Skip to content
The Archive of The Carrboro Citizen
Menu
  • Home
  • News
  • Community
  • Schools
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Obituaries
  • Sports
  • Mill
  • Flora
  • Print Archive
  • About
Menu

Letter: Dictating medical needs

Posted on December 30, 2010December 30, 2010 by Staff

I am a longtime resident of Chapel Hill as well as a patron of the town’s Easy Rider bus service since its inception. To be eligible to use Easy Rider, it is necessary to show that you cannot physically utilize the regular town buses.

Reservations for delivery and pick-up are required to be made at least two days in advance. However, in case of emergencies, one may call on the day that it is needed and hope to be able to be worked into the schedule for that day. Therefore, one-day reservations are made by persons who not only have a physical handicap but also have a particular need that had not been anticipated.

I like to be independent as much as possible, but through the years Easy Rider has come in very handy when I do not have a car or the weather is precarious. On Thursday, Dec. 16, I called Easy Rider since the weather was severe and I needed a ride to the Community Center swimming pool. I have made this same call many times in the past and have always been accommodated.

However, this time I was told that same-day reservations could no longer be made except for medical appointments. When I said that I would be happy to provide a prescription from my doctor stating that swimming was a vital component of my health maintenance, I was told that this “would not fly.” My doctor has always praised me for taking care of myself with regular physical exercise so that my severe disability does not require time-consuming and expensive medical interventions.

Since when does the town, rather than my own doctor, dictate what are my medical needs? Since when does the town decide what is important, and what is not important, for a handicapped person who is requesting assistance for something that he or she feels is vital at the time?

My three phone messages to the director of transportation services were never returned. Perhaps he was at a medical appointment. I hope it was “authorized.”

Carla Shuford
Chapel Hill

Web Archive

© 2025 The Archive of The Carrboro Citizen | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme