Woman with multiple sclerosis struggles after apartment adaptations make life worse
We first met Beverley Rothstein 17 years ago. The advocate for people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) needed a new place to stay because she was too ill to walk up and down the stairs.
That was in 2005
"You can't be independent. I was a fully independent person before" she said at the time.
Fast forward to 2022.
Beverley Rothstein is now well into her 60s, and the degenerative condition of MS is affecting her motor skills, so her health has worsened.
She now uses a wheelchair, and her hands and legs constantly shake, turning the most simple movements into painful chores.
"It's hard. I was very outgoing before, and then it started going, and I can't be in control like that," said the former business owner.
Four years ago, she placed a request with her CLSC to have her bathroom adapted for a wheelchair.
The program exists to keep patients in their homes as long as possible.
It took until this winter for an occupational therapist to evaluate her needs and give out the contract to have the work done.
When Rothstein returned home, however, she noticed her modified bathroom was just as hard to use.
Starting with the sink...
"It's so low; look what it did to my legs!" she said while pointing to the inadequate space preventing her from effectively rolling her chair under the sink.
She can wash her hands but can't wash her face or brush her teeth because the measurements don't match her wheelchair.
As for using the toilet, the bars are awkwardly-placed. It forces her to stretch her arms to grab it. Then the sidebars to the toilet are placed too high, making them impossible to hold on to.
The set-up makes a huge noise when she sits down while holding the sidebars. Neighbours have started to complain about the noise.
A domestic helper, who comes three times a week, has to help her in and out of the bathroom and the shower.
Rothstein says she's been calling the CLSC and the health board since March to have corrections made but to no avail.
Advocates for those with limited mobility say people in Rothstein's situation often end up in long-term care facilities, not because they want to but because their homes are not properly adapted.
"There's almost 35 per cent of them who will go the way of the CHSLD because it takes too long," said Linda Gauthier from the Regroupement Activistes Pour L'Inclusion Quebec (RAPLIQ). "The cost of maintaining a patient in a long-term facility is considerably higher than providing them with support to live at home."
Gauthier also said the program to make homes adapted is severely underfunded, especially in neighbourhoods where there's a higher number of seniors.
CTV News requested an interview with the regional health board to see what could be done for Rothstein.
A spokesperson declined to comment, citing privacy policies.
Meanwhile, Rothstein now has bigger issues.
The noise made by the support bars and her occasional screams because of the pain have led to complaints, and she's now being threatened with eviction despite her condition.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Haida elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Yemen's Houthi rebels claim downing U.S. Reaper drone, release footage showing wreckage of aircraft
Yemen's Houthi rebels on Saturday claimed shooting down another of the U.S. military's MQ-9 Reaper drones, airing footage of parts that corresponded to known pieces of the unmanned aircraft.
Britney Spears settles long-running legal dispute with estranged father, finally bringing ultimate end to conservatorship
Britney Spears has reached a settlement with her estranged father more than two years after the court-ordered termination of a conservatorship that had given him control of her life, their attorneys said.
Cisco reveals security breach, warns of state-sponsored spy campaign
State-sponsored actors targeted security devices used by governments around the world, according to technology firm Cisco Systems, which said the network devices are coveted intrusion points by spies.