Travel Bag for Folding PWC Batteries

[iuki]

Fold & Go has a travel bag for its batteries. Does anyone know where we can get something similar for my Falcon?

 

[Groot]

No, sadly. I’ve looked everywhere and couldn’t find any solutions.

EDIT: Maybe something like this could help?

 

[mamabunny]

Fold & Go has a travel bag for its batteries. Does anyone know where we can get something similar for my Falcon?

Does the manufacturer for your chair recommend that the batteries be removed for flight?

Not all device batteries have to be removed. I removed mine when I was flying with my Travelscoot because that was the original inventor/manufacturer recommendation, and it was the preference of the airline I was flying.

 

[Groot]

Does the manufacturer for your chair recommend that the batteries be removed for flight?

Not all device batteries have to be removed. I removed mine when I was flying with my Travelscoot because that was the original inventor/manufacturer recommendation, and it was the preference of the airline I was flying.

It depends on what the airline says. I’d call the airline customer service and see what they say.

 

[iuki]

My husband is afraid of the batteries getting damaged.

 

[mamabunny]

My husband is afraid of the batteries getting damaged.

My hubby is a HUGE worrywart when it comes to my personal mobility devices; they have to meet *his* standards before I even try one and he has to feel comfortable that he can repair it himself in the field if needed.

You should see the tool kit(s) we bring along, depending on if we fly or drive... I love that he cares about me, and for me, so well, but he is V. Serious about my devices and how they handled, so I get it.

Take a couple of lengths of blue painters tape to cover any of the contact points of the battery at the aircraft door, before you carry it in to the plane. That way it can't short out on anything (including another battery). The blue painters tape won't leave any sticky residue on the batteries to worry about.

 

[iuki]

Your hubby sounds like my hubby. He also does everything for me, because I’m in pain 24/7. The only time my pain medication helps is if I’m sedentary. Just folding clothes I have to stop after a few articles of clothing, rest for 15-20 minutes, and then continue. Needless to say, he cooks, cleans, and does the laundry, in addition to taking care of the yard and garden. He’s one in a million. I help fold the clothes, but I do all the bills, budget, and paperwork. When I work on the computer, I really hurt all day. I suffer from sciatica nerve pain, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, and muscle pain. But, he really hates doing bills and paperwork, so that’s my contribution. I feel so guilty that he does all these things for me.

 

[mamabunny]

Your hubby sounds like my hubby. He also does everything for me, because I’m in pain 24/7. The only time my pain medication helps is if I’m sedentary. Just folding clothes I have to stop after a few articles of clothing, rest for 15-20 minutes, and then continue. Needless to say, he cooks, cleans, and does the laundry, in addition to taking care of the yard and garden. He’s one in a million. I help fold the clothes, but I do all the bills, budget, and paperwork. When I work on the computer, I really hurt all day. I suffer from sciatica nerve pain, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, and muscle pain. But, he really hates doing bills and paperwork, so that’s my contribution. I feel so guilty that he does all these things for me.

He does it because he loves you!

I understand your feelings of guilt. I am that person who will literally crawl across the floor trying to make sure my family doesn't "do" for me; after all, I am The Mama, and I am in charge, and I am the one who does for everyone else!

It's been the hardest lesson for me to learn these last few years. I can learn how to pilot a power chair better than Han Solo ever flew the Millennium Falcon (yeah, I said it! LOL) and I have learned how to do so many other self-care things that I never thought I would have to learn to do. But the hardest thing for me - worse than the pain, worse than any surgery, illness or procedure I have gone through - is allowing others (especially my family) to do anything for me.

My (adult) daughter finally got VERY frustrated with me one day not so long ago, and she pointed at me, and pointed at the kitchen chair nearest me, told me to sit down, shut it and listen. This is what she said:

"When you hurt, *I* hurt. When you push yourself past the point of being able to breathe because it hurts so bad, it scares me. When you push me away and try to do things that you have already taught me to do... it frustrates me, because I am here for you. You taught me years ago that we are like the Marines; we never leave anyone behind. We are not trying to leave you behind when we help you do something... we are carrying you with us. I know it's hard to see, but daddy and I and everyone who loves you does what we do so that we can give you back just a fraction of the care that you have given to us over the years. Let us help you, Mom. It's Ohana."

Well, after we all had a good cry (my sweet hubby included) we figured out what I can do to be genuinely helpful to our family, and where I need to step back. There are times when I am still gently reminded that it's OK to take a break, or that it's OK to let someone do something, but overall it's helped me to feel less guilty, and more useful. It's also opened my eyes to both how much I can still do - a carefully curated list, to be sure - and how little I should worry.

This is the hardest part, right here. Stepping back, after years of caring for others, and letting them do. Find the things you can still contribute - maybe you can't stand at the counter and chop veggies anymore, but can you sit at the kitchen table, and run a small food processor? Maybe you can't fold clothes, but you might be able to learn how to use dictation on your computer, table and/or phone, (to save your hands) and you can do all the grocery lists and maybe even the online shopping, so that all your loved ones have to do is pick up the groceries. You get the idea - worry less about what you can't do, and find the things you can do without hurting yourself. I'm willing to bet there will be more than you think! And if there really is nothing you can do to help right now... at least you are there with your loved ones, and I promise you that for them, that is all that matters. You can still sit with them, and chat about things and share their company while they are doing things, and if they love you even 1/1 millionth of what I bet they do... they will be so happy you are there to share that time with them. Because in the end, that's the greatest gift of all to anyone - time together.

 

[iuki]

He does it because he loves you!

I understand your feelings of guilt. I am that person who will literally crawl across the floor trying to make sure my family doesn't "do" for me; after all, I am The Mama, and I am in charge, and I am the one who does for everyone else!

It's been the hardest lesson for me to learn these last few years. I can learn how to pilot a power chair better than Han Solo ever flew the Millennium Falcon (yeah, I said it! LOL) and I have learned how to do so many other self-care things that I never thought I would have to learn to do. But the hardest thing for me - worse than the pain, worse than any surgery, illness or procedure I have gone through - is allowing others (especially my family) to do anything for me.

My (adult) daughter finally got VERY frustrated with me one day not so long ago, and she pointed at me, and pointed at the kitchen chair nearest me, told me to sit down, shut it and listen. This is what she said:

"When you hurt, *I* hurt. When you push yourself past the point of being able to breathe because it hurts so bad, it scares me. When you push me away and try to do things that you have already taught me to do... it frustrates me, because I am here for you. You taught me years ago that we are like the Marines; we never leave anyone behind. We are not trying to leave you behind when we help you do something... we are carrying you with us. I know it's hard to see, but daddy and I and everyone who loves you does what we do so that we can give you back just a fraction of the care that you have given to us over the years. Let us help you, Mom. It's Ohana."

Well, after we all had a good cry (my sweet hubby included) we figured out what I can do to be genuinely helpful to our family, and where I need to step back. There are times when I am still gently reminded that it's OK to take a break, or that it's OK to let someone do something, but overall it's helped me to feel less guilty, and more useful. It's also opened my eyes to both how much I can still do - a carefully curated list, to be sure - and how little I should worry.

This is the hardest part, right here. Stepping back, after years of caring for others, and letting them do. Find the things you can still contribute - maybe you can't stand at the counter and chop veggies anymore, but can you sit at the kitchen table, and run a small food processor? Maybe you can't fold clothes, but you might be able to learn how to use dictation on your computer, table and/or phone, (to save your hands) and you can do all the grocery lists and maybe even the online shopping, so that all your loved ones have to do is pick up the groceries. You get the idea - worry less about what you can't do, and find the things you can do without hurting yourself. I'm willing to bet there will be more than you think! And if there really is nothing you can do to help right now... at least you are there with your loved ones, and I promise you that for them, that is all that matters. You can still sit with them, and chat about things and share their company while they are doing things, and if they love you even 1/1 millionth of what I bet they do... they will be so happy you are there to share that time with them. Because in the end, that's the greatest gift of all to anyone - time together.

Your daughter mentioned Ohana. Are you from Hawaii?

 

[mamabunny]

Your daughter mentioned Ohana. Are you from Hawaii?

Actually... no! We are Okies; most of our household anyway... we let the hubby be an Honorary Oklahoman because he is originally from Ohio, which is our "alphabet neighbor"

She is a HUGE Lilo & Stitch fan, (our whole family is, actually) and loves the whole Hawaiian "vibe", but is very clear-eyed about the fact that she will most likely live within spittin' distance of Tulsa for the majority of her life. She would also move to Florida in a heartbeat if she could live in the Keys somehow but still be walking distance to Disney World LOL

But yeah... she knows that I have a very particular soft spot, and luckily for me she doesn't abuse it. She is, somehow, lucky lucky me, my best friend, and I thank Father G*d and the Universe for her every day.

 

[AprilsZoo]

It’s wonderful that there are so many other spouses out there like my DH! My hubby would move a mountain with a teaspoon if I needed him to… Heck, he’d move it with a demitasse spoon while walking on his knees.

Like luki’s dh, my hubby has cleaned the house, done the laundry, cooked *so many* meals, and literally served me meals in bed when it was too hard to leave it. He has bathed me, held my hair back as I was sick, and laid beside me and held me and assured me I’d be okay when all I could do was whimper and cry in pain.
33+ years ago he vowed to stand with me for better or worse, in sickness and heath, in good times and bad… I’m sure he thought, as I did, that the good times would far out number the bad. Nevertheless, he has honored those vows with a determination and grit seldom seen anymore. When I tell people that we’ve been married for more than 33 years I usually get a look of . I tell them that the secret is that not only are we still in love with one another, we actually still *like* each other.

I’ve no idea what cosmic stars aligned to bless me with such an amazing man, but I, too, thank my deity that we found each other 35 years ago. And he’s stuck around thru having 4 boys (3 with various degrees of disability) and stayed after I got sick.

He teases that he’d be a fool to leave and have to break in a whole new family… better the devil you know, he says.

It‘s a double-edged sword— to love your family so much that you don’t want to burden them… but to know that they love you so much that you’ll never be a burden.

I know absolutely, unequivocally, beyond any possible doubt that dh loves me deeply and unconditionally. And I love him more than I have words to describe. If ever I feel like I am too much of a burden, I remind myself that when the tables have been turned—briefly as it was— I‘ve cared for him the same way he’s taken care of our family and I. That helps. It reminds me that what is done out of love is never really a chore.

Like the old saying: He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother…. Just substitute in mother, father, husband, wife, son, daughter, sister, etc.

 

[iuki]

MamaBunny, AprilsZoo, and I are very, very fortunate to have such great husbands. My DH & I have been married over 57 years and still hold hands and enjoy each other’s company. So many newlyweds today have no idea how those traditional vows really are a prelude of what’s to come. I made a cookbook to give to our children and grandchildren for our 50th Wedding Anniversary. At the end of the cookbook, I wrote a letter about how my DH and I met and knew each other before we married. I also wrote about those wedding vows and how we experienced all of those vows. Those peaks and valleys occur in every marriage. Young couples today need to learn that this is normal and don’t give up during the rough times. They’ll appreciate each other more so in the later years of marriage.