Many individuals with special needs face financial constraints due to medical expenses and limited employment opportunities. Photos: 123rf.com
When Rudens Rodríguez, 43, accidentally broke a leg of his desk, his emotions overwhelmed him.
The desk has a special value to him because it is there, sitting in front of the computer, where Rodríguez spends most of his day.
Rodríguez, of Cuban origin, has myelomeningocele, the most serious form of spina bifida, which affects his mobility.
“The computer is my life. I used to go out, but after Covid-19 I decided not to go out anymore. I am on the Internet all day,” Rodríguez said.
Rodriguez is shy about listing what he needs from the Miami Herald/el Nuevo Herald Wish Book, a holiday fund-raising drive, to improve his quality of life, but he’s insistent that a computer table with a keyboard tray is his priority.
“I am always in my room in front of the computer. I need a new desk,” he said. “The one I have is supported by a box of cigars.” He broke it while leaning on it to avoid falling.
Organisations can provide resources such as mobility aids, technology, medical equipment and other necessities that enhance the overall quality of life for individuals with special needs.
He was nominated for help from Wish Book by Spinal Cord Living Assistance Development (SCLAD) in Hialeah, Florida. It is a non-profit that helps people with certain disabilities with housing, job training, and other services intended to support independent living.
Rodríguez has undergone surgery more than 17 times to correct kidney, bone, and muscle complications. Every four hours he must use a catheter to drain urine that he cannot expel naturally. This limits his possibilities of going out. It even limits his studying.
More than five years ago, he tried to study computer engineering at Miami Dade College’s Hialeah campus, but getting around on crutches was a big challenge. That is why he decided to abandon his studies.The risk of walking
Now, although he has an electric chair that facilitates his mobility, he is afraid of catching any disease.
Rodríguez is assisted two days a week by Dayisel Tejeda, who helps him with household chores.
She explained that before Covid-19, he walked around the building’s parking lot and went out to shop, but now he always stays in his home.
Rodríguez also needs to replace his Quantum Edge 2.0 electric chair. He bought the wheelchair used several years ago, but it is starting to fail. At a minimum, he needs to replace the chair’s rubber wheels.
Walking is a risk. Because of the position of his knees, he lacks the stability needed to stay upright consistently.
Additionally, Rodríguez frequently experiences back pain, specifically in the lower back. He says the humidity in his room affects him a lot.
A dehumidifier could help him have better air quality and reduce lower back pain, he said.
Rodríguez lives in a two-bedroom SCLAD apartment on East Second Avenue in Hialeah. He lives with his aunt Raquel Camejo, 80, who has hypertension and heart conditions.
For that unit they pay US$741 (RM3,446), a rent well below the city’s average price. Each receives a check for US$914 (RM4,251) a month – him for disability, her for retirement.
Rodríguez was nominated for the Herald Wish Book by Rebeca Rapallo, social worker at SCLAD.
“I thought about him, to nominate him this year, because he is one of the men who has needs because of his condition,” said Rapallo. “He can’t work, he earns very little Social Security money, his aunt is elderly, and he needs a new desk, as well as a wheelchair.” – Miami Herald/Tribune News Service
