Disability

What’s a day! And how great it is to get outside under my own power in my electric wheelchair. Having been inside for so much of the winter, breathing fresh air feels so amazing. It is especially so this Spring, as I was recently forced to use my manual wheelchair for almost a week. Though it felt like a month!

You see, the controller on my electric wheelchair stopped working. And of course, it was past the measly one year warranty. I was shocked with what I heard. If it was broken, the only solution was to replace it, not repair it. And the cost was $1,000.00! After my oldest son Sean made many phone calls and a visit to local vendor, we did find a source that was a bit lower. What a pain, though.

My electric wheelchair has been a godsend. I am not as tired since I started using it both inside as well as outside. And I’m capable of doing so much more. I feel like I am part of the family now. However, as we did buy this wheelchair ourselves, we also buy the replacement parts ourselves! And the replacement parts are very expensive. If I had bought it through Medicare they would have paid the thousand dollars without a without a problem.

So why didn’t I go through Medicare, or even try to go through Medicare? Because I knew they would deny me. You see, I can still push myself in my house with my manual wheelchair over my hardwood floors. That is Medicare’s “in home only” policy for equipment. They will help you get to your bathroom, bedroom, and kitchen. They consider those areas the necessities of life. And that is the only thing they are required to cover.

The greatest necessity in my life, is being a part of the community. That is the end goal of all rehabilitation. You can’t do that if you can’t get outside into the community. But, Medicare doesn’t cover that. That’s not their criteria.
They don’t give power wheelchairs if pushing your manual wheelchair any distance outside your house is not possible.

Here are some links concerning this policy.

http://www.unitedspinal.org/advocacy/rightwheelchair/

http://msactivist.blogspot.com/search?q=

I wasn’t about to wait till I could not push myself with my manual wheelchair to my bedroom my kitchen or my bathroom. For me that would be too late, and what a waste of my life here and now. I wanted to get out in my community while I still can. MS is a progressive disease, so my time is now. Carpe Diem!
So, hear I am back on track! Out and about. Nothing better than being out as Spring arrives! But once out, one notices those poor curb cuts again. I think I’m going to try to do something. I’ve talked to city hall before, and the results were less than stellar. It’s a big project for them, amidst many other projects, but staying on top will keep it to the top of the pile. Hopefully. My next post will be about Project Curb Cut!