Disability Woes at New Year's Eve

[BroganMc]

Just got back from my first every NYE trip to Disney. It was a fabulous experience but also unexpectedly adventurous.

First off, when we arrived Sunday AM at MCO we find Southwest Airlines (who never does this sort of thing) damaged my powerchair beyond use. They took an exceptionally long time to deliver it to the gate of the plane. So long that the arriving crew deplaned and left us as the departing crew arrived and guests started being boarded. The baggage crewman delivered my chair to the gate, said it wouldn't power up and left us there to deal with it. Seems they removed the batteries when they unloaded the chair and drop-kicked one on its head.

After my party struggled to get me, the powerless chair and our carryon's off the gangway, we were sent halfway through the airport to the Southwest Baggage Claim office. (No guide and no one helping us at all.) There my technically-inclined cousin diagnosed the problem. One of my batteries was smashed in at the top. The circuit breaker in pieces and the battery box crushed in. They're lucky they didn't cause a major accident with the thing. Sealed dry gel it is, but crack the seal and you could have caustic battery acid in your face.

After a couple hours waiting in the office for the repairman to come fix my chair, and everyone going off to lunch, I finally got a not so helpful assistance. The repair guy brought a loaner chair and took mine away with promises he'd take it right to the shop to find parts and call me later. (All it needed was a battery.) Well later came, the loaner chair wouldn't charge with the provided charger and the repair guy was unreachable.

I spent Monday morning on the cell phone with Southwest and the repair company trying to get some information and help. Seems the repair guy did not go to the shop Sunday but waited until he got the hell given by his manager and Southwest Monday morning to do something.

I did get my chair back that afternoon, and I did manage to get around the parks with what juice I had for two days. Alas both the loaner chair's charger wouldn't work and my travel charger went up, so by Tuesday I was using Disney's borrowed manual chair. (I loathe being dependent on a driver!!!!)

Bad luck, I figured. And I'm not sure I trust MCO baggage crew anymore. There was really no reason to remove the batteries from the chair. It's just not that heavy. And certainly if you do, you don't drop it then fail to own up to what you did. The crewman who delivered the chair on the gangway left far too quickly to be completely innocent. (Also, why the gate manager allowed passengers to board with us still on the plane is beyond me. In BWI the gate manager made certain we all cleared the gangway before he allowed boarding. And this was 10:30am in Orlando with our plane arrive 10 minutes ahead of schedule. Someone wasn't managing properly.)

Another interesting experience happened NYE at EPCOT. I was in the standby line outside one of the wheelchair viewing spots for the 7:30pm fireworks. Just as the CM started letting wheelchair guests inside a family of 4 races up beside me. All four walking. All of Asian decent. All adults with one looking to be the mother-in-law. They demand entry to the area. When the CM says it is for wheelchair users and guests, they insist they are disabled themselves. They claim they have bad feet and just want to lean on the railing in the back.

The family next to me offer a spot on the railing outside the area. Suddenly a man from each group get into an argument over who is disabled and who deserves entry to this restricted area. Little old me tries to be as inconspicuous as possible in her powerchair as it seems this big guys would start swinging punches. The CM quickly ushers me and my dad inside as far away from the conflict as possible.

So that makes two firsts for me. First time a reputable airline stupidly breaks my chair. And first time I've actually seen someone fake a disability at WDW. Shocked me.

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks for the report. It sounds like you did pretty well despite some unfortunate things happening.
Good luck on getting your chair fixed.

 

[OneLittleSpark]

Sorry you had such poor service on the incoming flight. Is the chair better now, or is it still having problems? Have they given you loads of compensation and apologies yet? If not, hit them with some metaphorical 2x4

 

[BroganMc]

My chair works. It's just missing the little plastic circuit breaker for that one battery. And they did MUCH better on my return flight to BWI.

They profusely apologized Sunday. I think they were as shocked it happened as I was. And I suspect calling them on Monday is what got my chair back to me that afternoon. Both Southwest and my party distinctly heard the repair guy say he was taking my chair right back to the shop Sunday and would either have it to me (in a park or wherever I was) or would call me on the cell to let me know the status.

