Yesterday , while Meredith was running into New York to sign books, I was telling her about the number of people I've been running into this past week who I haven't seen in a few years. And I was in a testy mood because of it. It hasn't been easy figuring out what to say, if anything , to some people who look so shocked to run into me.
These would be the people who I didn't see because I didn't have independent transportation. The folks who sent invitations along with the phrase "...if you can get here yourself". The ones who stopped calling months ago.
"How did you get here?" one person asked me when she ran into me at a store.
"I teleported," I said, smiling.
When I went into a power chair, the exodus of folks from my life was of biblical proportions: now if I was included, I had to be transported. And I found out very quickly that it wasn't a happening thing for most people. This surprised a friend of mine, who pointed out that my manual chair was very lightweight, easily put in a car and I could be pushed in it.
Of course, that is all true. But it's not always about what effort is involved, but expectations, attitudes, perceptions.
Until I ran into this transportation issue with a power chair, I never realized that my life would become so circumscribed by how people reacted and the shamefully low level of available transportation options.
How did you get here? to a power chair user in America is not so much a question that deserves a quip as an answer, but a weeklong discussion in Washington DC .
How did we all get here?
How did we get to a place where the perception of inconvenience - and some work- keeps people literally homebound? Why are we in a place where accessible vans cost 50 thousand dollars, yet accessible mass transit is still not a viable solution in many places for so many people?
I know now that until we ask the question as a group - as Americans- who have elderly parents, family members, neighbors, church members and friends - who will be and are affected by this, it won't be answered. Not until we make a concerted effort to give the right of mobility.
On my sidebar there's a Call to action, asking people to email Obama with issues of concern related to the disability community. If you share concerns about housing or transportation, equipment or assistance, if your eyes are open about these things, then take a moment and write in. Speaking up about all of these basic needs is vital to planning solutions.
And maybe one day instead of asking a power chair user or a person with disability the question How did you get here? , the question will become How can we all get there?
1 comment:
The same thing has happened to my sister who lives across the country. Families can't always help. She refuses to move closer to me because she would have to go on a waiting list for other services, but I think she would be better off.
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