The Doctors I'm Seeing at Hamilton Comm. Hospital for this Whatever It Is

Michael Jastremski , M.D.        The first Dr. I saw in the ER.                  

Emergency Medicine Director
Emergency Services/Medical Affairs
315-824-6090
Certified by: American Board of Internal Medicine, American Board of Emergency, and Subspecialty Certification in Critical Care Medicine
Residency: SUNY Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse, NY
Fellowship: University of Pittsburgh
Med College: SUNY Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse, NY - 1973
College: Hartwick College, Oneonta, NY - 1969

Eufrosina Young, M.D.         The second Dr. I saw, a Neurologist                                

Hamilton Family Health Center of CMH
164 Broad Street, Hamilton
315-648-5785
Certified in Clinical Neurophysiology, Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
Residency: North Shore University Hospital (of New York University), Manhasset, NY - 2001
Med College: University of the East, Quezon City, Philippines - 1994
College: University of the Philippines - 1990

Carina Alfaro-Franco, M.D.            The third Dr. a Cardiologist.

Community Memorial Hospital                   

164 Broad Street

Hamilton, NY 13346

315-648-6408
Board Certified in Cardiovascular Disease. Board Certified in Internal Medicine
Residency: Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX – 1994
Med College: University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas – 1991
College: University of Houston, Houston, TX – 1978

Latest Update Stroke or Ear Infection

In the last update, I said that the Neurologist told me that they'd ruled out stroke, multiple TIA, brain tumor, MS, etc. and due to the results of the MIA they thought there might be restricted blood flow in the arteries in the back of my head, going to the brain, that was causing the problems. Well I had the CT Angio that they scheduled a week ago last Friday, still haven't heard anything. Except went to MD for first visit last week, speaking to the Nurse Practioner, asked her and they have the preliminary report, she said it says no narrowing or aneurism. So I was feeling pretty good, until I got a letter from a Neurosurgeon in Syracuse telling what to bring to my appointment mid May. That's it for now, I see the Neurologist on Tuesday and intend to ask what's going on.


Lee Murray

A Scooter Is A Scooter Is A Scooter, Or Is It???

It would seem to be true. After all they all have a seat, a handlebar, three or four wheels, a motor and transmission and one or two batteries, (usually two).  So it would seem to be true, if you don't look too deep. It's just like saying a bicycle is a bicycle, or a car is a car, or a guitar is a guitar, or a girl is a girl, or a friend is a friend, on and on and on. But, unless you're the person that thinks a Timex is no different than a Rolex, (they both keep time, right?), or there's no difference between a Playboy Bunny and the girl you see at the Walmart checkout, (she may be good looking, but...), still it's just not true.  There are similarities, and while it would appear that one is pretty much the same as another, if you've ever found one car or bicycle better than another, or you're a guitar player that prefers a Martin over a Taylor,  you just know that it's not true.  You may prefer a different scooter than I do, or than that person over there does, which in itself pretty much proves that I'm right.  If I wasn't, there'd only be one kind. Instead there's dozens. Each brand has it's strong points and weak points. For instance an example of one for me is the actuator, on a Rascal they are finger actuators meaning you pull back with your fingers which is easy, on a Pride they're thumb controlled, meaning you push with your thumbs, which when turning sharply is difficult. Another example is the front basket, on most Rascals it's mounted to the frame and has no effect on steering, on most other scooters it's mounted on the handlbar and can if you put too much in it make the scooter hard or dangerous to steer. So you have to look at the various features and specs to make sure your scooter is right, right for you that is.
Another way to look at it is that any scooter will get you around, and yes, that happens to be true. If you can put up with or ignore the negatives. A 350 lb man can ride a small scooter, even though the weight limit is 250-300 lbs or so,  he might get away with that, at least for awhile, but most are 20-21 inches wide with 9" or smaller tires. But, is him being squeezed into a small seat, uncomfortable, the handlebar right in his chest or belly, or that he would constantly be in danger of tipping over  a real concern?  The other side of the coin is the little 90 lb lady who gets a bariatric scooter with a weight limit of 500-550 lbs. Yes it's unlikely she'll ever wear it out, or stress it too highly, but frankly it's just too much scooter. Too big, too hard to get around in, she'd be more suited to the smaller or ultra-light scooter in the pevious example. 
There are many things to consider, among them are: what you want it for, indoors/outdoors/or both, weight capacity, losing weight or gaining weight, scooter length and width, anti-tip wheels, correct seat width/depth, how wide are your doors, turning circle, stability, speed, how tall or short are you, where will you store it, travel distance per charge, battery life, tire size, rural home or in city, tippiness or likliness to tip over, carrying capacity, does the basket interfere with steering, power, ability to go up a hill, acceleration,  break down for transport, need a lift for vehicle, need a ramp for your home, and more, any of which can make one machine better than another....for you.
So yes, if you look just at the surface, it can look like a scooter is a scooter. But if you go into it in depth, make your salesman do his job right, and get the one that's right for you, you'll quickly see that it's not true.

