I Hate Dialysis Message Board

Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: Traveling Tips and Stories => Topic started by: Whamo on February 02, 2016, 03:42:14 AM

Title: Mini Van for disabled
Post by: Whamo on February 02, 2016, 03:42:14 AM: :stressed; I'm shopping for a mini van for my wife. She has Rhematoid arthritis, bad, yet wants to work. She manages nurses at a busy hospital. So I'm shopping for a van
with a lift that easy to use for the new scooter I brought her. Has anyone any advice or experience with such matters?
Title: Re: Mini Van for disabled
Post by: Rerun on February 02, 2016, 07:20:16 AM: Our city has First Transit that comes to the house to pick people up and takes them where ever they need to go and will pick them up and take them home. $1.50 each way.

The downside is some of those people are very scary. It is a shared ride so you may get there in 5 minutes or 45 minutes.

https://www.spokanetransit.com/paratransit/what-is-paratransit
Title: Re: Mini Van for disabled
Post by: iolaire on February 02, 2016, 10:25:32 AM: Quote from: Rerun on February 02, 2016, 07:20:16 AM
It is a shared ride so you may get there in 5 minutes or 45 minutes.
I'm glad these services exist, here in the DC area its Metro Access, and its not cheap 2 times the public transportation cost, capped at $6.50. That being said if you can afford your own transport it seems the most efficient. Those wait times really make it hard if you have to be somewhere and add a lot of time to your commute. I use public transport to get to dialysis and hate to think how long it would take via Metro Access. Not to mention its the last public transport to start back up after a snow storm...
Title: Re: Mini Van for disabled
Post by: Tío Riñon on February 02, 2016, 06:50:48 PM: I'm not sure where you're located, but I did an Internet search when we needed a van for my father. We only rented it for a weekend, but they also sell the vans. Give these companies a try as a starting point:

1. http://www.aandjmobility.com/wheelchair-vans-for-sale?resetall

2. http://gtmobility.com/cars-for-sale#/page/2

Let us know if you have any luck locating a van.
Title: Re: Mini Van for disabled
Post by: PrimeTimer on March 16, 2016, 12:45:43 AM: Quote from: Whamo on February 02, 2016, 03:42:14 AM
:stressed; I'm shopping for a mini van for my wife. She has Rhematoid arthritis, bad, yet wants to work. She manages nurses at a busy hospital. So I'm shopping for a van
with a lift that easy to use for the new scooter I brought her. Has anyone any advice or experience with such matters?

Any luck yet with buying a mini van for your wife?
Title: Re: Mini Van for disabled
Post by: Michael Murphy on March 16, 2016, 02:26:13 AM: I used to work with a guy who needed a van, bought a pt cruiser and had it modified so the ramp came out the back, rolled in and locked himself in front of the steering wheel. There are shops that modify most vehicles to meet state standards. Good luck.
Title: Re: Mini Van for disabled
Post by: Whamo on April 02, 2018, 02:52:24 PM: :clap; I found a van with a ramp for a reasonable price, 25K. They're 75K new these days. The ramp additions alone are 25K. We had to get the ramp repaired once, but the warranty covered it. My wife is doing better these days. She uses a walker more often than her scooter. She works long hours so public transportation wouldn't work for her. It would take her too long even though we only live 12 miles away from the hospital.