Sorry my first post to your website has to be a beef however, I have spent a most frustrating week with government agencies in an attempt to obtain a new wheelchair. I am a left leg above knee amputee..for almost 8 years now and the chair originally fitted for me is in terrible condition. There has been no padding on the arms for at least 5 years, the tires are absolutely without tread, my brakes won't catch on the tires, and, amazingly enough, the seat of the chair has shrunk a lot since I first got it...lol! What information I have managed to gather through talking to lots of agency employees is that I have to lie about my condition in order to get a therapist to come to my home and measure me for a new chair and avoid paying the $100. fee required. I do not have medical insurance and they will not be able to sell me a "cadillac" of chairs, probably just a basic manual one again. The government assistive devices program will pick up 75% (maximum) of the cost and I will be responsible for the balance. I live on a little over $800. per month so even the assessment cost of $100. is going to create a bit of a hardship. I went to my family doctor (the first time in over 2 years...I avoid doctors like the plague) to see if he could intervene for me and get my assessment done through Canada's Ontario Hospital Insurance...his solution for me?...to prescribe anti-depressants!!!! The point of my ranting about this is that I have decided to go the "private" route..pay the $100. and get my new chair ordered before my mental and physical health deteriorates to the point where I no longer care! So my final analysis of how I have been treated this week is that my missing limb is not my disability...my disability is not having the resources to take care of my needs so I don't have to rely on the health care system to do it for me. Make it a little easier for me to live on my own, in my own place and I won't have to be dependant on the system in the future. Has common sense completely disappeared from the system in North America?
Irene