The repair guy also gave me his "cell phone number", which turned out to just be the main office numbers. Of course the office was closed and all I got was voicemail. The repair guy insisted the message had the emergency number listed to call. Yeah, it did. It said, "If this is an emergency, hang up and call 911." I didn't think the paramedics would be amused if I called them to complain.

He also didn't believe me when I said the charger for the loaner chair wouldn't work. As soon as he took it from me, he plugged it into the nearest outlet to see for himself.

We had major trust issues by that point. I just didn't believe he was going to do what he said he would or even knew all he was doing. And my dad insisted I was being the difficult one. (Dad hates conflict.)

This is why I'm having my DME taking a look at my chair Monday. I have a trust with them, assuming they send the regular repair guys.

Bottomline, replacing a battery takes all of 15 minutes. My DME replaced both batteries and all four wheels in 30 minutes last summer.

The company was Florida Mobility. Next time, I'll insist they talk to Care, Walker or Colonial. They are bigger, better outfitted and have better customer service.

 

[KirstenB]

You are SO much calmer than I would have been. I would have wanted to kill either the airline or the lame repair guy!! GRRR! I hope the airline gave you some free tix or some sort of compensation. I"m glad the rest of your trip went well.

 

[BroganMc]

You are SO much calmer than I would have been. I would have wanted to kill either the airline or the lame repair guy!!

My issues surrounded figuring out what went wrong, why, and how to get back moving again.

I only wish I had the time and power to do one of my leisurely walks through the resort. Saratoga Springs is my favorite place to just wander about. Oh well. I'll be back in April for 3 weeks. (I told myself that every time I started getting upset. Calms you down when you know its not your only chance.)

 

[hematite153]

Yikes!

Sounds like you hit all the bad luck possible. Hopefully it will mean that, thanks to the law of averages, you will have a wonderful trip without any hiccups in April.

Another interesting experience happened NYE at EPCOT.... Just as the CM started letting wheelchair guests inside a family of 4 races up beside me. All four walking. All of Asian decent. ....they insist they are disabled themselves. They claim they have bad feet and just want to lean on the railing in the back.
...
And first time I've actually seen someone fake a disability at WDW. Shocked me.

It certainly sounds like they were faking, since, the probability of them all having the exact same disability isn't great and they didn't accept the other offer.

However, sometimes our disabilities are really hidden.

While at wdw, I usually push my DW in a w/c and I have been known to run while doing so. But, I cannot physically stand still on concrete waiting for the fireworks and usually end up sitting on the ground somewhere--even if it's wet. (Just another reason why I go at low times so I don't run into this problem in attraction lines as well.)

How does this happen? Well, I have fibro and I have done a lot of work on biomechanics which means that there is actually less force driving through my joints when running than when walking and less when walking than when standing.

I can spend an entire day in the parks if I take a break in air conditioning and avoid the worst of the heat. But, if I stood in a single 1-hr line, I'd be done for the day and likely the next as well. Moving is critical for my joints and muscles.

I don't know why this line got to me, but, it did. Perhaps it was a sense that the fact that they ran proved they were faking. (Of course, I also manage my own issues--by sitting on the ground--and wouldn't show up to try to get into the w/c viewing area unless my DW wanted to go there.)

Sorry...although I quoted you, I think this is more of a vent against others.

I really hope that everything is working properly on your chair (either already or really soon) and that you never have to experience such treatment by an airline again.

 

[BroganMc]

It certainly sounds like they were faking, since, the probability of them all having the exact same disability isn't great and they didn't accept the other offer.

However, sometimes our disabilities are really hidden.


SNIP

Sorry...although I quoted you, I think this is more of a vent against others.

I really hope that everything is working properly on your chair (either already or really soon) and that you never have to experience such treatment by an airline again.

I am well aware of the difficulty of hidden disabilities. My issue is the flip side of that. With very visible disabilities people are always assuming I can't do something. Sometimes even speak. (I hate it when people as my companion a question meant for me or that only I know the answer too.) Makes me a very vocal, quick to speak first type of person. Fortunately, I'm also a pretty friendly comedian as well.

