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'I have to fight for myself': Quadriplegic man says N.S. government told him to live in a hospital

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A diving accident at 14-years-old left Brian Parker paralyzed from the chest down.

Now at age 49, he's without the person who was caring for him full-time until just last week, after his 68-year-old mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“I don't know how to repay her back,” says Parker, tearing up. “Now she's all on her own, and I have to fight for myself.”

Parker's brother has stepped in, but only for so long, as he’s juggling other family needs and his job.

Parker, who has a degree in computer programming, has been unable to work and is on social assistance.

After his mother couldn’t take care of him anymore, he turned to government for help, but says he was told there is only one option.

“To throw me in a hospital bed, bed to bed,” he says, “That's not right, not right at all.”

Parker doesn’t want to live in a hospital, but in his own apartment, with the help of a full-time caregiver.

He can't afford private care and needs more hours of care than programs like the VON can provide.

“It sounds all too familiar,” says disability advocate Vicky Levack.

That's because a decade ago, she was given a similar option.

At 21 years old, Levack was sent to live in a long-term care home alongside the elderly.

Ever since, she has fought for those with disabilities in Nova Scotia to be given the choice to live where they want and get the care they need.

“We say we're going to be an accessible Nova Scotia by 2030, which means having everybody on the same playing field, regardless of disability status,” she says, “and this shows me that they haven't done enough.”

In 2019, the province’s Human Rights Commission Board of Inquiry found the province discriminated against three people with disabilities, finding they were living in a psychiatric hospital unnecessarily.

On Sunday, the Department of Community Services offered a statement in response to Parker’s story.

“We know the important role of family members and caregivers...and that any change in that support system would be difficult,” writes department communications advisor Christine Deveau. “While the Department of Community Services cannot comment on individual cases, there are several options available through the disability support program, depending on the level of supports that someone needs."

The statement cites the Independent Living Support Program, which had its cap removed earlier this year to allow more candidates to qualify.

Deveau adds the Department of Seniors and Long-Term Care may also be able to assist.

But Parker says he's been told there's no beds in long-term care, although he wouldn’t want to live in such an institution, even if there was.

“For me, a nursing home is a place you go before you die,” he says, “And I can’t do that. I’m 49 years old. It’s gonna kill me in the end.”

Before his situation changed, Parker says he was planning to go back to university to pursue a law degree. Now, he’s not sure what to do, and believes the province should have more options for Nova Scotians in similar situations.

“There should be immediate emergency funds there to take care of drastic situations,” he says.

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