I was out in town this week and saw many people with disabilities. People with disabilities are finally deciding to get out in the world and not stay at home. That is great.
Here is my week. This shows you that I do not let my disability keep me at home.
Monday – I went food shopping. I saw others with disabilities shopping as well. (They have to eat too)
Tuesday – I went to the mall to hang out all day. While I was eating my lunch, a lady in a wheelchair comes rolling by.
Wednesday – I was just hanging in town and saw at least 5 people with disabilities.
Thursday – I stayed at home to work on MoonScapes Web Solutions my business.
Friday – I went out to Amscot and when I was getting back in the car a lady pulled up who had a disability and her car was all rigged up so she can get her chair in and out and transfer to it.
What a great week!
This shows that yes even though people with disabilities have struggles, with the proper accommodations, they can live a normal life. After reading this are you going to get off your butt and get out of the house?
I know you can do it and every day encourage you to! I went water skiing, am taking a class on scuba diving and next will probably try parasailing.
No more excuses!!! You can do it and the world can include you and treat you like anyone else. Squeak those wheels until it happens.
Cancer is the general name for a group of more than 100 diseases in which cells in a part of the body begin to grow out of control. Although there are many kinds of cancer, they all start because abnormal cells grow out of control. Untreated cancers can cause serious illness and even death.
Cancer can affect all even people with disabilities. People with disabilities already have so much crap to deal with, if cancer is added to that it makes it a 24/7 nightmare. Let us all stand together and work to end cancer. Let’s get people with disabilities into the community and being part of society!
I decided to start a team again this year for Relay For Life/American Cancer Society. Even though I have a disability, I still participate in community events like this and more. YOU CAN TOO!
Here is a great song/video done by Martina McBride
To find out more about Relay For Life/American Cancer Society, click here.
I have family and friends who have cancer or are survivors. That is one reason I participate in Relay For Life and started Team Rocker Walkers. I would love to get your participation and the participation of others with disabilities. Come out to Relay and show that even though you have a disability, we can participate in normal events and become productive members of!
I believe that everyone with a disability can do and should get out there in the world and Live Their Life.
Keep squeaking your wheels because one day you will be included and not looked down on!
I don’t know if you ever thought about how friendship is a major part of life!
Living with a disability and making friends can be very difficult. People assume you are nothing so they don’t even take the chance to come up to you and start a conversation. This needs to change because people with disabilities are like anyone else and can make wonderful friends.
Let’s take my life for example. I am in a wheelchair and people rarely approach me until I approach them. This is frustrating, but over the years I have made some awesome friends.
One friend I knew from college reconnected and we started chatting about 10 months ago. We went to a couple charity and business events, and had a great time! We became such great friends that we started hanging out a lot. I even made her dinner. She is such a great friend and friends like her are what make your life better. I just want to say thank you for being my friend!
I also met my good friend Judy who was on the Florida Developmental Disability Council. I met her through my dad and we are hopefully going to be working together on some disability awareness projects.
I also want to mention a few more friends that I have done things with. We go to the movies, to the comedy club, to events and more. Shout out to two ladies I met through my friend Joel Weisner from What’s Up Ocala.
I been feeling lately that I have to do some soul searching and find a relationship. However, I have decided that finding friends is more important right now.
I want you to know that great friends are important and will go far with you. Sometimes when you are with your friends both you and they forget about your disability and you are just another one of the guys.
Go out and make you some friends and remember to keep squeaking you wheels!
So in the scheme of things getting a good parking spot is not really important. There is just so much going on around us that who parks where is just not on the top of our list.
However, in South Florida law enforcement has been cracking down on drivers who misuse disabled parking tags or parking places.
Authorities ticketed 865 drivers in Palm Beach and Broward counties in 2010 for illegally parking in handicapped spaces. That is a lot of tickets and it is not cheap when you are caught.
