Life-changing events

July 24--SEBRING -- For Donna Bryant, May 15 started out as a great day.

She and her friend, David Armstrong, rode a motorcycle to Fort Pierce and enjoyed spending time with several other couples.

Their return trip was equally enjoyable, she recalled two months later. As they reached her home in Desoto City, they planned to stop for something to eat.

"We were laughing, joking, having a great time," she said. "The next thing I know, I'm on the ground."

What had started out as a pleasant trip ended up quite differently after another vehicle struck their motorcycle.

Even though she suffered injuries, including to her leg, Bryant said her focus was on Armstrong, who was pinned under the motorcycle. Despite her condition, she crawled over and got on top of him to prevent him from trying to get up and possibly injuring himself.

"It was the most excruciating pain I ever felt," she said.

In many such instances, people like Bryant go to a hospital and receive support from a spouse, their children or other family members. And when they return home, family helps them recover.

But Bryant has no immediate family. And with no insurance, she returned home, unable to drive and had very limited ability to walk. She couldn't return to work and faced the possibility of living without electricity or water.

It's become a daily predicament. Every day she wonders whether she'll have food or electricity or water. She has a roof over head, but just barely. The house she inherited from her mother has a leaking roof and there's mold inside.

Bryant, though, is thankful for a small number of friends stepping up to the plate to help. There's help available for people in the same or similar situations, but applying for that help and getting it can be challenging.

For Pete Mason, reaching the age of 60 helped a lot.

Mason, who suffers from COPD, spends his days in a wheelchair. He can only walk very short distances before struggling to breathe.

But, he said, he's a lot better than Sept. 17, 2015, when he fell and ended up in a hospital. For 10 days, he was in a coma at Highlands Regional Medical Center. After he got out of the coma, he had to go to Tampa for further treatment.

Over the next few weeks, he said, "It was in and out of the hospital."

Mason, who lives alone but receives help from his son, said he faced a very limited lifestyle.

He became very depressed. He worried about not being able to stay at his home, and losing what control he had on his life.

Now, however, Mason said, his attitude has changed since Nu-Hope Elder Care Services accepted him and began regular home visits.

Nu-Hope has provided a motorized wheel chair that makes it easier for him to get from one room to another at his residence and lets him get to a store.

Denise Hamilton, a Nu-Hope employee, said a lot of Nu-Hope's clients live alone and don't have family to take care of them all the time.

Nu-Hope provides clients with meals and housekeeping services. Nu-Hope also helps them to maintain a healthy lifestyle, she said.

"We try to keep people in their homes," she said.

But that's not possible in all cases.

Armstrong's family members have questioned whether he will be able to return to his home and live on his own. He suffered head injuries and lost a leg.

Months after the accident, he remains at Tampa General Hospital.

His daughter and her family live in Massachusetts and have tried to raise money to transport him there.

When someone has no one to help them, Tampa General Hospital tries to help that person with some of the challenges they will face after leaving the hospital, said Ellen Fiss, public relations manager.

"Uninsured patients are screened to determine eligibility for Medicaid, county funding, or other programs that might be available. Depending on the anticipated duration of illness or injury, we may also give the patient guidance on how to apply for Social Security disability (long-term disability)," Fiss said.

"One of the factors in determining a patient's readiness for discharge is the level of support in the community. The multidisciplinary team treating a patient assesses the home situation and makes a plan based upon that information. Some patients may need inpatient rehabilitation at discharge due to their clinical complexity, their lack of assistance in the home environment, or a combination thereof. The physicians, therapists, social workers, case managers, and other members of the treatment team formulate a plan that will allow the patient to be successful at discharge. We may also help patients connect to community resources such as meal delivery programs or shelters," she added.

The Florida Department of Children and Families also helps people get services, said David Ocasio, public information officer.

"DCF can provide referrals for services for any age. However, please note we do not provide direct care, just case management where we make referrals for services for direct care. We would first assess them for service needs. If they are over 60 years of age, we usually make a referral to the contractor. For an accident victim we would provide referrals for services per need. For example, home health services, Homemaking services, transportation services, home-delivered meals services, etc., Ocasio said.

Ocasio said one source of help for people under the age of 60 is Medicaid.

However, Bryant said, that so far she has been found ineligible for Medicaid. She wants to apply for Social Security Disability, but found it difficult to get to the Social Security office.

While she said she's been declared indigent by Highlands County, which will result in her hospital bills being covered, she added that she owes money for doctor visits and services.

Only after weeks of efforts, she said, did she get accepted for physical therapy.

Bryant has established a Gofundme.com account, but has raised less than $400.

The web address is https://www.gofundme.com/2746f7g.

She said also that from her experience she wants to form a charity to help victims of accidents. She said she and a friend have collected items.

What's most troubling to her, she said, is that she can't work. Bryant said she has worked mainly at restaurants the last few years, but doesn't know if physically she will be able to return to the job.

"My answer of fixing everything was to go to work," she said. "What do you do when you can't go to work?"

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