If I had a power chair that could go outside..

I'd be out right now. I have a manual chair but two injured shoulders so can't use that to go out. I have a scooter but am too tired to sit up in it- from working .(That trunk control thing.) I have a power chair but it's an inside one- and since I bought it on ebay, it's old. Really old. But a lot better than nothing. I'm one of the lucky ones.

Yet I feel inadequate because, although I work as hard as I can, I can't afford to "fix" this. Not only for myself, but for many others I care about. We are not alone. The way the current system is set up, I fall through the holes of it like many others.

So if anyone else out there is reading this and can't afford what they need, but is being told it's their fault (either implicitly or expressly), let me share this little jingle I wrote today as I sit here, yet another sunny day, inside. If your wheelchair is broken and you can't afford to get it fixed, or you've put in a claim and you're waiting for Godot (no not the DME provider - it's a literary reference, google it) - join me.

I hope Peter, Paul and Mary forgive me for stealing their "If I had a hammer " music for this. I dedicate it to all the people on Medicare who suffer with the InHome wheelchair restriction and all my friends who are being denied insurance claims on their ultralightweight wheelchairs. Those who can, hold up your screwdrivers and do the wave as you sing along with me.

"If I had the right wheelchair
I'd roll in the morning
I'd roll in the evening
All over the land

I'd roll for freedom
I'd roll for justice
I'd roll for those who can't roll for themselves
All over the land"

Ok that's the easy part. I see you in the back - hold up that screwdriver! And what do you have there? Ooooh - a roll of duct tape. Excellent. Can I borrow some? Ok, onto the first verse...

"I could give a thousand reasons
Why we should all care
That the high cost of wheelchairs
Is too much to bear
Maybe one day you will know
First hand that you can't go
Anywhere without the right chair for you
Nowhere in the land.

I guarantee that
By then it's too late
'Cause when you speak up
You'll be told to be patient and wait
By others who are out and about
And don't get it when you shout
I want to roll and roll and roll and roll
All over the land!

There's only one hope
That we'll get out soon
That's if we all sing this song
Even if it's in our room
Sing it to everyone
Sing it out loud and strong
Because our words can ring
All over the land.

If I had the right wheelchair
I'd roll in the morning
I'd roll in the evening
All over the land

I'd roll for freedom
I'd roll for justice
I'd roll for those who can't roll for themselves
All over the land"

And, in the meantime, if I can't roll - I'll write. Because I see the neglect caused by the myriad of holes in our system as a crime against those who are on what amounts to house arrest.

May God forgive us all for looking the other way.

Click above if you'd like to learn about the Medicare In Home Restriction .