Topic 1. Introduction 
What is up everybody? Welcome back to "Sitting Pretty. It is your girl Lolo, and if this is your first time visiting my channel. Thank you and welcome! Make sure you subscribe. And for all of my previous subscribers: Make sure you hit that little bell button, alright? Make sure you get those notifications anytime I post an episode.

Topic 2.  Showing positive and challenging sides of living with a disability 
And this week I am not gonna lie to you: I was really not planning on posting anything this week because: I have had the most annoying, irritating, tough week I have had in a very, very long time. Now, as you all know. The point of "Sitting Pretty" why I started my channel is to really, you know. Break down stereotypes, show the fun, fly, sexy side of living with a disability, but. It hit me that it is also important to share when our lives are challenging, and difficult. So this is me, literally venting to you all because if there is any other people in this world that I know would understand. It is everyone that I know watches my channel, that supports my channel, and other fellow, you know, disabled and wheelchair users. So. I am gonna tell you about my week! And, uh, you know. If I go off, just bear with me. I am not in the best of moods and have not been in the past, like, I do not know, week or so.

Topic 3. Problems with wheelchair and repairing it 
Everything started Monday. Well, technically, a couple of weeks before that. So, a couple of weeks before I noticed something was weird about my chair, like, the alignment was a little off. Um, it was making this weird cracking sound, almost like as if something was stuck underneath my chair but could not get out. Um. And yeah, so, I asked, I called my wheelchair repair place that I normally call to come out, evaluate my chair and see what was wrong. The evaluation happened Monday. Checked my chair out, they say because of the rain and me putting my chair through the water, the bearings which are, I guess, a part that keeps the wheels-- not the tires but like, the other wheels of my power wheelchair, moving. Is drying out and cracking and breaking and the more I use it, the more damage I am putting on the chair and could potentially just fuck up everything. And so. They recommended me not to use my chair. The only reason why I was out in the rain is because I have a full time job. And I cannot miss work! That happened. He says "Tuesday, I am put in the paperwork to get the parts so we can get this started." Boom! Simple, right?

Topic 4. Insurance for the wheelchair repairment 
I called Tuesday morning. "Hey, what is up with the parts?" They tell me "Oh, well, we still have to put it through the system to figure out how much it will cost. :Oh, and by the way. Your insurance is no longer contracted with our company." Frustrating part about that is that it is like "Oh, well why would not you tell me before you even came out here to check out my chair that you guys no longer would work with my insurance?"But whatever. My thinking was "Well maybe it would not cost that much out of pocket, so what, I will deal with it." That was Tuesday. I called three times Wednesday. Twice on Thursday. And it was not until Thursday that the receptionist-- not even the lady who is handling my parts for my chair, but the receptionist of the whole company. .Telling me that somebody else is handling the parts to order for my chair. So I am like "Alright." Whatever. Call that lady, of course she does not answer. Get a call Friday morning. That lady calls me, tells me "Um, well, we are sorry but your insurance, um, is no longer contracted through us."And I was like "Yeah, I know. that is why I have been blowing you guys up all week. So I can figure out how much all of these parts are going to cost and if I needed to go to somebody else, then I would have had time to figure out who to go to."So she is just like "Oh, okay. Well, the parts plus labor. it is gonna be about 700 dollars."So, I am over it, already. God, why is the Sun. Hold on. Better. Oh, so much better. Anyways. So, I go to this other vendor that they recommended me, saying that my insurance, um, does work with this company. So, I call this company. They tell me "Well first you need to get a prescription from your doctor, [and] have them fax it to us so we can start processing the order."

Topic 5. Bureaucracy of repairing the wheelchair 
Bet. Doctor's office is on point. They fax them the prescription. They set me up in the system then they go "Oh, well now we need your doctor's office to send a referral to your health insurance so that way they can approve for us to go out there and evaluate you."I said "Okay, but what, you know, how long is that gonna take? Like, can we already schedule something before the referral, blah blah blah. Well we cannot make any further moves until the referral is approved through your health insurance. So I said "Okay, well how long does that take? Usually 3 to 4 business days. So essentially that is a whole another week I am going without my chair. Once the referral is approved, then I have to schedule the appointment for them to come out and see me. Then they are gonna come out and see me then put in the order for the parts. Then they have to send that order to my health insurance to have my health insurance approve for them to pay for the parts. Then once they sent that approval I have to wait again for the parts to be delivered here. Then make another appointment for them to come out here and fix my chair. That is already an additional. Additional. Easy 3 to 5 weeks that this is going to take. And me not having my chair. This is my main chair. It is just a complete inconvenience. Oh, and we did not even factor the fact that I still have to go to work. Yeah.

