When your born, you usually have all the opportunities, hopes, and dreams you could ever want. After my birth however, all my family could think about doing was helping me live. This is because after all the scary part was over my family found out that I had Cerebral Palsy. Both my parents and my sister were terrified about what this meant for my future.
Five years after my birth in 1990 the ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) became a vital part of my future and my life. It meant that access to the things I loved doing would become easier for me and my wheelchair. It meant that ramps, sidewalks, automatic doors, and other adaptations would now be required in the world. Employers could not prevent people with disabilities from applying for and accepting work.
Every year or so my family and I LOVE to take trips to the Oregon coast. Whether it’s Lincoln City, Depoe Bay, Cannon Beach or even Tilllamook fun is usually had by all attending parties.
As a small child it was easier to get me onto the sand by the ocean. My smaller stature and lighter weight aloud my parents to find different pieces of equipment to aide them in getting me onto the beach. I had a scooter, countless baby strollers and occasionally was even just put in a regular beach folding chair.
On solid ground I was able to drive a powered wheelchair pretty much everywhere I needed to go. We did try several times to take my powered wheelchair onto the beach. Sadly, though every time we did it got stuck and bogged down with sand. That was not a good solution either. Although it did show me time and time again the kindness of the strangers who would eventually come to my rescue.
We found a beach one year called Nye beach. This place quickly became a favorite of ours. My father, who studied Geology in college, claimed that the reason that this beach was great for us was because the sand was packed so hard because of excess waste. Whether or not this was true, the sand was packed down enough to get me down to the ideal spot to fly kites, using an adult bicycle stroller. Sooner or later I always heard my Mother occasionally exclaim “isn’t it beautiful?”
It sure was beautiful. But as both my parents got older, and I grew up and got bigger myself this was an activity that we became less able to do. When my sister and her friends were around, she would help get me to and from the sand. Even my best friend did all she could to help as well. But became evident that going to the beach may look vastly different in the future.
Years later in my life, after my Father died, I knew I needed to find a better solution to this problem. I had a beach chair that my Father had purchased before even he could not really handle. After much research and my already acquired knowledge of adaptive equipment, I found a company who made a trax system that apparently can handle all types of terrain.
So exciting right? Absolutely it is for me. It means that I can possibly keep going to the beach with my Mother and we will not need anyone to assist us onto the beach, unless they want to of course. At least that is the hope. But here is the bigger problem I face every time I need another piece of equipment. Insurance companies have a Durable Medical Equipment (DME) department. This is where you call to ask for help getting the right piece of equipment and potentially help paying for it. Once you acquire that equipment then insurance companies will support some of the repair costs. Careful though as DME has a rule that they will cover only equipment that is medically necessary. Also, as I understand it the requirement also states that equipment be used inside and outside but not one or the other.
Well I am sorry but when your disabled and use many different pieces of equipment, some costing 5, 6, 7, thousand or even more money it does not really make sense to have these kinds of rules. You can try and plead your case to their board but even then, your never guaranteed approval of said item. This does not include adaptations to your home for said wheelchair.
Insurance is expensive and paying for these high cost mobility devices are sometimes as much as a new car. Why shouldn’t families who are paying these high fees get further assistance for equipment that helps them be mobile no matter what? Insurance companies need to lobby the industry of mobility devices to make these pieces of equipment more affordable. Many of these pieces of equipment have been round for a long time and manufacturing should cost less.
If insurance companies really want to help the handicap, then they should have the power to negotiate with DME distributors. The handicapped especially deserve to be able to be out in the fresh air on the beach, in the forest, or even living on the farm and these trax are just the thing.
