Defective

When I first started taking care of my niece (she was five weeks old then) my sister-in-law gave me a used car seat in order to help keep me mobile. I had to place it facing backward in the car, and getting the baby out of it was always a chore. There’s a button that you have to press in order to release the center clip that holds a couple of latches connected to the shoulder straps. It’s the first thing needed to be done in order to loosen a kid from the seat. The button never released the latches well and at times it seemed as though it wouldn’t release them at all. It was a problem that occured every time that we went for a ride somewhere. I always assumed that it was just old and defective because of the age of the seat, but I tolerated it because I didn’t really leave the house with the baby often.

I recently had to turn the seat around because my niece has gotten too tall to sit in the seat facing to the rear. When I first reached to loosen the center clip button with the seat facing forward, it released the two latches immediately. I thought that it was just an anomaly, but it has continued to do the same thing since. As I considered what had happened, I realized something simple. When I had the seat facing back, I pressed the button with the hand that was injured in the accident. Turning the seat around has me pressing the button that unlatches the straps with my other hand.

For a year and a half I assumed that the seat latch mechanism was defective, only to realize recently that it’s my hand that’s defective. I’ve got to tell you…it’s never a great feeling to come to terms with the ongoing realities of my motorcycle accident injuries. It’s not emotionally traumatic or anything like that, but it still feels as though someone keeps giving me a flat tire every time that I attempt to enjoy the scenery along the journey.