This short story is more or less a continuation of my parallel bars short story and I will copy and paste some of the information.

REASON FOR THE CROSS TRAINER FOR HOME USAGE

Since the coronavirus outbreak worldwide, many places are still closed and for health and safety reasons, we decided to forgo the outpatient physical therapy at the Anson Health and Rehabilitation Facility here in Wadesboro, NC.  They are still allowing outpatient therapy, but will not allow others into the facility for visits, etc.

However, various venders are entering the facility as well as staff and there still is a chance of bringing the COVID 19 into or out of the facility, although there hasn't been any reported cases of the coronavirus yet. Our town has recently reported nine (9) cases of the coronavirus which is very low compared to other towns.  An employee at the McDonalds drive through window recently tested positive for the coronavirus and the facility closed for a day of sanitizing/cleaning the place and then reopened the following day.

Currently as of 05-13-2020, there are 39 confirmed cases of the coronavirus here in Anson County, NC.  McDonalds drive thru employee and an IGA employee tested positive and no telling how many they have spread the coronavirus too.

UPDATE:  There have been 556 reported cases and 4 deaths as of 09-23-2020.

All four (4) physical therapy facilities my bride has used in the past, basically use the same type of exercises depending on what level of therapy is needed and standardized machines for working out the various parts of the body needing attention.  I have a hyperlink to the Carolina's Rehabilitation that was in Monroe and currently closed with that staff transferred to other facilities within the Atrium Healthcare Network which the short story details their therapy department, machines and staff. 

The last health care facility my bride has used being, the Anson Health and Rehabilitation Facility located here in Wadesboro, NC has professional staff from the House Keeping, CNAs, RNs, Physical Therapy Staff to the Administrator.  The facility is very clean and has given my bride outstanding care!  My bride's only complaint when a patient there from August 26, 2019 to November 20, 2019; the adjustable hospital bed's mattress gave very little support allowing the beds cross member support to dig into her back!  We never did get that issue resolved while she was there.

After nearly fourteen (14) years (off and on) of attending physical therapy with my bride, I feel extremely confident in assisting her with home physical therapy with her personal HEALTH, SAFETY and WELFARE being PARAMOUNT!

NC Governor Roy Cooper issued a stay at home order on March 27, 2020 in effect until April 29, 2020 and that depends on the status of the virus outbreak.  Therefore, to continue physical therapy with as little risk as possible to the coronavirus, I decided to build a parallel bars set tailored just for my bride aka Joyce and not adjustable for anyone else and purchase a recumbent cross trainer.

ORDERED THE LXT CROSS TRAINER FROM HCI

I did some on line research of different recumbent cross trainer machines and compared them against the NuStep T4R (of which the NuStep T4R appears to be the benchmark for recumbent cross training machines) that most of the physical therapy facilities here in North Carolina use, of which my bride has used them as well.  I decided on the PhysioStep LXT Recumbent Cross Trainer from HCI (Healthcare International) located in Langley, Washington for several advantages versus the NuStep T4R.  I received information from Gregory Safadago, Product Development Manager via email and later talked with him on his cell phone, of which I call all cell phones Obamaphones.

I placed the order on April 7, 2020 and the machine was delivered via Southeastern Freight Lines the afternoon of April 16, 2020 at the J J Haines Company adjacent Highway 74E since our home is located on a dead end street and there is no room for a tractor/trailer to turn around.  Kevin Williams the truck driver and myself off loaded the machine onto the bed of my little Ranger Ford pick-up truck.  The tractor/trailer had a power lift, therefore it wasn't too much trouble to slide the 255 lb. pallet/crate onto my truck bed. 

UNLOADING THE CRATED CROSS TRAINER

As evidenced by the above pix, the cross trainer shipping container about filled up the bed of "little red" and had to think outside the box just a little to unload the machine without danger of damaging it.

Below are a series of thumbnail pixs detailed the unloading and unpacking the cross trainer.  Click on each thumbnail pix for a larger screen view.

Our youngest daughter Lisa, said after viewing the pixs above, she was expecting the little red truck's front end to raise off the ground!

UNPACKING THE CROSS TRAINER

This is no doubt one of the best packaged shipments I have ever received. 

GETTING THE MACHINE INSIDE VIA THE WHEELCHAIR RAMP

I remember reading that the LXT cross trainer had wheels on it to assist in moving the machine around, however pulling the cross trainer up the incline ramp was about more than I could muster.  I have pulled deer about as heavy out of the woods, e.g., uphill and downhill, but there seemed to be a lot more drag on this machine. 

After dragging the machine to the level porch area, I looked underneath the forward portion of the machine and noticed there were two (2) machine supports that had hard rubber feet/pads for leveling the machine as needed.  The light bulb quickly came on as to why there was so much drag aka resistance in pulling the machine; only two wheels instead of four!

The cross trainer weighs 210 lbs assembled, yet felt like 500 lbs. trying to navigate the inclined ramp.

