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: My Point of View...
Last night on PBS, they had a program called P.O.V. Freedom Machines. The program was on the new technologies that can assist the disabled, and how difficult it is for many of the disabled to get the technology they need. Heaven knows, if it wasn't for my father and The Boyo, I wouldn't have the technology I need, not even this computer. The people on the program were both young and old, and had varying levels of disability. It is difficult to watch a bright, ambitious teenager denied the tools that would help her in college because she is poor and lives in a poor school district. It is difficult to watch a very talented blind woman in a job interview for a special education teacher, and know that she probably won't get the job. Seventy per cent of all disabled people are unemployed. I think the percentage is probably higher in my building, since it is for low-income people.
As well as the computer, my scooter is a freedom machine. If my father hadn't bought it, I wouldn't have it. I do not qualify for a power mobility device under the Medicare and Medicaid rules. The rules until this year were that you had to have difficulty getting around at home. Now the rule is that you cannot be able to take a single step. As Medicare Games says, the rules have changed. And even the people who have followed the new rules are getting turned down for chairs, including a nun with severe arthritis in her knees and shoulders. Some of these people could live semi-independently if they had a power chair, now they may need to go to a nursing home because they can't get around without assistance.
We really must give up the medical model for disability in this country, and adopt a social model. If a person like the nun described above cannot get a power chair, they become more dependent on the community. In the case of people who live in circumstances like mine, they may not be able to leave their apartments to go downstairs to get the mail. This means they will be socially isolated, which is a darn good start for depression. Which may lead to deterioration, increased health problems, higher medical costs, if only for the antidepressants, need for long-term care and death or suicide. People tend to not eat well, not sleep well, not exercise, etc. when they are depressed, causing more health problems. People need to get out of their rooms and interact with other people.
Now, in my case, I can walk down stairs to get the mail. I can walk across the street to "walk" my dog. I can even walk to the video store, two blocks away, and walk back. But that is the end of my range. I also have difficulty walking up steps, so it is difficult to get on and off a bus without a lift. If I go to the store with my grocery cart, I can't take my walker, too, and walking without it increases my pain. With the scooter, I can get out to the grocery store, and if I use the cart at the store to shop, I can even get home with enough energy to put the groceries away. Otherwise I will have to sit down because I am in pain. Without my scooter, I am dependent on Access to get to my therapist's office, because it is a quarter of a mile away from the nearest bus stop. It also helps me to get outdoors and get enough daylight, particularly important because my depression has a Seasonal Affective Disorder component. I don't fit the bill for "medical necessity" under the Medicare guidelines, but I would be very socially isolated without my scooter, my depression might increase, and I could end up hospitalized again. Trust me, my scooter would have cost the taxpayers less than the ten days I spent on the psych ward at University of Washington Medical Center. I think it is a good investment in keeping me going.
Last night on PBS, they had a program called P.O.V. Freedom Machines. The program was on the new technologies that can assist the disabled, and how difficult it is for many of the disabled to get the technology they need. Heaven knows, if it wasn't for my father and The Boyo, I wouldn't have the technology I need, not even this computer. The people on the program were both young and old, and had varying levels of disability. It is difficult to watch a bright, ambitious teenager denied the tools that would help her in college because she is poor and lives in a poor school district. It is difficult to watch a very talented blind woman in a job interview for a special education teacher, and know that she probably won't get the job. Seventy per cent of all disabled people are unemployed. I think the percentage is probably higher in my building, since it is for low-income people.
As well as the computer, my scooter is a freedom machine. If my father hadn't bought it, I wouldn't have it. I do not qualify for a power mobility device under the Medicare and Medicaid rules. The rules until this year were that you had to have difficulty getting around at home. Now the rule is that you cannot be able to take a single step. As Medicare Games says, the rules have changed. And even the people who have followed the new rules are getting turned down for chairs, including a nun with severe arthritis in her knees and shoulders. Some of these people could live semi-independently if they had a power chair, now they may need to go to a nursing home because they can't get around without assistance.
We really must give up the medical model for disability in this country, and adopt a social model. If a person like the nun described above cannot get a power chair, they become more dependent on the community. In the case of people who live in circumstances like mine, they may not be able to leave their apartments to go downstairs to get the mail. This means they will be socially isolated, which is a darn good start for depression. Which may lead to deterioration, increased health problems, higher medical costs, if only for the antidepressants, need for long-term care and death or suicide. People tend to not eat well, not sleep well, not exercise, etc. when they are depressed, causing more health problems. People need to get out of their rooms and interact with other people.
Now, in my case, I can walk down stairs to get the mail. I can walk across the street to "walk" my dog. I can even walk to the video store, two blocks away, and walk back. But that is the end of my range. I also have difficulty walking up steps, so it is difficult to get on and off a bus without a lift. If I go to the store with my grocery cart, I can't take my walker, too, and walking without it increases my pain. With the scooter, I can get out to the grocery store, and if I use the cart at the store to shop, I can even get home with enough energy to put the groceries away. Otherwise I will have to sit down because I am in pain. Without my scooter, I am dependent on Access to get to my therapist's office, because it is a quarter of a mile away from the nearest bus stop. It also helps me to get outdoors and get enough daylight, particularly important because my depression has a Seasonal Affective Disorder component. I don't fit the bill for "medical necessity" under the Medicare guidelines, but I would be very socially isolated without my scooter, my depression might increase, and I could end up hospitalized again. Trust me, my scooter would have cost the taxpayers less than the ten days I spent on the psych ward at University of Washington Medical Center. I think it is a good investment in keeping me going.
Current Mood: 
thoughtful
thoughtful