I’ve touched on this in previous newsletters but I thought I’d share it with you again. Do you have any idea how much it costs to modify equipment?
So I drive a car using hand controls, the brake and accelerator are controlled by my right hand and I steer with the left hand. These controls cost between $2000 and $15000 depending on if they are mechanical or electrical.
This means that you and I could go to a car dealer tomorrow and buy two new cars but on top of the price I paid, I need to find an extra $2-15K to get hand controls fitted.
I’m also looking at what I can do to protect my shoulders getting into and out of the car, so the choice of a ramp, a hoist or a plate that raises up to the seat, and then maybe a wheelchair lifter so that I don’t have to manually lift it in and out of the car.
I spoke with a vehicle modification specialist and he was rattling off figures of $10K, $18K, $25K and on and on. He actually told me that some people can spend more money on modifications than they spend on the vehicle purchase!
This is where I get annoyed when people say to me “If you get hurt at work, Compo will fix things”
Trust me on this… Compo doesn’t fix things!