I kinda thought that gate crasher story would get more chatter here. It was clearly a case of posers. The fact that they stepped over me to get to the CM tipped us off. Usually when there's a line for disabled access newcomers take their place in line or consult other folks in the line to see what it's all about. This family was only intent on conning their way past the CM, no matter who got in their way.

Sad too, because the line was very congenial before that. We all answered questions to newbies and tried to help lookout for each other. Even keeping the order of who was next and where all their group were together.

 

[madenon]

My chair works. It's just missing the little plastic circuit breaker for that one battery. And they did MUCH better on my return flight to BWI.

They profusely apologized Sunday. I think they were as shocked it happened as I was. And I suspect calling them on Monday is what got my chair back to me that afternoon. Both Southwest and my party distinctly heard the repair guy say he was taking my chair right back to the shop Sunday and would either have it to me (in a park or wherever I was) or would call me on the cell to let me know the status.

The repair guy also gave me his "cell phone number", which turned out to just be the main office numbers. Of course the office was closed and all I got was voicemail. The repair guy insisted the message had the emergency number listed to call. Yeah, it did. It said, "If this is an emergency, hang up and call 911." I didn't think the paramedics would be amused if I called them to complain.

He also didn't believe me when I said the charger for the loaner chair wouldn't work. As soon as he took it from me, he plugged it into the nearest outlet to see for himself.

We had major trust issues by that point. I just didn't believe he was going to do what he said he would or even knew all he was doing. And my dad insisted I was being the difficult one. (Dad hates conflict.)

This is why I'm having my DME taking a look at my chair Monday. I have a trust with them, assuming they send the regular repair guys.

Bottomline, replacing a battery takes all of 15 minutes. My DME replaced both batteries and all four wheels in 30 minutes last summer.

The company was Florida Mobility. Next time, I'll insist they talk to Care, Walker or Colonial. They are bigger, better outfitted and have better customer service.

Glad that your chair is working again.

I've had the same experience when it comes to 'repairing'. NWA broke my powerchair on the way in. They sent somebody from Florida Mobility around. Well....... the guy wasn't very knowledgable, promised all kinds of things but when push came to shuve; had is own agenda to follow. Like coming somewhere around 7 pm instead of in the morning. And no he couldn't help me get a loaner charger for my powerchair neither. All the while he was in the room (about 45 minutes? of doing nothing much) he was badmouthing both of my wheelchairs also! He knew better what kind of chair (manual) and which kind of configuration (powerchair) I'ld need than I do.

Anywho, that didn't help one bit. I allready suspected him not being able to fix the broken part (I thought is was a part only used on the dutch market. Turns out another part next to it was broken. A simple thing that any repair guy could've and should've found after hearing my discription of what was going wrong. All the while he was bragging about selling this brand he'ld better have spend in learning about the chair....), but he couldn't even help me out with the charger and it's of a same brand as the company sells themselves! Unlike SW, NWA didn't do nothing about it. They were still at the point of 'it went in the plane ok and came out broke, but we didn't do it'.

By that point a cm and the manager of CBR decided enough is enough and started calling around. First they offered me to get me a ecv or powerchair from anywhere, which I declined as I need my special seating. Then they foccused on getting me on my way in my own chair. Result? Walker rented me a charger, another CM went over to Walker to get it, brought it to my room and brought it back after I checked out. To go above and beyond, the manager put the charges for it on the account of CBR and refused me paying for it.

I'm with you; no more FM for me either!

 

[hematite153]

The company was Florida Mobility. Next time, I'll insist they talk to Care, Walker or Colonial. They are bigger, better outfitted and have better customer service.

They sent somebody from Florida Mobility around. Well....... the guy wasn't very knowledgable, ...
I'm with you; no more FM for me either!

Yikes! I'm going to remember that name so that I can guarantee I never have to deal with them!

I am well aware of the difficulty of hidden disabilities. My issue is the flip side of that. With very visible disabilities people are always assuming I can't do something. Sometimes even speak.

