Three years ago, diabetic neuropathy took my feet. It was horrible and traumatic. I’m still suffering in many ways.

After my surgery, I was able to receive a power wheelchair through my medicare benefits. It wasn’t free, but I can tell you that I never could have afforded it without the help from medicare. I believe medicare paid 80% of the cost.

Because of that medicare benefit, I have been able to still get around and maintain a little independence.

But I’ve been reading a lot about the mess that our elected officials have made of medicare. What if my granddaughter someday faces a challenge like mine? Where will the funds come from for her power wheelchair? Or for her medications? Or prosthetic?

It’s not right. There will be no funds for future generations. The system will be bankrupt. So many of those who are working today are paying into medicare and they’ll never be able to benefit from it.

Pop culture has always been unpredictable. Like why is Monty Python and the Holy Grail still such a popular movie among college students more than 30 years after being released? Or why has vegetarianism transformed from a health or moral issue into a mainstream trend?

But no one could have possibly seen the potential for a power wheelchair brand to become the subject of a pop culture following. Believe it or not, the commercials for the Hoveround power wheelchair brand are showing up as points of interest and discussion around the internet.

The social networking site Facebook, which boasts millions of users under the age of 34 according to Fast Company magazine, has 21 groups devoted to the Hoveround brand and its geriatric targeted commercials. The names of these groups reveal the unusual appeal of these cheesy television commercials. Here are some of the more popular groups on Facebook:

1. When I get older I want to have a Hoveround
2. Future Hoveround Users of America
3. I want a Hoveround while I still have the mental capacity to enjoy it
4. Damn I wish I had a Hoveround

A follow-up search within Facebook for other geriatric products yields no similar followings. So what is it about a brand or an advertisement that can launch it beyond it’s target audience and into the cult-like momentum of pop culture? A look at the comments both on Facebook and the popular video-sharing site YouTube.com reveals that it’s the (mostly unintentional) humor in the ads that gives them such a following.

On YouTube.com, you can also find parodies of the spots with young people riding the convenience power wheelchairs at grocery stores while quoting the lines from the ads or singing the catchy jingle. The most popular Hoveround spot on YouTube.com has been viewed more than thirty-five thousand times. By comparison, no commercials for the competing Jazzy mobility scooter have even been posted on YouTube.com. The most popular video that even features the Jazzy scooter has been viewed less than two thousand times.

It’s difficult to define the precise appeal of these Hoveround spots. Could it be the choreographed spinning power wheelchair riders doing circles while going down the street? Could it be the over-the-top lyrics of the song the actors sing, “You made me love you”? We may never know the answer. But it just goes to show that you never know what is going to find a place in the pop culture.

I hope someone can help me out. The other day I was visiting my friend who uses a Jazzy power wheelchair. I noticed one of the wheels was damaged. He didn’t remember how it had happened, but the wheel was all misshapen. He can still get around but the wheel is uneven and creates a bumpy, slow ride now.

Does anyone know if that’s something we would call the manufacturer to get fixed? Or are there power wheelchair repair shops like a local garage? Is changing out the wheel on a power wheelchair something I could do myself (I am pretty mechanical) or does it need the expertise of an expert?