When I heard the news that my father has been wheelchair stricken I was very disturbed. It did not come as a surprise because from my previous visits, I could see that his legs were becoming more and more deformed from the effects of arthritis. He had to move very slowly in order not to loose his balance.

I knew that even in his old age, my father values the freedom to do activities on his own very much. On the phone, he sounded very frustrated when he related how he was not able to go out to buy food, attend to his banking needs, buy medicines and vitamins or just taking walks outdoors anymore.