More than 540 days ago, a 70-year-old man from Oakville saw his life change forever after losing his left leg to a sepsis wound. Through an ongoing battle with the Canadian medical system, Thomas Mohr now finds himself at a high risk of losing his right leg in what could be a matter of weeks.
Mohr spent a year living out of his truck in the RioCentre shopping plaza in north Oakville, and he eventually found himself bouncing around between the hospital, shelters, and motels. He's now back in the hospital.
Mohr had been undergoing wound care at a Motel 6 in Burlington for two months prior to returning to the hospital. On Jan. 1, he tried to stand on his right foot, as he usually has no problem doing, and ended up collapsing to the ground.
"I tried to get into my wheelchair on New Year's Day and I couldn't stand on my foot, it just gave way," Mohr said. At 8:00 a.m. Mohr was on the ground but close enough to his phone that he could dial 911. One hour later he was loaded up into an ambulance on his way to the hospital and from there, it was all hands on deck.
"Every doctor in the whole place is going crazy right now because this goes right back to August 29 (when he was last admitted), it's never been a resolved issue, they kicked me out without it being fixed," Mohr said.
"They're going to have to deal with the consequences," he continued. "I mean if this leads to another amputation, that's on them."
Read more: Province refuses to help 69-year-old Oakville man with amputated leg
Before this incident, Mohr had been approached by someone from Creating Hopes Canada, a charity that claims to provide artificial limbs to the physically disabled. The organization told Mohr to heal up and that when he's ready, he can go to India and be the first Canadian to receive an artificial limb from the organization.
Founding Member Kamal Nayan said he's been running the charity for ten years and says that it is funded through donations from friends and family. "Every year we help around 150-250 people in India," says Nayan.
Nayan had one of the donors approach him and ask if they could help Mohr, Nayan said that as long as he can get himself to India, they'll take care of the limb.
"Thomas is a person who needs prosthetics," Nayan continues. "As long as he can travel to India then we are more than happy to help anyone like that."
It is unclear at this time what a double amputation would mean for Mohr's aid from Creating Hopes Canada. As of right now, there is still a chance the limb can be saved with antibiotics and if the doctors can find the root cause of the problem.
"As a double amputee, what do you do?" Mohr said. "I don't think the healthcare system has the time, the money, or the enthusiasm that the provincial government would like to put forward. It’s a fractured system at best."
In the case of a double amputation, the only potential option for local care that came to mind for Mohr was through Joyce Scott Non-Profit Homes in Milton through Independent Living Halton.
According to Sharon, a Personal Support Worker (PSW) from the organization, they have a home built specifically for adults with disabilities with room for six people (Deborah's Home). They also have PSW services, but Mohr needs somewhere to stay for that to be an option.
Mohr said Halton Region was pursuing this because they couldn't keep him in a motel for life and a PSW from the home came by for him to fill out the paperwork.
Overall there is too much uncertainty for Mohr to understand what the future holds for him to get his life back. An at-length interview with Thomas Mohr from November can be found here: 70-year-old Homeless Man Explains The Reality of Life in Canada