Changing Gear

Fairly soon after I was diagnosed, I upgraded my little manual car to an automatic with power

Driving my little mobility scooter
(with help from my small "co-pilot").

steering.

I loved my little Ford Focus, and took very good care of it.  Buying it brand new, I'd planned to stay with this one car for a very long time.  It was easier to drive than my previous car, the steering was light, I could handle it even on days when all my joints hurt.

I failed to take one thing into account in choosing it.  A Focus is a fairly small car.  That was fine to start with.  Once I needed to start carrying extra things to help me with mobility, the car didn't have quite enough space.  First, it was the wheelchair. Then, to be a bit more independent, I got a groovy little red mobility scooter.  Now, I don't need someone to push me around.

The scooter breaks down into small enough parts to put into the boot of a Focus, but then I needed to have someone with me wherever I went, to get all the pieces out of the car and assemble it, and to break it down and put it back in the car again later. The boot of the car was then full, with no room left to put the groceries, or anything else I might have wanted to carry.

So this week, I did the unthinkable.  I traded in my little car that had less than 60,000km on the odometer, for a very well used Nisan XTrail four wheel drive.

The "new" car - with experience.

It's close to the same age as the Focus was, in years, but has more than 200,000 on the odometer.  So I guess it's a car with experience.  Second-hand was the only way I was going to afford a 4WD.

The benefit is, that my scooter doesn't have to be broken into as many parts - so is easier to set up and put away.

Add to that, my son has promised me an early Christmas present - he has it on order to pick up next week - a folding ramp to make getting the scooter in and out of the vehicle simple and light enough that anyone, hopefully even me, could do it.

Of course, there's also heaps of room in the back for me to get shopping and whatever else I need and carry it home, too.

I was a bit sad about changing cars. You might have guessed.  I was also a bit concerned.  I drove 4WDs when I was younger, but haven't done so for years.  I remember them being heavy to handle, but I was much stronger back then. Fortunately, that has changed dramatically.  This is automatic, has power steering, and in two wheel drive mode, is no harder to handle than the smaller car was.  I also remember 4WDs requiring a great deal of effort to climb into. This one's not all that much higher than a regular car, and I can step into it, rather than climb.