A Thought Beforehand
Well, it's a sad story of an incautious approach to solving one problem and in the process creating another. Isn't that what we so often do when we respond with great enthusiasm and determination in the face of need? Overlook a careful reconnaissance of what the problem really requires to give ease to troubled waters? In the case of a community responding to a newspaper story of a mother with a handicapped child who badly needed an alternative to her shut-in existence, the end result is a case in point.
The mother of a 31-year-old woman - afflicted with a degenerative genetic condition, metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), which has left her chronically physically and intellectually impaired (she has the mental intelligence of a 12-year-old, and from what I've seen of the mental intelligence of today's 12-year-olds, that's considerable) and is wheelchair-bound - explained her concerns that her daughter's illness could be remediated with some alterations in their living accommodation.
Both lived in rental accommodation, a bungalow located in an area of the city relatively accessible to the required assistance of a nursing assistant whom they hugely depended upon for services. In response to the newspaper story, local individuals and agencies took note and offered their help. Everyone felt compassion for the paralyzed young woman unable to even sit comfortably, whose weight had dropped perilously and who hadn't been in the out-of-doors for 6 years.
The West Ottawa Rotary Club raised $8,000 in a trust fund they established. Home Depot donated $20,000 in the form of building materials. Volunteers offered an estimated thousand hours of work to build a wheelchair-access ramp and an outdoor deck on to the bungalow that the pair were renting. Electrical upgrades to made to the house and a number of additional improvements which would assist in making their lives more easeful there.
Those changes in their living accommodations, according to the young woman's mother meant a world of difference. The daughter became transformed from an introvert into a "social butterfly". The mother described how her daughter had gained weight, was able to sit comfortably for hours, was eating well, and was happy. "She's in her wheelchair all the time, bombing around."
And she was newly able to accompany her mother on shopping expeditions or on walks through their neighbourhood. "We were doing so well. She's got a long way to go, but it's been up, up, up", Holly Ritchie said of her daughter Melanie. And then trouble raised its ugly head. Although their landlord had given permission to install the wheelchair-access ramp, she had signed a one-year lease. Nine months after, they've been given notice of eviction.
Their landlord, Ajaz Ahmed, was returning from living in England. His sister, Bajma Bhatti had been acting as rental agent for her brother's property. Obviously, there had occurred a lack of communication somewhere along the line. Mr. Ahmed denies he ever agreed that the renters could live in his house on an indefinite basis. There does exist an email from Mr. Ahmed's sister stating they "can live there as long as (you) like if we are both happy with each other."
Alas, Mr. Ahmed was clearly discombobulated when, after the lease had expired he anticipated moving back into his home and Ms. Ritchie, for her part, wanted to renew the lease. Mr. Ahmed offered her the option of remaining in the house, if she would agree to his moving into the finished basement. Ms. Ritchie thought this unsuited to their needs and as a result the eviction notice was given.
Leaving Ms. Ritchie to look for alternative accommodations in the rental of another bungalow for herself and her daughter, in the same general area. All that work and the cost associated with it for a mere 9 months of reprieve, and now the dismal prospect of starting all over again. The mother points out that change could be deleterious to her daughter's condition. The ramp installed in the house they are leaving cannot be moved to another prospective location; it is cemented into place.
It's doubtful that anyone can really fault the house owner; he has a perfect right to want to live in his own home, and did offer to share it with Ms. Ritchie and her daughter. Someone did not do due diligence in this matter; perhaps a whole lot of someones. The end result is sad, and that's the way life sometimes turns.
The mother of a 31-year-old woman - afflicted with a degenerative genetic condition, metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), which has left her chronically physically and intellectually impaired (she has the mental intelligence of a 12-year-old, and from what I've seen of the mental intelligence of today's 12-year-olds, that's considerable) and is wheelchair-bound - explained her concerns that her daughter's illness could be remediated with some alterations in their living accommodation.
Both lived in rental accommodation, a bungalow located in an area of the city relatively accessible to the required assistance of a nursing assistant whom they hugely depended upon for services. In response to the newspaper story, local individuals and agencies took note and offered their help. Everyone felt compassion for the paralyzed young woman unable to even sit comfortably, whose weight had dropped perilously and who hadn't been in the out-of-doors for 6 years.
The West Ottawa Rotary Club raised $8,000 in a trust fund they established. Home Depot donated $20,000 in the form of building materials. Volunteers offered an estimated thousand hours of work to build a wheelchair-access ramp and an outdoor deck on to the bungalow that the pair were renting. Electrical upgrades to made to the house and a number of additional improvements which would assist in making their lives more easeful there.
Those changes in their living accommodations, according to the young woman's mother meant a world of difference. The daughter became transformed from an introvert into a "social butterfly". The mother described how her daughter had gained weight, was able to sit comfortably for hours, was eating well, and was happy. "She's in her wheelchair all the time, bombing around."
And she was newly able to accompany her mother on shopping expeditions or on walks through their neighbourhood. "We were doing so well. She's got a long way to go, but it's been up, up, up", Holly Ritchie said of her daughter Melanie. And then trouble raised its ugly head. Although their landlord had given permission to install the wheelchair-access ramp, she had signed a one-year lease. Nine months after, they've been given notice of eviction.
Their landlord, Ajaz Ahmed, was returning from living in England. His sister, Bajma Bhatti had been acting as rental agent for her brother's property. Obviously, there had occurred a lack of communication somewhere along the line. Mr. Ahmed denies he ever agreed that the renters could live in his house on an indefinite basis. There does exist an email from Mr. Ahmed's sister stating they "can live there as long as (you) like if we are both happy with each other."
Alas, Mr. Ahmed was clearly discombobulated when, after the lease had expired he anticipated moving back into his home and Ms. Ritchie, for her part, wanted to renew the lease. Mr. Ahmed offered her the option of remaining in the house, if she would agree to his moving into the finished basement. Ms. Ritchie thought this unsuited to their needs and as a result the eviction notice was given.
Leaving Ms. Ritchie to look for alternative accommodations in the rental of another bungalow for herself and her daughter, in the same general area. All that work and the cost associated with it for a mere 9 months of reprieve, and now the dismal prospect of starting all over again. The mother points out that change could be deleterious to her daughter's condition. The ramp installed in the house they are leaving cannot be moved to another prospective location; it is cemented into place.
It's doubtful that anyone can really fault the house owner; he has a perfect right to want to live in his own home, and did offer to share it with Ms. Ritchie and her daughter. Someone did not do due diligence in this matter; perhaps a whole lot of someones. The end result is sad, and that's the way life sometimes turns.
Labels: Environment, Health, Human Relations, Whoops
posted by Pieface @ 1:31 PM
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