After a cardiac arrest and 210 days in hospital, finding a taxi is the hardest part of being home

Lisa Loveless-Hodder is advocating for accessible transportation after running into issues accessing a wheelchair accessible taxi van for her son. (Danny Arsenault/CBC)

After seven months in hospital, Lisa Loveless-Hodder thought life would get easier for her 11-year-old son, Jake Anstey, when he was back home.

In January, Anstey went into cardiac arrest. Loveless-Hodder said his heart stopped for 10 and a half minutes, leaving him with an anoxic brain injury.

The lack of oxygen left the child with global brain damage.

"That has left our previously very active, talkative, extremely lovable boy in a wheelchair," Loveless-Hodder said, "nonverbal, and fed through a feeding tube."

Anstey was born with a combination of heart defects. He had three open heart surgeries before the age of four, but now his heart is considered repaired.

Doctors confirmed Anstey's heart function was not behind his cardiac arrest — leaving the episode's cause unknown.

"His heart function is actually great. Every test that they have done on his heart, and they've done quite a few, has shown that his repairs are in place," Loveless-Hodder said. "Prior to Jan. 8 of this year, he was living a very normal, active, healthy life."

Before experiencing a cardiac arrest in January, Jake Anstey was an active and healthy young boy. (Submitted by Lisa Loveless-Hodder)

But without a determined cause, she says, there is no way to prevent a cardiac arrest from happening again. The family now carries a portable defibrillator in case of an emergency.

"When Jake is not in a hospital, he has to have an AED [automated external defibrillator] with him at all times," Loveless-Hodder said. "He's out on the cul-de-sac with his grandparents now, with the AED on the back of the wheelchair in case he were to have another cardiac arrest."

Two weeks ago, Anstey was discharged from the hospital. He was treated at the Izaak Walton Killam Hospital in Halifax until April. Then, he was transported to the Janeway in St. John's, where he received treatment until August.

"We spent 210 days in total between IWK and the Janeway," Loveless-Hodder said.

'Call back in two hours'

Ready to step into their new normal, Loveless-Hodder thought bringing Anstey home would make things easier.

They live in Paradise and were ready to get out in the community.

Loveless-Hodder said Anstey was accepted into the town's accessible transit program, which allows them to travel within the town limits for free in a wheelchair-accessible taxi.

But she says the accessibility program isn't actually easy to access.

"I called Newfound Cabs, they said that they have one wheelchair-accessible van and it would be a minimum of two hours before I could get to Jake to pick him up," Loveless-Hodder said.

When she asked if she could pre-book, the answer was no.

"That left me first of all, having broken a promise to my child because I promised him that I would take him, but also feeling really isolated," Loveless-Hodder said. "Say Easter Seals is having an event in Bowring Park. How do we get there?"

She looked into getting her own wheelchair-accessible van, but financially, it's not an option for the family right now.

Wheelchair-accessible vehicles can range between $35,000 and $120,000. Most are in the range of $80,000 and $100,000, according to Sure Grip Atlantic.

"We feel like we were led to believe that there were supports in place that would help us as a family with a child with a new disability, and instead we got 'call back in two hours'," she said.

The Newfoundland and Labrador government offers funding for people requiring accessible vehicles. Funding is announced in the spring, and applications are issued each year.

Jake Anstey, 11, survived cardiac arrest in January. (Danny Arsenault/CBC)

Applications are closed, but the Department of Children, Seniors, and Social Development said there is no waitlist, and funding is determined on a case-by-case basis.

"This year we received requests for funding ranging from approximately $1,000 to $50,000," said Gayle St. Croix.

24-hour booking granted

Loveless-Hodder contacted her MHA, Paul Dinn, and the Town of Paradise, who confirmed she could book an accessible taxi for her son two hours in advance.

"He really deserves the chance to just jump back into his community like every other 11-year-old," the mother said.

Forty-six residents in Paradise use the town's accessible transportation service. Since launching the program in 2021, Mayor Dan Bobbett said feedback has been positive.

"You can do it 24 hours in advance right now. It wasn't that way [all] along," Bobbett said. "My understanding is staff reached out yesterday and we've got a solution, so they can book 24 hours in advance right now."

Dinn told CBC News the government needs to make accessible transportation more accessible.

"You have a young child, in this particular instance, an 11-year-old that for the rest of his life is going to rely on wheelchairs and other means of transportation, and a young family that want to support him," he said. "We should be dealing with the most vulnerable and making sure they have the support they need."

Dinn would like to see Go Bus serve St. John's metro area, for instance, rather than stopping at the city's boundaries.

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