Good point. In normal, everyday conversations, it is common for someone to ask a question of my DW or I and have the other answer. But, I've noticed that when she's using a w/c I have to pay attention to this because I don't want to seem like I'm speaking for her because of the chair. Of course, I'm not. I just answer because it is a question that I know the answer to better than she does--and believe me, this goes the other way too! I'd probably have to develop different habits if she was using the chair full-time, because, I really worry about not "speaking for her". (Her disability can also be hidden really well as long as she doesn't have to walk more than a mile two days in a row, so she generally only needs the chair when we are on vacation.)

 

[MarieS]

I'm sorry to hear you had such a bad problem with your chair. You handled it well-- I would have been fuming! I will be flying with son and his chair (first time with the chair) on southwest later this year and my biggest worry is a broken chair. He needs his specialized seating system. I am writing that company's name down just in case so I know who to avoid.

Glad you were able to salvage your trip and that your chair is fixed. Sending you pixie dust for your next trip!

 

[SueM in MN]

I'm sorry to hear you had such a bad problem with your chair. You handled it well-- I would have been fuming! I will be flying with son and his chair (first time with the chair) on southwest later this year and my biggest worry is a broken chair. He needs his specialized seating system. I am writing that company's name down just in case so I know who to avoid.

Glad you were able to salvage your trip and that your chair is fixed. Sending you pixie dust for your next trip!

If his seating system is removable, I would suggest taking it off and bringing it onto the plane with you. It will not count toward your carryon allowance.
We take everything we can off DD's wheelchair and fold it as much as possible.
This is a picture of DD's wheelchair ready to go on the plane. Everything else is carried on. I use a small laundry bag to 'gather' the pieces up and bring them onto the plane.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I am familiar with Florida Mobility. That is where we bought Judy's ECV, and the price was very reasonable.

However, they have two locations and, to my knowledge, only one repairman.

 

[mrsksomeday]

I am so sorry that happened with your chair.

Having Bill's power chair get broken on a flight is one of my nightmares. We have never had a problem with SouthWest, but they have never taken his batteries out either. I just tell them the chair weighs about 300lbs and they need about 4 people to lift it.

I hope all goes smoothly on your April trip.

 

[BroganMc]

I've had the same experience when it comes to 'repairing'. NWA broke my powerchair on the way in. They sent somebody from Florida Mobility around. Well....... the guy wasn't very knowledgable, promised all kinds of things but when push came to shuve; had is own agenda to follow.

Hmm... the plot thickens. His name wasn't Jim was it?

What threw me is that he never quite did what he led us to believe he'd do. Sunday when I arrived at SWA baggage claim at 11:31am, they immediately called him via cell phone. I was asked for all the details of my chair, parts info, what needed to be fixed, etc. He said he was "going to the shop for parts and a loaner chair in case he couldn't fix it". Time expectation he gave us was "an hour".

At 12:30pm, no sign of him so I had SWA call again. "He was just at the shop and was on his way. 15 minutes tops."

At 1:30pm, still no sign of him. SWA called again. "He just arrived at the airport and was 5 min away."

So knowing I had a Sunrise Quickie with left-hand joystick and a broken 22NF 12 volt gel battery, what does he bring? An E&J Navigator with a right-hand mount and no spare battery. I had expected him to at least come with a battery so we could do a swap and bypass the circuit breaker. Instead, we spent the next 45 minutes with him trying to swap the joystick on the E&J and talk me into letting him take my chair back to the shop.

He left us (including SWA staff) that he was going back to the shop with my chair and getting parts for it. If he didn't have the parts he'd have to order them and get them to me Wed (when I left town). Either way, he'd call me back on my cell and if he had the battery he'd just deliver my chair to me anywhere I was... even in the middle of Magic Kingdom at midnight.

Of course I never heard from him, nor could contact him that night when the E&J charger went up. I had hoped I'd at least get a call by 9am the next day with a status report. Instead nothing happened until I got on the phone at 10:30am and started getting SWA involved. FWIW SWA baggage claims folks were really great about it. It was Florida Mobility that dragged their feet.

Maybe it is just too small a shop to handle emergency moblity problems for a big airline carrier.

Funny thing is AA Rentals (where my dad gets his scooter) are another mom & pop but with fantastic customer service. They've rescued him in the middle of a park and when a problem turned up too late at night for us to have them meet us they were on our doorstop with a replacement at 8am the next day.

