St. John's woman in wheelchair trapped inside home with no bathroom access
Whalen using commode in kitchen, can only get outside with help of an ambulance
A St. John's woman in a wheelchair says she's trapped in her public housing unit because there are dozens of stairs leading to the apartment on Carter's Hill.
But that's not the biggest obstacle in Rhonda Whalen's way.
It's the 15 stairs separating her and the bathroom on the second floor.
It means she has to use a commode in her kitchen, right next to her table and chairs and in the same room where her meals are cooked.
"I need to go [to] a place where I can go into a regular bathroom," Whalen said.
Whalen lost her left leg from necrotizing fasciitis in December 2023 and then this past May she had a stroke affecting sensation on the right side of her body, her remaining leg, and her speech.
"But when I came home from ... the hospital, I couldn't get up over the stairs," she said.
Whalen, who has home care for a stint in the morning and evening, says she can transfer herself from the wheelchair to the commode on her own, but it's difficult and it can tip.
"Most times I try to go myself. It's a lot of time for me to do it because I don't feel on this side," she said gesturing to the side of her body affected by the stroke.
Whalen says she does all her personal care in the kitchen, from washing her hands, brushing her teeth and bathing.
She says she's requested a new, accessible public housing unit from the city of St. John's.
"I'll ask, do they have anything, 'Nope, nothing available right now'," Whalen said.
No accessible units available, city says
St. John's Mayor Danny Breen denied an interview request from CBC News, however, in a statement spokesperson Jackie O'Brien wrote that the city only has 25 fully accessible housing units and there is no vacancy.
O'Brien says the last time an accessible unit became available was last year.
"We understand the urgency in getting Ms. Whalen proper housing, and we have been exploring alternate accommodations with her. Unfortunately to date a solution has not been attainable and we still have no vacancies in fully accessible units," reads part of the statement.
The city says it is incentivizing the construction of more accessible units with $20,000 from the federal government's Housing Accelerator Fund for homeowners who want to make units accessible.
But in the meantime, Whalen says she's trapped on the first floor of her apartment, until she can find an alternative.
"It feels horrible," she said.
Whalen says she can't cook in the kitchen because she can't reach the knobs on the back of the stove and has a burn mark on her right forearm from trying.
"It's just stressing me so much," Whalen said.
Whalen forced to give up granddaughter
On top of her mobility and housing challenges, Whalen says she can no longer care for her six-year-old granddaughter, Alexis, who has been her responsibility after her daughter died in a car crash.
She's had to find other living arrangements for the girl.
"Alexis has nothing or no one other than me," she said.
Whalen says her granddaughter can't sleep or play in the upstairs bedrooms without supervision, and she can't get up there to watch her.
"I miss her every single day, every night," Whalen said.
Before her illnesses, Whalen was active and could take her granddaughter out to the park or the mall to see a movie, but not anymore.
Isolated inside
These days, Whalen says the closest to the outside world she can get is the front door.
She says the only way she leaves the house is by ambulance and is carried either up or down the stairs when she has a doctor's appointment.
"I can't go to the grocery store. I can't take Alexis out to get ice cream," she said.
Meanwhile, the sofa in the living room doubles as Whalen's bed because she can't reach the bedrooms upstairs.
"It's very degrading," said NDP Leader Jim Dinn, who is Whalen's MHA and has been advocating for her.
Dinn said Whalen is isolated and he is calling on the City of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Housing and Children, Seniors and Social Development to all work together to find an accessible housing solution or renovation options for Whalen.
"It's a tremendous disruption to her life and I would say it's affecting her physical health as well as her mental health well-being," Dinn said.
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