Light One Candle: Mother seeks to keep disabled son from being bedridden
Dec. 13—Editor's note: Light One Candle is an annual series sponsored by the Mail Tribune that focuses on an individual, group or organization who could use a helping hand during the holiday season. Once that need is filled, donations may be distributed to others in need.
Having endured more than 30 brain surgeries, a 38-year-old Medford man doesn't take for granted the ability to move from one place to another when he wishes.
Born with cerebral palsy, the man lives with his mother in Medford, and he requires an electric wheelchair to get out into the community. When at home, he relies heavily on two important pieces of equipment: a hospital bed and a riser chair, placed just a few feet apart to ease his ambulation difficulties.
The hospital bed is ideal for resting and sleeping at night. The riser chair, with help from a wheeled walker to travel between the two pieces of equipment, gives him the opportunity to be upright and engaging with the world around him.
Sadly for his aging mother, the riser chair, essentially a mechanized recliner that can lift her son up and out of a seated position and into a standing position (or vice versa), is on its last leg.
It's a crucial tool to prevent the man from being stuck in bed more often than necessary and, as it stands now, rarely works properly and causes great difficulty for the man and his mother, who serves as his primary caregiver.
Jim Norris, chief operating officer for Living Opportunities in Medford, is hopeful the community can chip in to help provide a new riser chair to help the man maintain some quality of life. Loss of any of the relied-upon equipment, Norris said, would impact the man and his mother's quality of life in a major way.
Founded in 1974, Living Opportunities supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live, work, create and learn in the community.
"Being able to assist them in purchasing this chair would promote his independence and self-reliance. (The man) receives assistance in all aspects of his care, and having the ability to stand independently is one of very few tasks that he can do on his own — but only with the assistance of his chair," said Norris.
"Upholding his self-confidence and dignity is important to him, just as it is for all people."
Norris added, "He often feels disheartened by what he is unable to do ... so it is important to support independence where we can."
Norris said a new riser chair, with delivery, would cost approximately $1,000.
Cash donations can be dropped off at 747 Normal Ave., Ashland. Checks or money orders can be sent to Living Opportunities, P.O. Box 1105, Medford, 97501. For more information, or for help with donations, call 541-772-1503.