These tickets were not just for parking in a disabled spot with no disabled permit. There were tickets for individuals who used a friends or relatives parking permit. Most people do not know that the disabled permit is tied to a driver’s license or Florida ID.
Police and other law enforcement will routinely ask to see proof that the disabled person is present. Just having a parking permit is not enough – the disabled person has to be present.
Now that makes sense to most people, but not to all.
My experience has been that law enforcement in Ocala and Marion County are diligent in watching for those who misuse a disabled parking permit. On one occasion I observed an officer writing a ticket in a big box store parking lot. After the ticket recipient left, I engage him in conversation. My son was with me and we were parked in the adjacent spot.
He informed me that they pick parking lots at random and will occasionally monitor and verify disabled permits. Glad to hear it.
I have also had a personal experience with a permit. My son and I attended a charity breakfast and he had left his permit at home. I have his expired permit in my glove box and decided to use it.
Low and behold after breakfast we had a ticket. A trip to the local police station with the proper updated and current parking permit and the ticket was cancelled.
However, I was glad that our officers are out there watching for those who misuse disabled permits. Our disabled citizens and disabled drivers need those parking places.
Even though who parks where is not really life threatening in the great scheme of things. However, it is important to those who have mobility issues.
Keep squeaking those wheels.
I was going around today and this popped into my mind. Are women, men and all people just out there for themselves and not giving a crap about anyone else?
Some people open up there lives and let you into it. They help you in times of need, pray for you, fight for you, and sometimes die for you. They basically give up a lot of their life to help someone else. They give up part of their life to give someone a better life.
Most people still blow them off and do not act thankful.
Let me give you some examples in my life. I have a disability which is a major obstacle in our society. I usually open up my heart to everyone and try and help them have the best life they can. However, I find that even though I do that, people just shrug me off.
I find this interesting. People say they admire me, look up to me and like what I do. However, when they need something they know I can help them with, rather than go with me or sometimes even talk to me, they go with someone else. How so very frustrating!!!
People with disabilities try to live like everyone else in this world. We want to be part of society, help the economy and so much more. We just want to be like everyone else. What is wrong with this world?
I am getting to a point that if it continues this way, I will stop opening up my heart and do whatever the heck I want! I try and help everyone I can.
Sometimes I want to be more apart of people’s life but they keep pushing me to the side. I am sick of it!!!! This world needs to wake up. We can all be better human beings!!!
Look at yourself and the world. Keep squeaking until the world finally wakes up.
Amtrak Wheel Chair Lift
It has been a couple weeks since I last talked about my train trip to North Carolina. Don’t worry, I didn’t get lost – LOL. If you remember the trip had been great up to the point where I left off.
I woke up Sunday morning thinking to myself, “What is today going to be like?” I got dressed and went to have breakfast before we got on the road for church. At church I got a great feeling inside. I thought of something while at church.
You know how people of color have become part of society. They are integrated (mostly) and do things with white people? Wile sitting in church I was watching the priest who was white and the deacon who was black standing side by side leading the assembly.
That is great, but my question is, where are people with disabilities? They are probably behind or across the room. Shouldn’t we ALL be side by side leading and doing things? No one should be behind or across the room!
After church we went back to the house to get my grandpa for brunch. We went to an Irish Pub in Downtown Raleigh where we had all you can eat brunch. Surprisingly I ate 3 or 4 omelets as well as other food. To my surprise the restaurant was setup well so that I could get my wheelchair around to everything. What a great experience and I sure was full afterwards.
We went back to the house where I watched TV and relaxed until my Aunt came back from her trip. We talked until about 8 pm and then we had to head to the train station so we could head back to Ocala. We chatted until the train showed up and ready to board us. I was again boarded on the train with a nifty lift. I got on train and settled in my seat and relaxed all the way to Jacksonville.
