Were is my wheelchair?

A lady who couldn’t walk or stand, was crawling like a baby on the floor. Her family or neighbors were caring her when she went to church or doctor. She needs a special size wheelchair and that is not in stock at the Orthopedic Center.

Fortunately, we got funding for her, an assessment was ordered and after that a special wheelchair was made for her. A few months later the wheelchair arrived at the center, was booked in and brought to the clinic in Humansdorp. The physiotherapist promised to phone the lady to come to fetch the chair.

Two months later we asked about the wheelchair, but nobody phoned the lady and the chair was not at the clinic anymore. After a few weeks we heard that she had a wheelchair and that she was very happy.

She went to her sister in another town and took the wheelchair with. There she became sick for a long time. The moment she came home her friend noticed that the wheelchair was broken and that she couldn’t use it anymore.

He phoned us and we had a look. What a shock it was. Immediately we saw that it wasn’t the right wheelchair, the donated one. It was a very old one, rusty and not her size.

She explained what happened and who gave her that chair. We saw that this chair has no state-number on it. So, it couldn’t be a chair from the center. At the clinic they told us, that they really had given her a wheelchair and that it might be that the chair didn’t have a number on it. At that stage, the lady needed a wheelchair and they tried to help her with this one. We told them about the new wheelchair, specially made for her. They claim that they never received the chair.

We went to the hospital, they checked their system and found the wheelchair, but unfortunately this chair was given to a man who needed a wheelchair badly. Yes actually, the chair was a little bit too small for him, but at least he had one. 

After he died, they gave that chair to another lady. And yes, they agree they make a mistake, but what can they do now? There are so few wheelchairs and too many people in need, that they are only too happy when they can help a person. And no, at the moment they didn’t have wheelchairs in stock.

We were disheartened and went to the center in PE and ask them what to do. In what way could that poor lady get a wheelchair, in her size, as soon as possible?

The man of the center was surprised, phoned and after a while he said that we could go to Humansdorp hospital to fetch a suitable wheelchair for that lady. They had just received 8 new wheelchairs from the state and had one of the correct size for her.

Fortunately all’s well, ends well.