Electric Wheelchair Mania

Mom called me on Wednesday morning to blurt out, "I know you won't like this, but I have ordered an electric wheelchair." Mom has been coveting the speedy red model that belongs to her neighbor at the assisted living community. Of course, the issue is that Mom doesn't NEED an electric wheelchair - or ANY kind of wheelchair for that matter. She is supposed to walk, and so is Dad, which is why they live in apartment that's a long way from the dining room. Their doctors, physical therapists and my sister and I decided it was a good way to force them to get plenty of good exercise. When they lived independently in an apartment, they never went anywhere - just sat at home all day and watched TV or read old birthday cards. They have been really healthy since moving to their new community. Then Mom borrowed that speedy red wheelchair and drove it around for a few hours, scraping a few walls in hallways and crashing into the desk in the main lobby, dislodging a chunk of wood paneling. The managers asked her to stop using it because she hadn't had any "training." Reluctantly, she returned the chair to its owner. That was several months ago and I've been waiting for her to tell me she wanted her own chair ever since that day. So here we were on the phone and I said, "You don't need a chair like that." "OH YES I DO AND YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. I ALREADY ORDERED IT AND MEDICARE WILL PAY FOR IT," she yelled at me through the phone. What was I supposed to do other than get into a big argument, which I try to avoid these days of our lives? So I called her doctor and he said, "Why not? Get a personal liability policy or rider on your homeowners insurance and let her go for it." So that's what we're doing. Mom, "my giant toddler," gets her motorized toy after all.