NEED INFO ASAP! Wheelchair accessibility

[GAYLE J.]

My husband and I REALLY want to move to Cuerco. He is a big guy who is wheelchair bound. Is there decent accessibility in Cuerco? Would another area be better? Is it even feasible? We are going backwards every month here, financially and healthwise, and NEED to go someplace with good weather, good medical, and is affordable on about $2000 a month. We will need to rent at first. We also need pain management which requires narcotics prescriptions. Is that possible in Ecuador? Ecuador is by far our number one choice, but we are open to suggestions. I’m on the 7 day special and can’t afford to extend, so need info asap. PLEASE, can anyone answer my questions? Thank you so much!
Gayle

[GAYLE J.]

Oops!! I meant CUENCA!! That’s what I get for posting when I have been up all night! We are interested in any place that is not terribly humid nor at too high an altitude (Quito is a bit too high) as my husband suffers from asthma and mild copd so he needs an oxygen-rich area. Also, we need someplace relatively flat so he can get around in the wheelchair, but are not particularly interested in living right on the coast. We would prefer to be at least 500ft above sea level, 1000 would be better. We love the ocean but not tsunamis or rising sea levels and believe me, living in Alaska, we SEE the effects of global warming! It is very evident here that the Arctic ice is melting at a frightening pace!! Sorry for the goof up and thank you in advance for any assistance. If my subscription runs out here before I get any responses, please look me up on Facebook. I would be thrilled to communicate with anyone who knows about our first 2 choices, Ecuador and Panama in that order, or anywhere you think might fit our needs. Thanks, Gayle Arledge

[EI EXPERT – EDD STATON]

Gayle, based on your criteria Cuenca would not be a viable choice for you and your husband. We are at 8400 feet and handicap access is in the Stone Age here. Sorry to tell you that generally Ecuador isn’t a particularly wheelchair-friendly country.

[SUZAN HASKINS]

HI Gayle, I’m with Edd — Ecuador is not the right place for you. Panama may work but it is not as inexpensive as it once was and it is a very hot, humid place unless you live in the mountains where most facilities are not wheelchair accessible. You could email our IL correspondent in Chiriqui, Linda Card (lbwcard@gmail.com), and ask her if Boquete would meet your needs, but I would think it probably won’t.

I’d suggest you also look at Mexico — Guadalajara and Lake Chapala, specifically, and I’d suggest Nicaragua, but wheelchair accessibility there is not up to standards either. Also not that getting prescription narcotics will be difficult, too. You can get them, of course, but you will need to be under a doctor’s care and I know in Mexico, these types of drugs are only available to special pharmacies.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but if you qualify for medicare and other assistance in the US, that’s probably your best option. Latin America is not the place to be wheelchair bound unless you are content to stay at home most of the time.

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