my Spinocerebellar Ataxia (SCA)progressed, I had to bite the humiliation bullet, not care what people thought (they may stare briefly, but they really don’t think about a person with disabilities for long) , or shut up and stay parked somewhere. After several rental trials, here she is.  By the way, Skeeter is the name of one of my favorite characters in a book called “The Help”.  Freedom! The motorized scooter doesn't replace my Winnie rollator as it affords no exercise, challenge, or incentive to maintain muscle strength--that has to come from elsewhere and there are many occasions where some leg and upper body strength are required.  What it does do is vastly increase the range I can go and what I can participate in without mortal fear of falling.