„The cost evens out quickly.“
Helle Pedersen, Høng. 61 years old. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999. Has had a RotoFlex bed for a year.
I have no strength left in my legs and I can no longer get out of bed on my own. My husband became hemiplegic after a stroke and can use only one hand, which makes it too hard for him to help me. If we were to have helpers in our bedroom at night, my husband would probably sleep in another room with consequences for our marriage.
The municipality first rejected my application for a RotoFlex bed. But I filed a complaint describing our everyday life, and how much help I would otherwise need. Then it was approved. The local government has a tendency to act as if disabled people don't have a life. My husband and I often go to the cinema or the theater and I refuse to go home whenever it fits the municipality to put me to bed. I want to stay independent.
If I had to just sit alone and inactive at home all day, I would become increasingly depressed and my sclerosis would worsen. Things work that way.
For the municipality, the budget is often the most important issue and one must say that the cost of a RotoFlex bed quickly evens out when the bed replaces five visits from helpers every day.
To me this bed means everything. I can go to bed whenever I like, get up whenever I like, and I avoid having a large number of caregivers rushing in an out of the house. I can do things myself. To me, this means freedom.