Well, I’ve been asking for help for my friend Anne who is short a leg to get her a wheelchair which will help her get around both here and with the blacksmithing community — because I foolishly thought libertarian minded blacksmiths would admire and support the gumption of a 68 year old lady missing a leg taking up the craft.
I was wrong. Not a damn penny has come from them. Just from Kossacks and dear friends. Hard to ask her to pull herself up by her bootstraps when she doesn’t have a goddamn foot to put the boot onto.
We also briefly had our hopes raised that medicare would cover the wheelchair only to be told that since it’s principle use was to allow her to use her car and to work at the Farmer’s market she supplements her Social Security with that it would not be covered because “the primary use was outside the residence and that is not covered.”
Good to know they prefer our disabled be kept in isolation, out of sight, out of mind.
I’m so goddamned depressed I’m just going to post a link to the fundraiser page and her story and prepare to fail Anne yet again.
Here is Anne’s story with details about the chair we want to get her:
Meet Anne Cooper; jewelry artist, aspiring blacksmith and amputee.
She needs a new wheelchair and not some heavy, unwieldy contraption built to confine an invalid. Anne needs a chariot she can use to whip through the Farmer's Markets at which she sells her jewelry. Something maneuverable which will allow her to approach forge and anvil with SAFETY and EASE as she holds hot iron with tongs in one hand and hammer in the other. A chair she can disassemble and put into her Honda Fit by herself so she does not have to wait on others for rides (can you imagine owning your own car and not being to use it?).
Read on to learn about this amazing lady.
Anne was born in 1949 with a partial right hip and a leg that was literally facing the wrong way. As a child she used a leather cuff that held her leg, and it was framed first with steel and later with aluminum prosthetics to reach the floor. She was in constant pain but did not let that slow her down from doing things like making the decision to amputate from just above the right knee in an effort to end the pain before going to college (BA in Psychology from Austin College - go Anne!).
From there forward she used a 14lb wood prosthetic to walk. This was pre-Vietnam and the amazing advances in prosthetics had yet to take place - no shock absorption and very crude in make. In order to walk she had to lift her entire right side and each night she ached when she took it off.
Nonetheless, she persisted - following her hobby of jewelry making from minerals, decorative stones and semi-precious jewels and turning it into a career. Anne also took up adopting kitties in need like Jasper who she rescued by jumping out of a car in traffic to save. She's owned jewelry stores, done silversmithing and pursued her passions.
But now that she's retired, damage to her shoulders from years of anti-ergonomic prosthetics and crutches confine her to a wheelchair. And medicaid does not pay for fancy chairs. She has a 34 lb. chair that was designed by someone who CLEARLY does not use a wheelchair. The armrests stick out over the wheels and strain hands, arms, and shoulders. Each side has pieces that stick out and catch her pants and pull them down.
Salvation for Anne seemed to be at hand when I (Andy) saw a woman in a wheel chair zip out of 7-11 to her car, hop in, pull each wheel off her chair, fold it up and fit it all in her car. I leapt out of my car and chased her down - somewhat to her alarm - and got the name of the company who made the chair: Per4Max in Grand Prairie.
Anne and I took a field trip and they quoted her a chair HALF THE WEIGHT OF HER CURRENT CHAIR with removable wheels, an easy to disassemble back and which folded. It has brakes and can be done in Anne's favorite color - PURPLE (Anne wants to name it the Grape Escape).
Anne says: "I think that custom wheelchair would set me free again. I used to be able to go anywhere and do anything on my own schedule. Now, I have to wait until someone who can lift my chair wants to go somewhere. I could go to the Farmers Markets on my own. Or go to the library whenever I wanted. I could go out and have a simple cup of coffee. I could go donate time volunteering somewhere. I pray to God every day please help me to get a wheelchair that I can take apart and have my dignity restored."
We tried the Medicaid route. For months Anne has chased doctors, psychologists, Durable Medical Equipment Suppliers, insurers. We've all helped file papers and deliver them urgently to suppliers and physicians - to no avail. They'll buy her a new chair just as user unfriendly as her current one, no problem. But not a custom chair that will actually help her.
So, I want to buy Anne a new chariot. This amazing lady is 68 years young and she has a lot of things to do, people to see, kitties to pet and iron to pound.
The chair is $3,900. I want Anne to have $5,000 so she can deal with any unforeseen contingencies which may arise as a result of a new chair.
Any assistance is appreciated.
We have rewards for donations. Check that out too.