A DUBLIN FAMILY are appealing to Dublin City Council to adapt their home for their double-amputee father – but say they have been told it will take until 2017.
Jack’s story
Jack Lynam (53) is currently in hospital after having both his lower legs amputated, but will be ready to return home after a period in the National Rehabilitation Hospital, his son Jonathan Lynam (31) told TheJournal.ie.
They have applied to Dublin City Council (DCC) to provide an extension to their house for Jack’s return, but say they have been told this won’t be possible until 2017.
Jonathan fears that the situation is causing his father more stress, which is why he wants it resolved as quickly as possibly. He is also concerned about the impact this could have on his mother Frances.
His father lives with Frances and their teenage daughter.
“It’s highly distressing considering everything he’s gone through,” said Jonathan. “He’s desperate to go home. He gets emotional about the idea of him going home but not being able to.”
Jack’s illness
Jonathan said that his father first attended hospital in December 2013 after suffering from pains in his legs. It was discovered he has peripheral vascular disease (PVD).
After a number of months of receiving treatment, Jack fainted and it was discovered that he has a blood disorder.
In late March 2014, he was sent to a rehabilitation clinic in Clontarf, but while there his health deteriorated and he was brought back to Beaumont hospital. “He was hallucinating – he just wasn’t himself,” recalled his son.
His condition deteriorated further, and he ended up in the ICU in a coma. His family prepared themselves for the worst after being told that Jack was “gravely ill”, said Jonathan.
The amputations
They were told that if he did survive, he would end up losing his legs. ”It was strange bcause although they were telling us that, the fact he was in such grave condition it almost made the amputations seem insignificant,” Jonathan said.
His father emerged from the coma and underwent to amputation procedures.
Jack had a “positive enough attitude” despite undergoing many complications.
In the first week of September 2014, he started working towards rehabilitation.
After much physio, he was able to get into a wheelchair – he even made it to Jonathan’s wedding.
Urgent need for an extension
The family say Jack would need a downstairs extension and have applied to Dublin City Council for an urgent home adaptation. They say they have been told that the required extension won’t be approved for construction until at least 2017.
Jonathan says that he is a registered electrical contractor, so could carry out some of the work at his own cost.
They have been told a stairlift could be installed in the home. However, the family query whether this would be suitable for a wheelchair-using double amputee. Their bathroom is also not disability-friendly.
Jonathan has set up a petition, which has received 384 signatures – he’s hoping to get 500 signatures before he sends it to the council.
His father is “quite distressed about the issue”, said Jonathan. But he will be an outpatient at the NRH for six to eight weeks, which “has taken some of the pressure off him”.
“I don’t tend to go away until they address this properly,” added Jonathan. “I know there are a number of families and individuals going through the same thing. My father is a ‘bed blocker’ as he is not able to be released from hospital.”
Jonathan is hoping to have the issue brought up at the next Dublin City Council local area meeting, and has been in touch with councillors and local TDs.
Council response
Dublin City Council said that it “operates a programme of adaptations for tenants with reduced mobility”, which can include hand rails, ramps, other wheelchair-accessible adaptations, stair lifts, bathroom adaptations, and “in extreme cases”, an extension to the home.
It said that tenants apply for a waiting list for the above through an application process.
If the application is assessed as Medical Priority One then they are placed on a list which operates on the basis that all Medical Priority One cases are given the same priority and are dealt with as per the finances available and the length of time they are on the list. It would be patently unfair if a priority case already on the list was superseded by a late comer to the list.
“The time on the waiting list to have the works carried out when a case has been approved on medical grounds varies,” said DCC.
Estimated waiting time for works to commence for cases approved and identified as being a high medical priority case, based on the works required. (When funding has been established)
The average waiting time for the provision of an extension to the property is 24 months.
In most cases where the medial needs of a tenant dictate the construction of an extension, the medical advice will allow for temporary adaptations (ramp, stair lift, bathroom adaptations to existing bathroom, etc) to facilitate the tenant access to upstairs living while waiting for the extension.
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