Stay tuned to hear about the final part of my train trip. Just like the train wheels squeaked as we motored along; keep squeaking because one day we will all stand side by side!!!
www.waiverprovider.com
Our friend Aaron Nangle of waiverprovider.com has provided information on the Draft Plan for APD’s HCBS Waiver – Home and Community Based Services Waiver Expenditure Reductions.
These will impact all persons with disabilities in Florida.
• Publish Standardized IB Rates for future with lower rates retained, expected savings $1,549,764 standardizing rates based on individual Rate Rule needs rather than negotiated contracts required. This Rate Matrix is in development. Savings dependent on effective date.
Eliminate Res Hab quarter hour as other options available for in home supports. $917,290 Eliminates the quarter hour unit, as it is usually used in their own home, Would need Rate rule change. This may increase IHSS use, reducing service array.
• Fee Collection by Residential providers, estimate $8,401,147 Form would be created to calculate recipient responsibility to be deducted from Waiver service bills, monthly surplus frozen or swept by service, Would need method developed and procedures to monitor, would be late in year before implementation.
• 12.5% required match as State share, savings not determined, This would leverage current spending to decrease GR effort and would need long term research with AHCA and CMMS and unknown if local effort applicable.
• Core Service models– savings not determined, would limit waiver services to only those services considered core to prevent institutionalization, Would need Waiver amendment.
Service Limits-not determined, would reduce service limits for each Waiver service and would be limited to only essential elements within the budget.
• Limit individual cost plan to not greater than average ICF/DD estimate of $3,300,000 savings and some thought it could be up to as much as a possible 17 million realized if limited, Alternative supports would be necessary for adversely impacted clients. Would need Waiver Amendment.
Three days of blogging just listing the cuts. And who knows if they are done.
Keep squeaking those wheels on your wheelchairs. We need to draw attention to the cuts and to those who receive no services and are left behind.
I woke up Saturday morning ready to take on the world!
I got dressed and went down by my aunt’s house for breakfast where I had to climb steps again. (What’s up with all these steps, my legs are killing me LOL) I ate breakfast and then we all sat down to talk for a little before my aunt left for her trip.
Then back to my grandpa’s house where I was staying and watch TV and talked until around noon.
Our stomachs were starting to scream at us for food so we hopped in the car and went to an awesome Lebanese restaurant. The restaurant was setup so nice where I could get my wheelchair down the isles. A lot of restaurants pack so many tables in that my wheelchair would never work.
After lunch back to the house to drop my grandpa off.
My dad and I then decided to go to our favorite coffee shop in NC called Aversboro Coffee. I went up to the counter and they treated me like any other customer. I ordered an awesome frozen Snickers shake and continued to talk with one of the owners.
I asked him to carry my stuff to the table where he happily took it. I said thank you and rolled up to the table where I got on my laptop to check my Facebook and MoonScapes Web Solutions fan page. Wow, I had tons of messages .I checked and responded to them while I finished my awesome shake.
My trip up to now has been awesome and I could not wait to see what Sunday had in store for me.
Stay tuned to hear more of the awesome adventure I had.
Get out there and live life. Keep squeaking those wheels.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like, going to a restaurant and eating out with a disability? Will people stare at you, help you, make fun of you, pull a chair out for you, etc?
I just pulled up to Cracker Barrel in Ocala Florida and got to the door. It was so heavy that when I went to open it I barely got it open. (Did you know doors have to be a certain weight according to Americans With Disabilities Act? Otherwise they are in violation of the ADA.)
I got in the door and went through the store to the restaurant. The hostess seated my friend and I. She politely pulled out the chair so I could sit at the table in my wheelchair.
The waitress came up and took both of our orders. She took my friends order and then rather than ask my friend what I wanted, like restaurants do for some reason. Rather she turned straight to me and asked me what I wanted to eat.
We finished eating, paid and then left.
I was treated so nice and normal. I don’t know what your experience will be but please go out, then come back respond with your experience, on this blog.
Squeak, squeak, squeak!