Topic 6. Impact of not having the main wheelchair 
So now I am putting wear and tear on my portable motorized chair which is not designed to be used all day everyday at work or in and out of a car, every single day, twice a day. Because now I am using UberAssist and UberAssist, of course, is gonna cost money, too. Money that is gonna add up. All because these motherfuckers did not wanna call me back on Tuesday when they were supposed to. By Friday I could have at least booked an appointment with this new vendor and have them already be out by Monday to evaluate my chair. See what I am saying? This is the shit that pisses me off. 

Topic 7. Consequences for people with disabilities 
Because it is like "Why is it that people with disabilities have to go through hoops and hurdles and problems and not having money, not getting support by the government, not nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing. Why do I even have to have a certain type of insurance in order to get my chair fixed? You do not have to have a certain type of insurance to get your fucking tires fixed. You can go to god-damn Walmart if you wanted to. I cannot go to Walmart to get my chair fixed. Why does not it not work like that? Why does it have to "Wait until the insurance. Wait until you get approved. Wait until this, wait until that." As if I can just sit back at my house and not do anything. As if you expect me to live a life that does not require me to leave my front door. Like it is just "Oh well she is not going nowhere anyway so she can wait 3, 4 weeks in her house. That is probably what you gonna do anyways." 

Topic 8. Being powerless 
No. Not this bitch! I am gone! I have places to go. People to see. I have things to build. I get better service to get my internet fixed than I do dealing with people that have to fix my chair. And the sad part. And the annoying part is I cannot do anything about it. I do not have money to just drop 700 dollars so I can get my chair fixed in a week. I do not have that. Just the stress. And the annoyance of not having my chair for the next 3 to 5 weeks is really pissing me off.

Topic 9. The wheelchair is a necessity not a luxury 
Now mind you: I am thankful. I am so thankful to at least have a portable motorized chair to get me to and from work for an UberAssist ride. But the point is. Is that these chairs are not a luxury for us. This is not just a car because we want it. it is not because we are just lazy and do not feel like walking today so I got me a wheelchair. No! We need these! These are our legs. These are our feet. This is how we move. This is how we get from point A to point B. This is how we get from our bedroom to our bathroom. This is how we get to the kitchen. This is how we reach things! Like, this is how we live!

Topic 10. Frustration and unfairness towards people with disabilities 
it is just frustrating because it is nothing but a whole bunch of just able-bodied people who are just doing their job and just not having any compassion or no understanding of what this means. Excuse me for that. I just needed a moment. Um, but yeah. So that is what is so frustrating. So, I just feel like that there has to be something that can be done. Now, I am not a political person. I do not know how that shit works. And maybe there is a bunch of resources and places that maybe I do not know about. And maybe you guys can educate me because I just do not know. I do not understand how people with disabilities do not have the red carpet laid out for us. And why does it seem like there is only like 4 people that work in these companies? You tryna tell me. there is like 10 million people in the L.A. Well, that is probably an exaggeration but there is millions of people in the LA county. And there is only 1 person servicing 1 company? And there is probably only 4 companies max that do wheelchair repairs? Come on! Why do the people who need help the most get the shortest end of the stick? Why?
that is what I do not understand. that is why I am frustrated.

Topic 11. Rough week 
that is why I have had a fucked up week. Because I kinda do not know what to do. I just do not know what to do and I hate when this happens. Because this is not the first time that it is happened. So. I am frustrated. I am annoyed. I have had a rough week. And not just because of that but because of other things that I have had happening in my life and I am doing my best to stay positive! I promise you guys. I am doing my best to stay positive. But I just really wanted to vent and express myself and hopefully this sparks the mind of someone who knows how to do these policies and politic things to help and fix this situation because this is a problem, too. So. that is all I have to say. If you have any comments you wanna share and vent yourself, leave it down below. If you have anything else to say, any resources or anything that can help me out to make me feel better. I live in the LA area. Let me know. Um, you know. I wish the best for everybody. I really do. It was just a really rough week for me.

Topic 12. Outro 
Alright, so. As you all already know. Leave a comment. Like this video. Share this video, and of course subscribe. And of course, make sure you get your "Sitting Pretty" shirts. Link down in the description below. Alright. "Sitting Pretty" baby. Peace.