Larry Voss and Carol Gill, long-time residents of the Chicago area, both had polio and use wheelchairs. In six video segments, they candidly describe encounters with healthcare professionals and systems that were ill-equipped to provide the care they needed.
“So the first surgeon I saw recommended a procedure called a…hemipelvectomy, which involves removing part of my pelvis and my entire leg…He expressed his opinion that he didn’t see why that would make a big deal to me, since I wasn’t walking anyway…” – Larry Voss
“And only my crip determination kept my cool. If I had panicked, I could very well have died.” – Carol Gill
“The last time I was hospitalized, I would need suctioning for my trach, to get secretions removed, to allow me to breathe easier…And I would push the call light, and it would sometimes take 20 minutes for a nurse to answer.” – Larry Voss
“And I knew that that was going to be an impossible task for me to accomplish.” – Larry Voss
“But anytime he goes to an acute hospital, I dread it. We will almost do anything to keep him at home. We delay it and delay it, because he’s in danger there.” – Carol Gill
“Our lives have value, even though you can’t see it as a health professional, because your goal is different from what we are, which are people who function between perfect, perfect bodies, perfect health and death.” -Carol Gill