Helping a severely injured patient deal with creditors so he can focus on his rehabilitation.
The Pro Bono team at Stewarts helped Robert, a C4 tetraplegic, deal with his finances and organised an appropriate wheelchair so he could be discharged from hospital.
BACKGROUND
Robert and his wife Magdalena first met the Stewarts Pro Bono team in October 2018 while hewas undergoing a period of intensive rehabilitation. At the time, Robert was still coming to terms with his injury and, sadly, was no longer able to continue working as a technician. As a result, he was experiencing financial difficulties. Robert felt that he had lost everything and was so stressed about his finances that he could not sleep at night.
This was when the Pro Bono team at Stewarts stepped in and offered to help deal with his creditors to ease the burden of dealing with finances during an important time when he should be focusing on his rehabilitation. By contacting his creditors, the team was able to assist Robert and Magdalena with terminating or lowering their monthly payments and reduced their outgoings. The team also assisted Robert with completing his benefit application forms so that he would be able to receive an income once he was discharged from hospital.
Robert was also later told that he would not be provided with a powered wheelchair from wheelchair services due to a note on his medical records about alcohol misuse that had been recorded almost a decade ago. Wheelchair services came to this conclusion despite the fact that a powered wheelchair had been specifically recommended by his occupational therapist and case manager and despite confirmation from the hospital staff that they had not observed any problems with alcohol since he had been on the unit. The lack of suitable mobility equipment subsequently led to Robert’s discharge from hospital being delayed.
The Pro Bono team at Stewarts contacted wheelchair services and reiterated the need for the appropriate mobility equipment to allow him to mobilise independently. Following Stewarts’ involvement, Robert was offered a powered wheelchair as well as a manual wheelchair and a gel cushion for suitable postural support. Without this, Robert would not have been able to return home when he did, and his discharge would have been further delayed. He would also have had to either pay for a wheelchair at his own expense, which would have been an added further strain on his finances, or remain in bed for the majority of the day which would have affected his wellbeing.
Although Robert still has hurdles to overcome, such as waiting for a suitable property to move into, some of the additional pressures that come with sustaining a life changing injury have been relieved. Magdalena said that she found Stewarts’ Pro Bono team very helpful and she appreciated that the team constantly kept in touch with her to keep her informed of what was going on.