Cass County Resident With ALS Fights With State Over ID
 

Cass County Resident With ALS Fights With State Over ID
State Agrees To Get Special Help For Incapacitated Man

POSTED: 9:17 am CST January 21, 2008
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Video: ALS Patient Reaches Out To I-Team
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OMAHA, Neb. -- A Nebraska man said he is fighting red tape as a disease steals his strength.

Louis Yando has Lou Gehrig's disease and is unable to move from his bed. He said the state of Nebraska has told him that the only way he can get a legal state identification was to show up at a state office in person.

Yando, 64, moved from Ohio to Cass County Nebraska two years ago. He hasn't left his attic bedroom since.



"I can't walk or get in a wheelchair. I'm completely incapacitated," Yando said.

He has limited use of his hands, but is otherwise paralyzed from the neck down. His mind is sharp.

"In the advancement of his disease, he's going to lose his ability to talk on the phone," said his caretaker, Carla.

Yando needs to transfer money from Ohio to Nebraska, but can't do it without a state ID.

"I don't think it'd be hard to get a camera and take a picture," Yando said.

He's also like to register to vote, he said.

On Yando's behalf, Carla said she has contacted numerous agencies for help, including the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles. They all tell her the same thing: Yando has to visit an office to get his picture taken.

"I said, 'Why can't you take the camera off the stand, put it in the back seat of your car, drive to my house, walk it up the stairs take a picture of Louis, and I'll be glad to pay you for gas,'" Carla said.

The KETV NewsWatch 7 I-Team contacted Nebraska's DMV Director, Beverly Neth.

"This type of highly personalized service is not something we're staffed for, and we can only provide that on a very limited, very rare basis," Neth said.

Neth said that because Yando is completely incapacitated, he qualifies as one of those very rare cases. The DMV will send a supervisor to his home, take his picture and get him a photo ID.

"It's very, very time-consuming, but something -- in this instance -- we're willing to do, because of the particularly difficult set of circumstances," Neth said.

Neth said it is the first time in her career that anyone has qualified for this kind of personalized service. She said she believes Yando deserves it.

Neth said that once Yando has all the documentation he needs, a worker can be at his house the next day.

The ALS in the Heartland Bachelor and Bachelorette Auction is planned for Friday at Prestige World Class Restaurant south of Village Pointe Shopping Center.

Omaha City Council President Dan Welch, former congressional candidate Jim Esch and others have put together date packages for the auction.

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