yup... want does not always equal need
Posted on 12/02/2011 6:29:35 PM PST by grundle
A man from Nyköping in eastern Sweden has been denied a power wheelchair despite having had both of his legs amputated as the local health authority remained "uncertain if the impairment was permanent".
The man had his legs amputated after a long struggle with diabetes, but despite being unable get about, his application for a power wheelchair has been denied.
“I was bitterly disappointed in the local authorities. I don’t feel I got the support I deserve,” Evert Stefansson told The Local.
Evert Stefansson had struggled with his health for a long time. As a long-suffering diabetic his kidneys have taken a beating, as has his eyesight.
About a year ago, his condition took a turn for the worse when his toe suddenly went black.
He was rushed to hospital where they had no other choice than to amputate his leg. Within a year, they had to take his other leg too.
Since then Evert has experienced some difficulty in getting about.
He might be able to walk short distances again with prosthetic legs, but that will take up to a year, according to his wife Siv.
Siv, also on early retirement due to a bad back, told The Local how she is forced to help her husband with everything and how he remains completely dependent on her.
In order to regain some of his independence, Stefansson applied for a so-called Permobile, a power wheelchair, that he could manoeuvre himself.
“But I had my suspicions right from the start that it wouldn’t be easy, when the woman from the county visited. She sort of hinted that he could have an ordinary electric wheelchair,” Siv Stefansson said.
The electric wheelchair was less desirable as it would still need a carer operating it, and would therefore not allow Stefansson to get about by himself, without the constant help of his wife.
However, the motivation for the county council’s decision was allegedly that it was “uncertain if the impairment was permanent”, reported local media.
After the couple found out that Evert’s application would be rejected, Siv decided to take the matter into her own hands.
“I got angry. It just isn’t right that he has worked all his life but now can’t do anything that he loves anymore. Not even go fishing,” she told The Local.
“I decided to contact the papers and the broadcast media. And it was definitely what was needed.”
Through media’s reports, a woman in the nearby area caught wind of the couple’s plight and contacted her brother, who works with permobiles and has previously helped others in the same predicament.
“She told him ‘you better do something about this’ - and he did,” Siv Stefansson said.
Thanks to the woman's initiative, Evert’s new permobile will arrive next week, on loan from the company that manufactures them.
“I am overjoyed! It is by far the best Christmas present we could receive,” Siv Stefansson told The Local.
Is it electric?
Do you have a link where I can get a look at that. Electric or manual, it sounds like something my husband could use.
Is there some reason a power chair can’t be returned if it’s no longer required for whatever reason?
Of course the article is distorted to make it sound worse than it actually is. Why not? Make for a great story. They are getting a regular electric chair, but they want the more expensive super duper electric chair. Not so bad a story now. Huh?
A friend of the family was self-employed, ran his own excavating business. Years later he was home-bound, barely able to breathe due to years of smoking. He tried to get some help and was told by the county that he could conduct his business over the phone. There was no way to convince the paper-pusher that one cannot run an excavator over the phone. So our friend lost everything, even had his oxygen machine reposessed!
yup... want does not always equal need
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Thank you. It’s on sale now too.
It has a low clearance. Does it tend to get high-centered getting on and off ramps, sidewalks, etc?
My husband lacks coordination since the stroke. Is it pretty stable if you turn too sharply while moving too fast, or does it tend to tip?
Walk it off buddy, walk it off.
Some people feel entitled to go out in public, while some people clearly think they should stay locked in the attic.
They’re giving him a wheelchair that he can’t operate. That’s like giving frozen turkeys to homeless people. It might make self-centered morons feel good about themselves, but it doesn’t help the recipients.
The 3 wheel will turn in a shorter radius though.
It is important to charge the battery pack after you use it, lead acid batteries are damaged by sitting too long in a discharged state.
They are usually fast shippers, mine got here 3 or 4 days before I expected it. The scooter is good quality, I think he will enjoy it.
>> “Tis but a fleshwound.” (or so say the socialists/democrats)
Well put.
The sheer stupidity and incompetence of government jackwagons is astounding.
I like that. Speed is not his friend.
I need to give this more thought. It's a very good price, but that's still more than I like to spend on a whim.
Thanks for all your help. I've bookmarked the site.
true, but it's non sequitur to my statement... want does not always equal need when it comes to the government paying for things
Sure, he probably doesn’t actually need to go out in public. That’s a luxury reserved for people who can get there on their own, without anyone else’s help.
You can’t have everything but you can choose what you want or need most and aim for it. I see a lot of people spending lots of money on some pretty useless stuff.
If he was a muslim, the liberal Swedes would be jumping through their own a-holes to kiss his ass.
So far I’m still able most days to get my husband anywhere he needs to go with the manual wheelchair, but when I’m having a rough day, I can’t push the chair. On those days, we either stay home, or he waits in the car while I run the errands. We don’t go places where his chair won’t go, which eliminates everything on grass, gravel, soft dirt, bumpy surfaces, etc.
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