Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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This just does not seem right...
Ottawa to grab scooter from veteran
Former aircraftman, 86, says he doesn't deserve Veterans Affairs' dangerous-driver designation
Nov 09, 2007 04:30 AM
Tracy Huffman
Staff Reporter
When World War II veteran Dr. Robert Young watches a Remembrance Day ceremony on television on Sunday, he will feel nostalgic about lost friends and sacrifices made – but he will also feel a little forgotten.
"They are going to take away my scooter," said the 86-year-old, referring to Veterans Affairs Canada, the agency that has provided him with his means of getting around for the past five years.
Then he added: "... Lest we forget, lest forgotten."
Unable to walk, the retired Etobicoke chiropractor who was a leading aircraftman from 1942 to 1945, said he has been declared a "dangerous driver" and will be stripped of his electric scooter.
Young said he is going to have to make do with a manual wheelchair or buy his own scooter.
Yes, the scooter has weathered a few scratches and paint chips, but Young said the minor damage can be chalked up to accessibility issues. When he goes out, some stores don't have automatic doors on bathrooms and in order to open the doors, he has to bump them with his scooter.
"They say I'm dangerous, but I've never hit anything," Young said.
``They think I should get a psychiatric assessment," he added.
"But it's money.
``Veterans Affairs is trying to save money."
Although familiar with Young's case, Stephen Little, a district director with Veterans Affairs Canada, said he could not speak specifically about the case because of privacy issues.
"When we give out equipment as part of benefits to veterans, we have a responsibility to make sure they can use it properly," said Little.
"If we give a veteran equipment, it comes with some criteria that says it has to be safely operated in order to protect the veteran."
But any time something like a scooter is taken away, Little said, Veterans Affairs always takes steps to provide alternatives like increasing outside resources.
"These are not decisions that are made lightly," he said.
"These are always difficult circumstances."
Speaking generally, Little said that in some circumstances a veteran is in denial about his abilities.
Still living on his own, in a modest bungalow just blocks from the office where he practised for 53 years, Young said he doesn't have the arm strength to wheel himself around any more.
"I can't expect my housekeeper to do it," he said.
"And I don't want to lose her. She has already hurt herself lifting me. She can't do the heavy stuff."
He said his housekeeper comes into his home each day and will take him out shopping because he needs help to do that.
Young also acknowledges there was some damage in his house from the scooter, but explained the door frame is barely wide enough for the scooter.
This week, a team of occupational therapists hired by Veterans Affairs came to his home.
"They came the other day and they had me drive it around," Young said.
"They gave me a test, and with all those women around, I was having a ball. I never had so much attention in all my life. I didn't know they were going to send me down the river."
A native of Toronto, Young suffered a back injury while he was with the air force.
He said he broke his tailbone and suffered a wound to his back that still requires medical attention to this day.
A nurse comes into his home weekly to change a dressing on his back, he said.
The back injury initially left him unable to walk, but a fighter pilot who was a chiropractor gave him a treatment.
"Two weeks later, I could walk like anyone else. That's why I went on to be a chiropractor," Young said.
If left with only a manual wheelchair, Young said he will be limited in his ability to leave his house.
"It is not practical to call your housekeeper every time you want to move around," he said.
The veteran said he needs a scooter to keep some independence.
"You know, I had seven of my buddies die this summer," he said.
"I'm 86, when you hit 86 you know you're on your way down. I'm not well, but I'm still kicking."
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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