What do you call a disaster that has been compounded by yet another disaster? Does it escalate to a major disaster, or a catastrophe, or possibly a disaster of some quantifiable proportion? It beats me. One thing is for sure, hurricane Katrina was not the only disaster to hit wheelchair users in the Gulf area.

I had a chance to spend some time talking with wheelchair users while doing a relief gig in Baton Rouge. A number of these people required repairs to their wheelchairs due to Katrina or due to the lack of services and parts in Katrina’s aftermath. What was saddening, though not surprising, was that many of these people had needed wheelchair repairs or replacements long before Katrina ever showed up on the radar and still needed these services after Katrina moved off the radar.

From a mobility perspective, Katrina had served to compound the problems created by insensitive and lethargic funders such as Medicare and Medicaid who leave their clients to face daily life and events such as hurricane Katrina with inappropriate and poorly functioning mobility devices and wheelchairs. Katrina was a terrible act of nature that was beyond anyone’s control. The other disaster is a terrible recurring act by agencies and departments mandated to provide assistance. Which one is the greater disaster?