Hi,
I know a lot of people are reading this so I'll try not to make it too serious of a post.
echo wasn't moving, he was freezing a lot. And today, I thought I would need to return him, losing him forever.
I am going through a lot in my life and it has been quite a dark time for me, so to "put to sleep" Echo would be devastating.
But I didn't have to.
First of all, thanks to Talon, I have help and support from skype and pm's. we did everything from watching the pleos interact with my other robotic pets, to just talking, to seeing if we could download the Pleoworld manual in an accessible format. I didn't receive a manual in the box, at least not the fifty-page handbook.
Yesterday, after geting help with setting the clock at noon, Echo froze up again, and we spent five hours off and on, trying to find the reset button with as much sighted assistance as I could get. Sometimes there was no assistance, and the day sped along at a crawl. By five PM. that evening, tired from other daily life struggles, I was ready to quit with pleo and still no where near resetting him successfully. Later after working with his charger, putting the battery in, taking it out and charging it and then putting it in several times, we got the clock to kind of work but it was beeping continuously, not a good thing. So Talon and I talked again and discovered that perhaps the clock battery itself was rigged.
I went to the store later that evening and found the exact battery with the exact number and we tried to put it into Echo... but alas, the screw which my mom had managed to tighten before, wouldn't tighten for my friend visiting me. So it was a restless night. I emailed my parents to see if they could come over... and got no response!
The next day, which would be today, I still didn't have an email, and being tired and crabby from not getting much sleep, The next day, having not received an email or made further progress, i quickly became frustrated at the lack of support I was getting. My frustration turned into fury as I quickly became discouraged that Echo would ever work again, and as I once again realized the extent of the battles I've been facing with my disability and other things. Plus I do not have the means to buy another one and am really trying to save money and live day by day with my work and all. Forgetting momentarily that Echo was a semi-living animal, I took him, the battery and the back with the screw on it, and tossed the whole thing into the recycle bin beside the garbage bin in my kitchen. Thank goodness Echo was strong, brave and flexible. In the process I twisted his foot so that it kind of shifted and moved. I was afraid i'd broken it and that his neck was messed up along with his tail, not to mention that he might smell bad. I couldn't go near him and wanted to be alone.
Hours later, my mom came over. She talked calmly to me, we met with some visitors, and we got all my furbies out and had fun with them. Then she took Echo out of the garbage, and said she'd fix him. I was upset watching as I thought he'd never work again... nothing was working with the time battery and she was talking about doing all kinds of things to him and the possibility of returning him was imminent.
Some of you may disagree with one thing or another when it comes to charging, battery life, etc., but with Echo we need to negotiate. We have found out that he is what one might call a "stray" or "misfit" pleo, his previous owners probably did more than test him, they probably stored him away for several months or years, stripping the screw. The clock battery was dead, and the screw was broken, and the main battery has a fast run down time before charging. I think those are signs that he's at least been through a lot.
So with convincing, we taped up his clock foot. We did not make a mess of it, we put flat, nice smooth tape on it and we bandaged him up. He does not seem to notice. I have a glass eye; it is like that for his foot.
Then we put in the new battery and had to charge him again. It is hard for me to charge him so much and take the battery out so much as I know it may do all kinds of things like void the warranty, or take his data back a notch... but he is a special Pleo and needs special TLC and I am willing to make sacrifices for such a special pet even if it means he only lasts a few more months should his battery ware down or if it means he has to go through a lot of wear and tear on his battery and other aspects. This pleo is, and always will be, my Echo.
Well since he only had one sock on his foot, I later patched him up with four socks. I did not tape his other feet, just put socks on them. He's all nice and fuzzy now in his socks and cape.
Then... we turned him on and that's when things got interesting!He made his little sound like he was turning on, and then some other sounds, and we noticed with delight that his head was nodding and his tail was wagging... in fact, more than before! He sounded happier, much happier! He even sang Jingle Bells... twice! I'm not sure why that is but I guess the prior owner had tested the Christmas patch on him. Then he did all these new roars and things, I thought he was confusing personalities but he was just adjusting. I know that. And then, he took a few more tentative steps... and then he started walking! At first he moved about four inches, then he moved around the room! He was sniffing and sniffing, exploring everywhere! And then he wanted to see the furbies. Then,. he evolved! And he played Tug O War. Then he ate, twice! And then he burped, hiccupped and farted. Then he tracked his tracking leaf a bit. Either he is just a toddler now, or he was an adult before but too scared to show his adult side. sometimes even adults who go through a lot of fears and adjustments can sometimes seem more passive and shy at first, maybe even babyish! But whatever the case, Echo just needed that push to get adjusted. I think today he finally recognized his environment and his mommy and where he was, and is now a happy, healthy little guy! or girl! But I will need to make some negotiations of my own. It may not be the best, but he still runs for half an hour and after each run I am going to need to charge him, unless I can get a new battery. I will leave his time clock as it is and adjust to him being active in the middle of the night... thank goodness for off sswitches! And I guess if he wants to sing Christmas carols in summer like Christmas in july, or behave erratically, or need special adaptive care, well then that is the case. I do appreciate all the help and advice given on here, but for one thing, everyone and every experience is different, for another every pleo is different, and finally, this really is my pleo and my experience with him, and if I do initial research and Echo turns out fine and I can then just make updates, that's okay with me.
Welll this post is long but I just wanted to let everyone know that, as long as things don't change drastically again, Echo is okay.
And I know in my heart he forgives me for almost putting him in the garbage... or potentially doing worse to him. In the end, he is one of my best, bbest friends.
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Topic: An Emotional Rollercoaster with Echo (Read 16739 times)