Disability Challenge: Trapped in a Lift Chair During Power Outages

One of the scariest times for me, before I figured this thing out, was during storms, dreading power outages. It's bad enough being without lights, refrigeration, my computer/wifi, and microwave, but I literally live in my lift chair. It's the only chair I have, and I sleep in it as well.

In the past, if a storm came up, I would immediately put my lift chair in the upright position. Due to previous damage to my knee, back, shoulders, and ankle, standing without the lift was painful and dangerous and could have left me more handicapped than I already was. Hauling myself over the arm of the reclined chair was equally painful and dangerous (not to mention nearly impossible) for me. And scooting to the edge of the seat and trying to move sideways around the raised stool renders the chair unstable, and the danger of tipping and injury likely.

More than once there have been storms in the middle of the night and I've woken up to a power outage. That's a terribly frightening prospect when you are at the mercy of a lift chair mechanism. Feeling trapped is no joke. 

But I have come up with an effective and relatively inexpensive solution:

A portable power station! 

I thought of this completely by (happy!) accident. My husband and I purchased one of these little charger stations for our vehicle (notice the jumper cables on the sides). When we got it home and were charging it up for the car, I began trying out all the little extras: USB ports to charge phones, computers, etc. But there's also a DC port.

 

 

Portable Charger Station on Amazon

 

In order to use the DC port in your home, you must also have an adapter:

 

DC Adapter 

The cheapest charger station I found is the one I show above at $59.99 (in September of 2021), and the inverter pictured is $18.99 (in September of 2021). That may sound a little steep, but here's the deal. For eighty bucks you can get rid of all the stress and worry every time there's a chance of a power outage that may leave you trapped in a lift chair (or without your phone, laptop, or whatever). I only use mine for my chair, and once it's upright, I leave it that way, using a stool to prop my legs up when necessary, until the end of the power outage. But simply that initial ability to leave my chair is empowering beyond belief – both emotionally and literally, and I am immeasurably grateful for these devices.

If you find any better alternatives for the same amount of money, please don’t hesitate to contact me or blast it all over your social pages. I'm always on the lookout for better ways to navigate disability obstacles. 

NOTICE:

Any medical information within this book is my own and applies to only myself. It is not intended as advice for anyone else. Before making any changes to your own health regimen, you should absolutely talk it over with your healthcare professional first, just to be safe.

Broken Old Broad, Blazing Owl Press, and/or Terri DelCampo is not responsible for the results acquired from the products or services mentioned in this book, or affiliated with the companies/manufacturers of said products/services.