Faulty wheelchair leaves Riverview woman injured, shaken

A Riverview woman has been desperately trying to get her wheelchair repaired after falling from it twice in the past few weeks because of faulty brakes.

Bernadette Brule says she is facing lots of red tape and simply can't wait any longer for a solution and is literally losing sleep because of it.

"I'm scared to go to bed. I didn't go to bed last night," she said in tears.

"I stayed in my chair all night because I was too scared to even try [to get into bed]and I hurt too much to even try."

[This has] taken my confidence away to do anything.- Bernadette Brule

Bruleis covered in bruises and markings caused by the recent falls.

She has also torn a ligament in her knee.

She says the falls happened when the brakes let go while she was transferring from her chair to her bed or the toilet.

"It's not just about the brakes," she said.

"[This has] taken my confidence away to do anything."

Problem persisted for months

Brule, who is in her 50s,has only been in a wheelchair for about nine months, due to multiple sclerosis.

She received her chair from Easter Seals, which provides wheelchairs to people who can't otherwise afford them.

JuliaLatham, the executive director ofEaster Seals New Brunswick,said wheelchairs areprohibitively expensive for most people.

"When you have private insurance even, the cost is still 20 per cent. So if your wheelchair costs $10 000, you're still looking at $2,000 for the cost of the client," she said.

Starting in January, Brule began having issues with her brakes and made repeated calls for repairs at her own expense.

Frank Daigle, a technician at Harding Medical, examined Brule's wheelchair earlier this week and noticed the brakes were not the ones meant for her model of wheelchair.

He said thatfrequently happened with wheelchairs provided by charities, such asEaster Seals,who build wheelchairs from recycled partsbecause they have to work with what they have.

Latham saidher organization has not received complaints aboutthe wrong parts being used.

"Often times the parts are quite interchangeable between the wheelchairs," she said.

Trial chair ordered

D'arcy Bennett, the sales director at Harding Medical, said a trial chair had been ordered for Brule to use for a week or so.

He said the next step from there would befor Brule to buy a new chair.

Brule's health insurance provider would only cover $4,000toward a $7,000 chair, so Brule's not sure that would be an option.

Bennett said his company frequently servicesclients who haveto wait months because of problems with getting their insurance provider to cover for new parts or a new chair.

Easter Seals contacted Brule's occupational therapist on Thursday, saying they may have a suitable replacement chair for Brule.

Latham saidreplacing a wheelchair is a lengthy processbecause the patient's occupational therapist must ask for a chair tailored to their measurements.

"It isn't a fast process. People need to take time and get the correct wheelchair, and it can affect the client's health in the end," Latham said.

She also said her organization could not keep up with the demand of people in need of wheelchairs.

That is partlybecause some people who should get chairs through the province tire of the long wait period and go through Easter Seals instead, she said.

In the meantime, Brule has not been sleeping and says if the situation continues she will have to admit herself to hospital for exhaustion.

"I know I'm not the only one out there having similar issues," she said.

"But maybe the government needs to put money aside for people in these situations for people that need help now. I can't wait another month or two months or however long this is going totake."