 

[BroganMc]

Good point. In normal, everyday conversations, it is common for someone to ask a question of my DW or I and have the other answer. But, I've noticed that when she's using a w/c I have to pay attention to this because I don't want to seem like I'm speaking for her because of the chair. Of course, I'm not. I just answer because it is a question that I know the answer to better than she does--and believe me, this goes the other way too! I'd probably have to develop different habits if she was using the chair full-time, because, I really worry about not "speaking for her". (Her disability can also be hidden really well as long as she doesn't have to walk more than a mile two days in a row, so she generally only needs the chair when we are on vacation.)

The great leveler for me and my dad is having him use an ECV. Now we both get asked each other's questions and we both answer. Well to be honest, being a woman I tend to answer for him.

I had a friend who was really shocked when she encountered this the first time. But I've encountered it so often in my life I mostly just ignore it. Sometimes I'll snap at the person answering for me, but that's because they know better. I taught them better dagnammit!

 

[MarieS]

Sue--

Thanks for posting that picture of your dd's chair. I haven't taken my son's chair apart in a long time so I'll have to practice on it to see what I can remove. I know the arm rests and head rest don't come off without using an allen wrench. I think I could take off the footplates and seating system. It would then fold down but the head rest would stick out. The seat bottom and back is all connected so I know it would be heavy. Would I have to be able to lift it up into the overhead bins or is there somewhere else to store it?
Thanks for any tips!

 

[SueM in MN]

Sue--

Thanks for posting that picture of your dd's chair. I haven't taken my son's chair apart in a long time so I'll have to practice on it to see what I can remove. I know the arm rests and head rest don't come off without using an allen wrench. I think I could take off the footplates and seating system. It would then fold down but the head rest would stick out. The seat bottom and back is all connected so I know it would be heavy. Would I have to be able to lift it up into the overhead bins or is there somewhere else to store it?
Thanks for any tips!

Here's what we do:
I haven't ever taken a picture of the pieces I take off, but I only remove things that come off without tools.
On her current chair, the footplates flip up, but don't come off. She has velcro ankle straps, so I attach the velcro from one footplate to the other footplate to help keep them from moving around. On her old wheelchair, she had swing away footrests that were removeable, so I took them off. Her armrests just pull off, so I pull them off. As I take pieces off, I drop them into a drawstring laundry bag so I know I have everything.
My DD has a Jay seat and back, so it is in 2 pieces. Her headrest is attached to the back, but can be pulled off by just loosening 2 wing nut type things. Because I can take it apart that much, I can stack the seat/back pieces and put them into the overhead bin.

I've only had a problem once with putting things in the overhead bin. After watching me putting the pieces into the bin, a passenger complained that he didn't want any of those "dangerous" things falling on him (despite the fact that we were the ones sitting under it). The FA helped me to find another bin to put them into. Ironically, the next person put something worse into the bin.

Anyway, to decide what to do for travel, I first tighten all the screws and bolts because they can loosen from vibrations during the flight. Then I looked at what could come off. If it is only held on by velcro, gravity or friction, I take it off. If you've got something big, like the seat, I'd suggest contacting the airline and ask for someone who deals with special needs. They should be able to help figure out if seat will fit the overhead bin or if there is a closet on board where it might fit. If the seat stays on securely and doesn't have anything that is delicate or easily broken, it could stay on. The smaller and lighter you can get the chair, the better the baggage people will like it. In case something comes off, it's a good idea to mark each piece with your name, address and a local contact number.

 

[MarieS]

Sue,

Thanks for all your info! I am going to practice taking the seating system off and folding the chair down so I can do it quickly. Do you take an allen wrench or other tool with you when you fly?

 

[SueM in MN]

Sue,

Thanks for all your info! I am going to practice taking the seating system off and folding the chair down so I can do it quickly. Do you take an allen wrench or other tool with you when you fly?

we do, just in case anything loosens during the trip.
According to the TSA, you are allowed to bring tools to fix your wheelchair with you in your carry on. We lost one set when we packed the tools in the checked bags; apparently someone stole our tool kit along the way.
If worse comes to worse, you can usually get tools from Engineering or from the bike rental area at your resort.