8 months with faulty wheelchair bring woman's life to standstill

A Riverview woman who has been living with a faulty wheelchair for eight months saysshe is at the end of herrope.

Bernadette Brule,50, who has multiple sclerosis andreceiveda wheelchair from Easter Seals, says she has faced a lot ofred tape finding a replacement since the brakes on her chair stopped working last spring.

The chair wasin good condition when she first got it from Easter Seals in September2015, but by April2016, she says, the brakes had failed.

• Faulty wheelchair leaves Riverview woman injured, shaken

She was hopeful when a new medical supply company offered to help after seeing a CBC story about her in August, when she already felt desperate over delays getting a wheelchair that was safe.

A week before Christmas, a technician came to her house ready to install a new pair of brakes.

But it wasn't quite the gift sheexpected.

"They put the new brakes on, and the technician told me that we have the right brakes but not the right wheels,'' Brule said.''So I'm right back where I started from eight months ago."

Falls more common

With the wrong wheels,the technician told her, the brakes wouldn't hold.

That was worrying news to Brule, whose confidence has already taken a toll from thefalls she's suffered as a result of defective brakes.

Brule, who lives alone,said she has fallen six times in recent months.

''I'm frustrated," she said. "I'm angry, and I'm angry all the time, because I can't get past this.

''I just want a chair that works, achair that I don't hurt in, achair that I can transfer from safely. That I don't need to be scared that, 'Oh, are the brakes going to let go this time on it?'''

Neededhelp 'yesterday'

To get a wheelchair from Easter Seals, an occupational therapist has to prescribe one. If Easter Seals has something suitable in stock, that's often the patient's first choice, since the chair is free. If not, the patient has to buy a chair from a medical supply company at a cost of $3,000 to $10,000. Insurance typically covers up to $4,000, and the patient must cover the rest, whichfor Brule is not an option.

Her options at this point are either ordering new parts to try to fix the existing wheelchair or having her occupational therapist requesta new one from Easter Seals.

Julia Latham, executive director of the Easter Seals New Brunswick, said it can take up to a month for the non-profit organization to get a wheelchair ready once arequest comes in.

''It's a real science trying to prescribe a wheelchair,'' Latham said. ''Sometimes you may have to trial a chair for a week or so, to see if it works. They may end up changing the back, changing the brakes, they may ask for a new seat.

''Some clients are alittlebit more difficult to meet their needs than others."

Brule said she doesn't mind whatever her medical team decides but wonders why it istaking months to meet her needs.

''Nobody's working together," Brule said of the parties that have tried to help. "They're all working individually and nobody's getting anything done.

''Something needs to happen now. It needs to happen yesterday''

Worried about future

Brule feels that as the months go by, it's not just her confidence that's diminishedbut also her ability.

''Countless paramedics that have been in my home because of the number of falls I've had because of my chair, have suggested I'd be better off in a home,'' she said.

• New Brunswickers face delays getting, fixing wheelchairs

''Regardless of where I am, here or in a facility, I still need a wheelchair that works for me."

Brule, who is unemployed, said she had hoped to find a part-time job by now but her wheelchair troubleshave sloweddown her progress.

''If I don't have a chair that's reliable, I can't move forward with anything else in my life.''