Most Indian reservations didn’t have hospitals till 1973. I was trampled by horses when I was thirteen. I could receive no medical care in the local hospital without the signatures of six white families. By the time the papers came through, the hips had begun to set. I was severely disabled for eight years. Then I finally received decent medical care which included artificial hips. Today I can walk.
– Terry, dislocated hips
There are no sidewalks in the area I live in and the streets are so bad that when I do go for a walk, it feels like every nut, bolt and screw will vibrate out of my chair and all the teeth will fall out of my head. My chair does not fold because of the bellows under the seat so I cannot fit into a sedan or taxi.
– Shirley, post polio
All the time I was growing up and after wards there were a lot o f buildings I could not get into or had to have people with me to carry me into them. I really feel, particularly in public buildings, that we have the right to go into any room we want. When I know I can’t go to the bathroom, I get pretty nervous.
– Mary Elyn, post polio
As I was growing up, I experienced frustrations and isolations … sign language was forbidden … so there was always a communication barrier during my growing-up years.
– Alice, deaf
When I was taking the SAT, the College Entrance Examination, they didn’t have a large-print version. It took me eight hours to get through that test!
– Barbara, visual impairment
When it comes to how to get someplace fast, that’s a big problem for the deaf. People who don’t have tty’s have to drive all the way to where they want to go and see who they have to see even if it’s a hospital or whatever. Also, if they have to deal with the cops, they get a ticket. They always have to ask someone to make some calls for them.
– Lois, deaf
I found a man in California who says I can learn to drive, but the adapted controls cost $2500!
– Valerie, post polio
When people in power realize that it is cheaper to pay an attendant to take care of someone than to run a nursing home for disabled people, the better it will be for all disabled people.
– Linda, spinal cord injury