Swedish health authorities question whether double amputee’s disability is permanent
NOT THE SHARPEST KNIVES IN THE DRAWER: This may be a new low in the annals of socialized medicine. Swedish health authorities nixed an application for a power scooter by Evert Stefansson, who lost both his legs because of complications from diabetes, because they are "uncertain if the impairment was permanent," reports The Local (Stockholm):
Evert Stefansson had struggled with his health for a long time. As a long-suffering diabetic his kidneys have taken a beating, as has his eyesight. …
He might be able to walk short distances again with prosthetic legs, but that will take up to a year, according to his wife Siv.
Siv, also on early retirement due to a bad back, told The Local how she is forced to help her husband with everything and how he remains completely dependent on her.
In order to regain some of his independence, Stefansson applied for a so-called Permobile, a power wheelchair, that he could manoeuvre himself.
“But I had my suspicions right from the start that it wouldn’t be easy, when the woman from the county visited. She sort of hinted that he could have an ordinary electric wheelchair,” Siv Stefansson said.
The electric wheelchair was less desirable as it would still need a carer operating it, and would therefore not allow Stefansson to get about by himself, without the constant help of his wife.
An “angry” Siv Stefansson publicized the couple’s plight in the local media, and caught the attention of a woman whose brother arranged the loan of a scooter from the manufacturer.
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