MARY’S FANCY–Emergency and transportation services can now reach the home of long-time Mary’s Fancy resident Elsa Thomas more easily, thanks to a new driveway leading to her home that was formed and paved by St. Maarten Development Fund (SMDF).
Thomas has lived in the home for more than two decades without issue, but now that she is less mobile and is dialysis-dependent, she is reliant on transportation services that cannot easily reach her home. When she initially began her dialysis treatment, Thomas was transported to St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) via ambulance. When the weather allowed for it, ambulance personnel would carry Thomas down a steep staircase and then load her into a waiting vehicle.
When rain fell, making the staircase too slippery to traverse, fire trucks had to be called to get Thomas from her home to the road below via a stretcher. On these days, paramedics would place Thomas on a stretcher and the Fire Department personnel would place the stretcher into the basket of the fire truck before bringing her down to be placed into the ambulance.
As Ambulance and Fire Department personnel are often called to respond to emergencies, this system of transportation was found to be unsustainable. With her new driveway, which Main Road Construction formed and paved in just one day, Thomas now uses private transportation services than can easily reach her home.
Thomas, who receives dialysis three times per week, once struggled to convince transportation services to come to her home. Now, with her new driveway, she is safely transported to and from her home without worry.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/81780-smdf-creates-paves-driveway-for-senior
View comments
Hide comments