Interview Below

Reporter- Your accident was one of the worst accidents in Ontario history, and you are still suffering the psychological and physical effects of the accident, so my question is how has the accident changed your life?

Mulugeta- I feel completely different, like a different person.

Reporter- How so?

Mulugeta- I always feel the physical pain. I get easily tired… and I lost my talents like playing sports. I am hopeless, I feel like I have no hope. I feel lonely because I cannot do the same things I used to do with my friends and family. I used to be a very active community volunteer but now, what would I do? I am disabled. I have a long piece of metal in my leg which means standing or walking for a short time gives me great pain. My memory is not the same, I forget things and I have no concentration. I don’t paint or draw any more because, art is something more than just paint and a brush, it needs a lot of concentration, and I don’t have that.

Reporter- So these problems are a result of the accident?

Mulugeta- Yes.

Reporter- How do you live, I mean after the accident how do you get by?

Mulugeta- I had friends and family help me immediately after the accident but it was a burden for them to take care of me, they were there 24 hours a day. I felt more like a patient than a friend or brother. So it is very difficult for me.

Reporter- Do you get support from the government?

Mulugeta- Well, I was getting around $300 a month for around 4 years after the accident which was nothing and rent was around $150, so what do I do with the rest of the $150, what can you do? How do they expect me to survive.

Reporter- So my question is, how do you survive?

Mulugeta- I have to thank God. It amazes me too.

Reporter- So what do you do now?

Mulugeta- I am at the Robin Easey Centre.

Reporter- What is that?

Mulugeta- The people at the centre get help on how to live normally again, how to be independent. How to cook for yourself and stuff like that.

Reporter- Is the help you are getting enough?

Mulugeta- No because I am getting only the 6 months of treatment. It is not a quick fix problem it is my life! And I need serious help and attention.

Reporter- But is the treatment you are getting at the centre helpful to you?

Mulugeta- Yes, the people their have really helped me a lot.

Reporter- Why are you getting the treatment 7 years after the accident?

Mulugeta- That is my question too. My doctor recommended I go to the centre but my insurance company did not allow me to go because they are the ones who pay for it.

Reporter- But doesn’t OHIP cover the your expenses at the centre.

Mulugeta- I don’t know, maybe the government needs the money from the insurance company first. There are many people like me that are waiting for the treatment but their insurance companies don’t let them, so they get on a waiting list. The insurance companies do not want to spend money.

Reporter- But if you needed the treatment and your doctor recommended it why did the insurance company refuse?

Mulugeta- They don’t care about people they want to get away with out helping me, They pay thousands of dollars to their doctors to lie and say that the patience are fine. The system is in place to help the insurance companies not us the people. To me this is corruption.

Reporter- How do you think you will overcome these obstacles? 

Mulugeta- Well I hope through your website people can understand my problem with the insurance company and see the way they are treating me. They are violating my rights through so many other things, this is just a little part of the whole story.

Reporter- Do you have a lawyer?

Mulugeta-Yes, but nothing has changed.

Reporter: Thank you Mulugeta for sharing your story with us.

Mulugeta- Thank you very much.