I believe I know how Paul Bunyan's blue Ox Babe felt when he was dragging those humongous trees out of the forest.  

NOTE:  With the construction of the parallel bars for my bride, I ordered a medium walnut stain and received a stain color called ox blood.  I guess they knew that an ox would be using the stain and/or bleeding like one....another grin is in order!

I later related to our Pastor Sam Abee, Wadesboro Church of God about pulling the cross trainer up the inclined ramp and he said, that he got a mental image of an Egyptian taskmaster with a whip over the Hebrew slaves, whereas we both had a good laugh!

I had earlier asked Brother Abee about using his youngest son Daniel who is strong as a mule to help and he said just give them a call, but I wanted the challenge I guess......not too smart HUH?

PLAN B IN MOVING THE CROSS TRAINER

With all the effort and energy spent in moving the cross trainer about thirty (30) feet, I had to find some way to "work smarter, not harder" of which I have been working harder, not smarter.

I knew that a furniture moving dolly would be the ticket for moving this heavy machine, however I didn't have access to one and while they are fairly inexpensive, I didn't want to wait around and order one.

I figured that my hand truck would work in the horizontal position and it took some serious maneuvering to get the cross trainer onto the hand truck due to the height of the hand truck platform off the floor, but I finally got the cross trainer onto the hand truck.  Furniture moving dollies are three or four inches off the floor for ease of getting underneath the item being moved.

I could not use the hand truck in a normal fashion due to the location of the frame and the exterior housing being synthetic.

This was definitely a two (2) man job at the least for sure! 

I did lose a little blood during the process of loading the cross trainer onto the hand truck:

Looks like I am missing a thumb, however it is there somewhere!

MOVING THE CROSS TRAINER INSIDE

I had to remove the door from the door jamb to get the cross trainer into the physical therapy room that once was a small bed room and currently being used as a dressing and storage room for my bride.  The door jamb to jamb was barely 30 inches inside with the door removed!

FINAL ASSEMBLY

Above pix of the bolts, instruction manual, tools and the parts needing assembly.

Everything went along real well; my bride reading off the instructions step by step.  I have learned over the decades, she is better at putting things together, because she reads and follows the instructions step by step, whereas a man, (speaking of myself) reads the instructions when everything else fails.  However, I have gotten much better over the years reading the instructions FIRST!

Many years ago, when we were assembling a swing set for our Huneycutt grand boys, my bride was reading off the instructions and I was assembling the parts.  All of a sudden she burst out into a humongous laugh and she told me to look at the last arm on the swing set that I had just finished and it was upside down and we both gave a loud grin for sure.  I do believe I have a small amount of dyslexia, although what I described does not adequately fit the clinical definition, seeing things backwards sometimes and writing a string of numbers backwards!  Oh well, we all can't be perfect!

ASSEMBLY GLITCH

There was one problem with four (4) of the bolt holes in the right moving handle not aligning with the threaded holes in the base of the machine as evidenced by the pix below.

There was no way the two members would align up with all eight (8) bolts in place.  Therefore, I drilled the moving handle (top two holes and bottom two holes) just enough where you could insert the bolts.  It appeared someone didn't align the moving handle tube into the punch/die set properly during the manufacturing process, because the N to S holes were misaligned the same amount in relationship to the lower drilled and threaded support member it was to be bolted to.  I contacted HCI and sent them a pix and it was ok to drill the holes, of which I drilled the holes and finished the assembly before sending an email.  Gregory Safadago, Product Development Manager offered to replace the moving handle, but advised him it wasn't necessary, since what little amount of material I removed from the right moving handle didn't affect the integrity of said unit.

There is a 50/50 chance the culprit is the threaded holes in the right base support member instead of the right moving handle, whereas the right moving handle was easy to correct!

After getting everything connected and bolted together, my bride decided she wanted to do a little re-arranging (sounds familiar) where the cross trainer and the parallel bars would rest.  She liked the parallel bars near the far wall and the cross trainer adjacent to it and still had enough room for her side to side leg exercises on the parallel bars.

My bride gave it a good "field test" and she can get back on her regular physical therapy routine here at home.  This machine is much larger than it looks in the above pix.

In summation, this machine offers plenty of adjustable electro mechanical resistance, ergonomically designed and well constructed!  The large display has easy to follow programs/settings and I used the "fat burn" program for 20 minutes with a 3 minute cool down mode and really got an excellent workout.

TRIP TO THE LANDFILL

I just about had a truck load with the shipping pallet and packing materials.

In closing, I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior for allowing my bride to be with me and I give Him, the Praise, Honor and Glory in all things!

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 11-16-2020.

LEAVING ON A SPIRITUAL NOTE

If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, please take this moment to accept him by Faith into your Life, whereby Salvation will be attained.   

Ephesians 2:8 - 2:9 8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Open this link about faith in the King James Bible.

IN GOD WE TRUST - GOD BLESS AMERICA - "FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE"   JOHN 3:16 KJV