With four fingers amputated, a Lewes resident has been fighting for years to get a prosthetic device that would give him back his independence. Its list.
“Cutting an apple is stupid, but it’s something I can’t do. I wish it was as easy as cutting an apple,” Samuel Vincent-Coulard said by phone Thursday.
In September 2015, his life changed. The young man, who was a passenger plane pilot at the time, was hit by the moving propeller of the Cessna plane. He lost four fingers on his left hand.
Photo courtesy of Samuel Vincent-Goillard
On the day of his accident, a doctor arranged to keep muscles and ligaments in his arm so he could receive an electric arm. Many experts have judged that i-digit motorized fingers are the only prosthesis that can meet their needs.
This type of prosthesis, valued at $64,000, does not appear in the RAMQ regulation on devices to compensate for physical impairment, in addition to the costs associated with adjustment and repair, which assesses what may or may not be reimbursed.
“We tried a request in 2017 to see if I could get a hand one day, it’s not there now, there are no checks,” explained the photographer-videographer, who went to the administrative court for help.
Lack of recognized autonomy
In a judgment handed down on June 11, judges Mario Descens and Guy LeFrancois ruled in favor of RAMQ because the basic components of prostheses are not part of the regulations.
Nevertheless, Mr. They noted that Vincent-Couillard “presents a number of functional restrictions that greatly limit her autonomy,” whether in dressing, feeding herself, or even for her job.
“What I see is, if I injure myself again and cut my thumb, I have one [prothèse] Full arm without problem. I don’t want to cut off my thumb to get the rest of my missing fingers,” insisted the 34-year-old.
Almost nine years after his accident, Mr. Vincent-Couillard still has no prosthesis and no solution in sight.
“I don’t really know how to go on with this. I need help, he admitted. A hand changes lives. […] When you work and when you have to go out, it has to be workable.
An “administrative burden”
RAMQ has pledged that it “understands and recognizes Mr. Vincent-Couillard’s particular situation,” stating that it will apply its stock regulation.
“Unfortunately, this regulation does not cover the requested prosthesis because no exception applies to the situation in question,” RAMQ spokeswoman Carolyn DuPont explained via email.
“This administrative burden is such that Mr. Vincent-Coillard cannot have myoelectric fingers,” responded Louis Bourassa, director of programs and philanthropic development for the War Amps Association (Quebec).
“This type of amputation is not common. Even if RAMQ changes its list to include myoelectric fingers, there won’t be 2,000 people at the gate,” he said.
Photo courtesy of Samuel Vincent-Goillard
Mr. Vincent-Couillard’s case is not the only case of “administrative decisions punishing an amputee.”
“I feel like I’m in a jungle. […] Getting rejected all the time is a bit annoying…,” said the former pilot.
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