Car has broke

mandapanda83
mandapanda83 Member Posts: 6
edited 23. Jan 2020, 10:09 in Living with arthritis
My life line has broken 😢 how do I get about now. I know its not the be all and end all but it helped me get from a to b when needed and now I feel stuck. I can use public transport but the aftermath of hip pain is just too much. I have sacroilitis and axial Spondyloarthropathy. Ideas on how to keep going without a car and trying to still keep up with my normal activities.

Comments

  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I'm sorry. Sometimes arthritis just sucks but sometimes we can't just 'keep up with our normal activities'.

    I hope the car can be mended quickly but, in the meantime, things will have to alter. If you need the car for shopping then get groceries delivered. If you need it to take children to school ask someone else to do it. If you really need to use public transport and it leaves you in pain then other activities can be cut out or delegated to compensate.

    I promise you arthritis will bring out your inventive side (Just read how N1gel gets out of the bath :o:lol: on 'thisdamknee's' thread)
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • stellabean
    stellabean Member Posts: 307
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Oh Mandapanda that is so annoying my daughter has just had her car breakdown and after it being in the garage for 5 days the mechanic worked on it until 3AM this morning(yes that is right 3AM) as she had to have it back because we needed our car back for my hospital appointment. Unfortunately we do not have very good public transport in this area being so rural but I know using it would cause me more pain. Sometimes it can feel like everything is stacked against you. I hope your car can be repaired and secondly you can afford it my daughters bill was nearly £400 the mechanic didn't charge her all his time we are so grateful to him.
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    In my experience non-drivers manage pretty well by sponging lifts from those who drive. If your surroundings are urban then there might be useful buses, if school is within walking distance then the children (I think you have some but don't know their ages) can walk, either alone or with friends, local taxis can be handy (I use them for hospital appointments as parking there, even with a BB, is impossible after 8am). When I broke my upper left humerus and could not drive for three months I set up grocery deliveries. I was housebound for much of that time but it passed, time always does.

    I am not sure what constitutes your normal activities but mine have changed markedly over the past 23 arthritic years, thanks to the depredations of my PsA and OA. Change is forced upon us by the very nature of the joint deterioration and damage. Remember the arthritis ABC: adapt, believe, compromise. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • frogmorton
    frogmorton Member Posts: 29,332
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Check in with your local council - some areas still do 'taxi tokens' so you could use slightly more comfortable modes of public transport.

    I hope your car is fixable :?

    Toni xx
  • Mike1
    Mike1 Member Posts: 1,992
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Cornwall Council don't do Taxi Tokens, just free bus passes none of which are wheelchair friendly. When my driving licence was withdrawn by the DVLA a couple of months ago and, as a result, my Motability car had to be returned as I live alone I obviously became worried (to say the least) about how I was to get around. I had the wheelchair which was provided on a permanent loan basis by an Armed Forces Charity and I used the last of my savings to buy a mobility scooter so I can get to the village shop and the Surgery. Getting further afield is the problem. My Sister is happy to take me to appointments and even offers to simply take me for a ride for a change of scenery but my wheelchair is a beast and will not fit in her car. Anyway, as there are several "car services" in Cornwall which are coordinated by the Council I emailed them asking whether they have any available that can take me in an electric wheelchair to hospital appointments - that was almost 2 months ago and they have not bothered to answer! What I need is a folding electric wheelchair but the ideal one which I found through the Scope website is £1750 and I simply can't afford that.
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Mike1 wrote:
    but my wheelchair is a beast and will not fit in her car. Anyway, as there are several "car services" in Cornwall which are coordinated by the Council I emailed them asking whether they have any available that can take me in an electric wheelchair to hospital appointments - that was almost 2 months ago and they have not bothered to answer!


    We have a similar system here. I'm wondering if, when you contacted the council, you gave the dimensions and weight of your wheelchair. It might be that they've put out a general email and people just haven't bothered replying fearing that their car boot, like your sister's, is too small. When flying I always have to give dimensions and weight of my chair even though it's the absolute bogstandard non-electric one. I guess the ease of lifting it into a car would also come into it. Many of these drivers are retired and elderly themselves.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • Mike1
    Mike1 Member Posts: 1,992
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Thanks for the advice SW, I didn't give details of my chair so will try again.
  • N1gel
    N1gel Member Posts: 160
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    'I promise you arthritis will bring out your inventive side (Just read how N1gel gets out of the bath :o:lol: on 'thisdamknee's' thread)'

    I will not be providing pictures! :lol: :oops:
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Spoil sport :lol:
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright