I'll take, WTH? for $200, Alex

Having worked at HME News now for longer than I care to admit (but, it's been 12 years), I often find myself viewing the world through the lens of home medical equipment.

For example, a headline on oxygen will lead me to a story on winemaking. Or the answer to a Jeopardy question about lox has me shouting at the TV, “What is liquid oxygen, Alex?” rather than, “What is bagel topping, Alex?”

Even when I'm not misreading something, I still wonder things that the average person wouldn't. Take this letter to workplace advice blog askamanager.org, titled: “my employee uses a wheelchair…but I found out he doesn't really need one.”

It reads, in part:

I'm a manager in charge of a division at my company. “Drew,” one of the people I manage, uses a wheelchair. When first hired, Drew was told to ask if any accommodation was needed. He has never asked for any. Our area is on the first floor of our building. Our building has elevators and all the doorways are wide enough for his wheelchair. When Drew first began working here, he used public transit. There is a bus stop a few feet outside our front door.

Now Drew has a car with hand controls and no one else parks in the space closest to the door. The space has been reserved for him.

The letter writer goes on to describe how she inadvertently came across an online film, featuring Drew, about people who believe they are disabled but are actually not.

While blog commenters had varying degrees of huh? How dare he? And WTF? I wondered, What kind of chair is it? Power? Manual? Does he like Invacare vs. Drive? Where did he get it? Was he properly fitted for it?

Also, How did he pay for it? (Well, out-of-pocket, obvi, but geez, how many people can't afford wheelchairs and modified vehicles that actually need it?)

The biggest question: Which one of our readers sold this guy a wheelchair?

Needless to say, I don't think this will turn into a new market for providers looking to diversify their markets.