After complications from disc surgery and a year in hospital, Maria Hackl-Lehner (52) is eager to return to work, but needs rehabilitation first. As is well known, the economy is desperate for people, but there is nothing wrong with the Mühlviertlerin.
It’s unbelievable what this woman from the Mühlviertel had to endure last year! On May 21, 2021, Maria Hackl-Lehner from Engerwitzdorf would be operated on her intervertebral disc. Complications arose, the abdominal aorta ruptured during the procedure. The operation lasted 12 hours, the patient had to be resuscitated and the intervertebral disc was treated at a later date. “My wife was about to die,” says her husband Manfred.
The patient was in the hospital for a year – and now has only one wish: she wants to go back to work, back to her desk in an IT company where she worked in the office. “I was too weak for rehabilitation immediately after leaving the hospital. Even now, my motor skills are still limited, so I applied for rehabilitation in May.”
Krone investigation accelerates the case
Then there was radio silence. For a whole three months. A phone call on Monday, when the “Krone” investigation was already underway, is a small glimmer of hope, but not yet a promise. Maria Hackl-Lehner: “A lady from the PVA just called to say that she will consider my application.” Natalie Ferch, spokeswoman for the PVA about the approval procedure: “Rehabilitation is only possible on the basis of an application. This rehabilitation application is made through the attending physician or in the hospital.
The relevant PVA government office then starts an internal test procedure. The duration of this test procedure always depends on the respective individual case. In some diseases, however, a medically necessary time must elapse between the causal acute event and rehabilitation before recovery capacity is guaranteed at all.” And even if the rehabilitation is approved, there can again be a waiting period: Period of time between the approval of the treatment and the actual start.”
But Maria Hackl-Lehner is not that far after all. She is currently on sick leave. Meanwhile, she was even advised to apply for a disability pension. “But I want to go back to work. In my company, it would be possible to start over with fewer hours.”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
