A Nova Scotia mother is fighting for her daughter’s right to a social life.
Amanda Wamboldt uses a wheelchair and lives in a long-term care facility. Her mother says she has no access to transportation and is accusing the government of playing politics ahead of an election.
Heather Croft says her daughter was diagnosed with a rare muscle disease when she was 13 years old.
“She was fine until then. It started with a limp and it progressed on,” says Croft.
Amanda is now confined to a wheelchair in a long-term care facility in Bridgewater that does not offer transportation for social outings.
Last week, Amanda wanted to visit her grandmother’s grave. Her mother thought she could take her in her own car using a lift at Ryan Hall. However, staff say social outings are not the intended purpose of the equipment and it is not safe.
“It was a disappointment for me. It was the last disappointment that I wanted to see any family member besides me, any families, go through,” says Croft.
She says her issue isn’t really with the facility, but with the government. Croft says she has reached out to her local MLA over the past year but only heard back from him last week when she threatened to go public.
“It's politics,” says Croft. “With the new election pending…you don't want a sour taste left in people's mouth, so that certainly has an effect.”
MLA Gary Ramey says $88,000 has been earmarked for transportation for people living with disabilities, but he has no timeline.
“I started it ages ago. I didn't start it when this happened. That's why the $88,000 is already there,” says Ramey.
Ramey says he has also offered to personally pay for Amanda to visit her grandmother’s grave. Her mother says the gesture is appreciated, but it’s too late.
“It's sad to watch it because it's heartbreaking. She has nothing much to look forward to but watching TV.”
With files from CTV Atlantic's Kayla Hounsell
