Work Accident Disabled Man Seeks Handicap Housing And Vehicle Grants
by Wayne
I have never been married, have no children and my family consists of my mother, one brother and two sisters. My disabled life started 34 years ago after an accident in the drilling fields in the mountains of Colorado and New Mexico. I was just 18 at the time. It was September 7, 1977, and my boss had ordered me to haul a pump to our new job site. Near Fairplay, Colorado, a tire blew out on the vehicle causing it to go out of control and overturn. I flew out of the vehicle and the pump rolled over me crushing me badly. I was air lifted to Saint Anthony's Hospital in Denver, Colorado and underwent surgery to remove my spleen, parts of my lungs and stomach. I had a severe head injury, a compound fracture of my left upper arm, a broken left wrist and my left leg broken in two places. The hospital staff decided I was not going to live so they never set my left arm thus my left arm is five inches shorter than my right arm nor did they set my left leg. They only cleaned me up so my family could see me thinking I would not survive, but thirty four years later I am totally disabled but living. On September 23 through September 30, 2011, I returned to Denver for an evaluation at Craig Hospital. They recommended many disability devices to assist me and to assist my caregivers. One of the items they recommended is a different home. My present home in Globe, Arizona is a doublewide mobile home. It cannot economically be modified for wider doorways, roll-in shower and various other handicap accessories that they have recommended. A second major item is a different van with disability accessories to allow me to enter and exit the vehicle more safely than is presently possible with the 2003 van with 228,000 miles on it. I am in a settlement case with the insurance company and my employer. But the statute of limitations has erased many of the things I would have been entitled to if my parents had pursued them. As a result, I have no funds to purchase a home or a van to enable me to take advantage of the disability aids that have been recommended for me. The attorney says the amount of my settlement will be small and I may have a monthly mortgage payment of $1600, which I cannot afford on my social security disability. I have been told that the Major Medical Insurance Fund of the State of Colorado will pay my medications for life. I also need to relocate from Globe, Arizona to the Phoenix, Arizona area where medical and support services are more plentiful. I am totally disabled and unable to perform gainful employment of any type. This is my reason for looking for a grant. I am looking for a housing grant for the disabled that would allow me to purchase a different home in the Phoenix, Arizona area. I need housing that can be modified to accommodate the disability aids that Craig Hospital recommended for me. The realtor says such a home would range in cost from $116,000 to $150,000. I'm also looking for a handicap vehicle grant to cover the cost of a different van with less mileage and that can be converted to accommodate the accessories recommended by Craig Hospital. The dealerships say a van that will allow those modifications would be in the $20,000 range. So overall, the disability grants or equivalent assistance I'm looking for and would so much appreciate add up to $170,000.
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