Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Wheels That Don't Roll

I'm pretty sure that when the ancient Egyptians, cavemen, or whoever invented the wheel, for all intents and purposes, it was supposed to make life easier. So why, oh why, do the wheels on IV poles not roll?


For about 6-7 hours in a hospitalized day, I am attached to my IV pole due to the multiple medications that I am taking. The pole, I'm certain, was manufactured somewhere in China, possibly with lead, about the same time that I was also born...27 years ago. In that time, for whatever reason, the five wheels that "mobilize" my trusty companion have locked up, be it from dirt, old age, poor maintenance. I'm not sure.



However, this impacts my ability to do ANYTHING while I'm one with the pole. I have approximately a five feet radius (thank goodness that's as big as my hopital room is!) around which I can manuveur. How hard can it be to perform simple maintenance on these plastic components? Or god forbid that the hopital use the tens of thousands of dollars that I am paying (via insurance) while in here to replace these malfunctioning pieces!



As I am forced to scoot my IV pole instead of rolling it, I would venture to say that the purpose of the wheel, or five wheels, has been entirely overlooked. I will take the time to thank the inventor of lanolium, though. Thank you for allowing me a smooth surface on which I can SCOOT my IV pole!

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