Greensboro, NC -- Barry Everhart likes to stay active. Which is not all that easy when you consider his recent situation. A diabetic Everhart had some complications a few years ago, “Doctors found some blood clots in my leg,” said Everhart.
A decision was made to amputate the leg just above the knee, “You take it day at a time, do what you can,” said Everhart. He now relies on a wheelchair or a walker and a prosthetic leg to get around, “I need the walker when I use the (prosthetic) leg because I’m just too unstable,” said Everhart.
The problem recently has been his wheelchair. He needs to use it when going grocery shopping or doing things that require he carry something. When using the walker, he needs his hands for support and can’t carry items, “It (the wheelchair) is not in good shape, the back is broken, I’ve got it wired together and the axles grind when I’m turning,” said Everhart.
In need of a new chair he first reached out to his doctor who agreed it was time replace the old wheelchair, “I gave them about four weeks before I made the first phone call, I figure Medicare and all that stuff, government red tape,” said Everhart.
When he called back for the first-time things didn’t exactly goes as he hoped, “There were apparently issues with the insurance company or something,” said Everhart. It’s unclear exactly what was going on, but the doctor’s office and the insurance company were not able to figure out the issue for more than three months, “I was disgusted,” said Everhart.
So, Everhart reached out to New 2 in hopes we could help. After talking with Everhart about the issue and looking over letters he’d been sent by the insurance company we called both his doctor’s office and his insurance provider, “It’s just like your advertisement says (News) 2 cares, (News) 2 cares about the people in its community,” said Everhart.
It was a couple days later that we received a phone call from Everhart, telling us his new wheelchair was at his doctor’s office waiting to be picked up, “I tried to get the chair for 100 days and News 2 got it done in two-and-a-half,” said Everhart.
The new wheelchair is exactly what Everhart wanted. It allows him to get out of the house and do things on his own without having to worry about it breaking or leaving him stranded, “It (old wheelchair) could fall apart at any time and I could end up on my rump,” said Everhart.
When we went back to visit Everhart after he picked up the new chair he spent the first five minutes showing us what he can now do and thanking us for helping him.
Everhart is most excited about an upcoming family reunion and taking the new chair out of town.