Monday, October 25, 1998
Quadriplegic's dad against
media's worship of Reeve
BY DEBORAH KENDRICK
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Christopher Reeve has advanced the acceptance of people with physical disabilities just by being who he is. Where once people might have viewed a spinal cord injury as the end of the world, they now see it as a manageable obstacle - because they see Mr. Reeve finding that there is life with disability.
But the following letter provides a different perspective.
DEAR DEBORAH: I read your article on Christopher Reeve (Sept. 13). Our son Kevin is in the same condition due to a car accident in 1985, and he was just 18 at the time.
We understand what Mr. Reeve had to go through to accept his quadriplegia.
What we cannot understand is why the media, magazines and TV are making an issue out of it.
I've read that it costs him more than $300,000 a year for medical bills; we provide what's necessary for Kevin with less than $10,000. Mr. Reeve has numerous people helping him. He has numerous wheelchairs given to him, and we had to pay for Kevin's chair ourselves. It cost $26,000 and the insurance paid only $2,000 after wheeling and dealing.
Nurses help us out only three days a week for five hours a day, noon-5 p.m. The rest of the time it's me and my wife, Kevin's mother, Judy Burtyk, providing care. She does about 90 percent to 95 percent of it herself.
We use a hoist attached to the ceiling to move Kevin about. No three to five people standing by 24 hours a day. Just Judy and me - after 5 o'clock three days, and the other days it's just us. We sleep in shifts.
My wife has not slept in a bed since the accident in 1985 but on the floor next to Kevin's bed. She assists him when he needs suction, when he needs to be turned every three to four hours to prevent bed sores, and she fixes him up when he spasms. She bathes him every day, shaves him and does all the things for his comfort.
We do not have a van to move him about as we would like to. It is out of our range financially. When we rent a van, it costs $100 round-trip. Kevin is working on a degree in Architecture Technology at Ohio State, and his rides to school are provided by Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission.
From what I read, Mr. Reeve has it made when it comes to the comforts. My son would love to have just a small part of the assistance Mr. Reeve is receiving.
You are making Mr. Reeve look like a hero. I do not listen to any of these activists for disabled people because half of them do not know what they are talking about.
Our son will graduate from college soon, and it has been a hard road - but we will get there with him.
- JOHN P. BURTYK, REYNOLDSBURG, OHIO
DEAR MR. BURTYK: Christopher Reeve IS a hero. And so is Kevin Burtyk.
Deborah Kendrick, a Cincinnati free-lance writer, is a nationally recognized advocate for people with disabilities. Write: Deborah Kendrick, Cincinnati Enquirer, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati 45202; e-mail: 71340.473@compuserve.com.
KENDRICK ARCHIVE