Lee Murray

The Scooter Comes Apart for Transport - Sometimes NO Lift Works Better

This should really have been the first post, before any lifts, but here it is, better late than never. The scooters, and the powerchairs to some degree, are designed to be broken down for transport in a car, truck, or van. I'm only going to talk about cars because the process is the same for trucks, vans and SUV's but they have so much more room it's easier. 
As I said in an earlier post, when I first started, I had an 83 Olds 98, and I could fit two full scooters in the trunk, broken down. Big old cars are great, but every year they seem to make the cars, and the trunks, and especially the opening into the trunks, smaller. By now there are fewer cars, that will hold the whole scooter without using the back seat too. 
But the other side of the coin is, when I was still selling inhome, probably 1999, (I was doing both inhome and VA then), I had an appointment with a guy in, I think, Rome, NY not Italy, who was in need of a scooter.  He bought a 245, which was a heavy duty three wheel about 48 inches long comparable to a current 600F.  He had a Ford Festiva, a really really small car. we broke his scooter down to put it in the Festiva's trunk.
Broken down, in the order you take them apart, you have the front basket, the flag, the handlbar, the seat (which can range from std. 18" wide to 24" wide or wider on special order), two batteries, then you stand it on the rear bumper, pull a pin, and the front section pulls away from the rear section, making a total of 8 pieces.  As I said I could get two scooters broken down, like this, in my Olds 98, big cars with big trunks and big trunk openings, are fantastic.
But, as I remember, this time, in this tiny car, we got the rear section, the two batteries, the handlebar, front basket, and flag  in his trunk, it was a small trunk. The front section and the seat had to go in the back seat of the Festiva.  At that point he and his wife had to decide whether to take the Rascal, or their kids.  He ended up buying a small trailer to carry his scooter.
The moral being that if you're serious, you can fit your Rascal in virtually any car, from large, a Lincoln Town Car, to probably even as tiny as something like a Prius. You might not fit anything else though, so you'd have to be serious.  If your car is tiny, don't take my word, or anybody elses that it'll all fit, break it down, put it in the car, and make sure... BEFORE you buy,
Another aspect is that while the heaviest part, when taken apart as I've described, is about 60-70 pounds, (the rear section), it's more awkward than heavy. But still it's not light, and needs someone in decent shape to put it in and out of a trunk. I've always had the person who wants to transport this way actually break down, load, unload and put the scooter back together, to make sure they can.  It's more than some people can, or should, handle.  Believe it or not, I've sold scooters where the husband and wife worked together to lift the heavy parts, this works too. Another reason to break it down and try it before you buy.
The fact that not everybody can or should do it, and not everybody has help, is the reason we sell lifts, and the correct lift does make transporting easier, but if necessary you can do it without a lift.
FYI One other thing is that while they're apart you can change fronts, from a four wheel to a three wheel, this is a patented feature only available from Rascal, just thought I'd mention it.

Lee Murray