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One year ago, Elroy, 63, missed a step while walking in the dark and fell down a staircase. He fractured several vertebrae in his lower spine, which required reconstructive surgery at the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis. Suddenly, this self-described “man’s man” who had served in the United States Army and worked in construction could not walk, could not drive, and needed help to get around. He learned about CICOA at the hospital and has been using CICOA’s Way2Go transportation service ever since.
The lack of transportation is cited as one of the top three barriers to independence for many seniors.
“Without CICOA to get me back and forth to the hospital, I was pretty much stuck. Transportation is so important to seniors to access healthcare. If you miss, the hospital puts you down as a no-show. But sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you just can’t get there,” he said.
Today, Elroy is able to walk slowly with a cane. His rehabilitation still requires two or three trips to the hospital each month.
“I depend on CICOA to get me there and back,” he said. “I’m giving it everything I have to heal up. You always want to give something back, because you never know when something will happen and it might be you that needs help.”
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