Thursday, April 25, 2013

Riding With Her Dogs

Joanna Small of Klamath, CA has long suffered from multiple sclerosis. A few months ago she and her doctor agreed that she would benefit from using a power wheelchair. However, Joanna had an extremely difficult time finding a company to work with her insurance. By the time she found Open-Aire in the phone book she was not very hopeful. Joanna says, “I was skeptical since lots of other companies told me they’d be able to help me, but couldn’t. They told me confusing things and I wasn’t sure if my insurance would qualify or not.”

After spending time on the phone with Joanna’s insurance providers, Open-Aire Mobility Division case managers confirmed that she was in fact covered for power mobility equipment. They handled her paperwork and worked with her doctor to get everything completed. A few weeks later Joanna finally got the new power wheelchair that she needed.

Now Joanna is very happy and doing her best to get the word out about Open-Aire Mobility Division. “I’ve told the MS Foundation, the MS Society of San Francisco and I’m ready to tell some more people,” she says. The only ones happier about her new power wheelchair are her dogs who love to ride with her. “When I beep the horn they come running and jump up into my lap. They’re even trying to drive, but right now they just push the joystick and make us do donuts in the living room.” Is driver's ed in the future for Joanna’s dogs? We’ll check back in with her soon and find out.