Double-amputee’s loaner wheels help in short term
But man about town who’s overcome adversity needs hardier chair
That Ottawa is a generous community gets reaffirmed every time there is a person in need.
John Woodhouse, whose need for a new wheelchair was recently made public in the Citizen, has received numerous offers of support. Yet, finding the right fit for an individual with special needs is proving to be a great challenge.
Woodhouse, 63, a double-amputee who suffers from dystonia, has decided to accept a used wheelchair on a loan basis until a replacement chair arrives from the Ontario Disability Support Program. Approval could take another month or two, and then one to three months after that for the process to be complete.
The problem — Woodhouse is a man about town and needs a wellequipped, motorized chair to get through the snow for his regular trips to city hall and to the Jewish Community Centre (JCC), where he trains in the gym.
That training regimen has changed the life of an individual who confronted addiction and myriad health issues.
Crystal Bastien, who lives down the street from Woodhouse in Vanier, got the ball rolling on a new chair for her friend with a Facebook post and a call to the Citizen to ask for help to update a chair that was rusted and rotting.
Bastien hopes the Ministry of Health might expedite the process so Woodhouse has his replacement chair before the snow flies.
“It’s not a chair he can use in the winter,” Bastien says of the loaner set of wheels. “Hopefully, he gets a new one by then.
“At least he can go to the gym and do things, but because it doesn’t have incline wheels, it gets stuck in snow,” she says.
“It’s like going through sand with a bicycle.”
Nevertheless, Bastien was delighted that a woman messaged her through Facebook to say she wanted to give Woodhouse the chair her father had used.
In an email, Woodhouse expressed his thanks to all who offered support, including too many individuals to name as well as agencies such as Stride Wheelchairs Plus and The War Amps.
“I was very delighted that so many people have contacted Crystal and I about my chair — with offers of money, chairs and other funding sources,” Woodhouse said.
“Thank you very much. I am very happy that I took Crystal’s advice/suggestion and help to publish my dilemma.”
Woodhouse also encouraged community support for Stride, an organization that helps provide various equipment for the disabled through a recycling depot.
“To these people we should turn with as much support as you have shown me,” Woodhouse added in his note.
“Thank you all so very much. Humbled.”
Woodhouse trains three days a week at the JCC and has to get across the city on transit.
A spokesperson for the ministry’s long-term care office said it cannot discuss individual cases, and outlined the application process for its assistive device program.
Meanwhile, Woodhouse gets by on a temporary ride.
“He’s not looking for a handout with money, because those chairs cost $10,000 to $15,000,” Bastien says.
“We’re just hoping the government sees the need to try to help — and quicker than six months.”