Members
Age: 43
Location: United States, California, Sacramento
Connection: No connection
Member since: 12/29/2007
Profile last updated: 01/24/2008
Current Status: Offline
Network: 1 Friends
My Favorite Sports: Bowling, Shooting, Swimming, Walking/Hiking, Other forms of excercise
Top 5 movies: The Fisher King, Powder, Harrold & Maude , John Wayne & the Cowboys, Old Yeller
Top 5 bands, composers, or musical artists: James Taylor, Elvis, Brian Adams, Bob Dylan, Roy Orberson
Top 5 books: A wrinkle in time, The Old Man and The Sea, Twilight Eyes, Palamino, The Hiding Place
Disability Type: Neurological
Disability Name: Post Polio syndrome
Disability Description: flaccid paralysis of the left leg , weakness in the left leg needing to use a long left steel brace for support
leg length discrepency, left leg locked gait.
Assistive Technology: Braces
How has your disability changed your life...for better or worse?:
That is a difficult question for me to answer based on comparative experiences because i contracted polio at thea age of 7 mos. I have nothing to compare my status with . I have lived with polio all my life.
I know i desire to have the experience of what a fully functioning body can do, the freedom to feel the body move and work as it was intended to . I do not envy that in the nondisabled , just a desire to know how it feels.
I feel that when u grow up with a disability there are certain areas of life that u have a greater appreciation for what is really important in life.
I feel that it has given me the abilty to extend compassion and understanding to those who walk the same path as i do and i know that for me , each day i wake i am grateful for what i have and appreciate the mobility i do have .
How have you overcome obstacles?:
I feel that one of the things that were a plus for me was having siblings who treated me just the same as the others siblings. They also encouraged me, there has never been a time that they gave me special treatment because of my disability , but there was never a time that they were not right behind me ready to go to battle if they saw me being treated badly by other kids because i was different.
I learned early on that if i could not achieve what i wanted through traditional methods i tried other routes to get where i wanted , or to achieve what i wanted.
I was never told that i couldnt do something but learned by trial and error that there are somethings i must concede to and accept that i couldnt do it only after i exhausted all other alternatives. I never felt like i let myself down because i could say that i tried to do it .
I have worked hard to achieve independence and to seek ways to overcome obstacles in my way. I will forge a path around it if i have to.
What is your most embarrassing moment?:
when traveling for the first time after 9/11 the crack down on searches were extensive and thorough as they should be. Having worn metal all my life i know that a seperate more thorough search will occur and i dont generally have a problem with that. I was however not prepared for the extensive and more intense search that was to occur . I was taken by to airport security females to a screened off area so that a swab of my brace was attained by getting to the top metal part of my brace which runs the whole length of my left leg from butt cheek to toe. well for me this was some what disconcerting being that i had to open my pants a tad so that the top of the brace could be swabbed and i must say , much to my chagrin i am one of those who go commando . what it boils down to is that no matter how red i could feel my face getting i looked at the humor in it and how the 2 female security employees would get a real laugh on lunch break abou the red head who had to bare the butt for the swab,(commando style) I am ok with the humorous side to this and all i can say is that the least i can do as an american is to "bare my butt " if thats what it takes .!!!!!!
What is your most triumphant moment?:
The first time that i was able to ride a bicycle on my own after many hours of hard effort from my brother and boundless patience on his part and infinite determination on my part and after many painful and somewhat scary wipe outs i did it on my own !!!
my brother saw the joy and the awe that i had in finally being able to do what i had been told by so many that i could not do.
How more blessed and loved could i be than to have a sibling give to me a gift that no other had ever been able to do. He gave me a true taste of blissful full speed ahead freedom , hair blowing in the wind and the feel of it on my cheek.
what a gift , i have never received any gift for any amount of money or prescious value than what my brother gave to me that day . His believing in me enough to help me attain what we both were determined to accomplish .....
THANK U SO VERY MUCH MY DEAREST BROTHER .
MY ROBIN TO HIS BATMAN
MY SPOCK TO HIS KIRK
MY COHERT IN MANY RUN AMUCK SCHEMES THAT ALWAYS GOT US INTO TROUBLE ,
TO HIM I SAY TY SO VERY MUCH FOR THE GIFT THAT U GAVE TO ME MY SWEET BROTHER , BEST PAL AND AWESOME ALI!!!
UR SIS
JOJO
What are your dreams...for yourself and your peers?:
My dream would have to be the acknowledgement of the fearless way in which we are aware we have to tackle things that "normal" pple take for granted every day. That we are seen as equals and of value.
That society treats us like any other when it comes to fair and equal treatment , and recognised for the huge effort it takes sometimes to not give up and to plod ahead no matter what , to acheive what so many take for granted.
I'm looking for: Friends
Height: 5'3" - 5'4" (159 cm - 163 cm)
Weight: 141 lbs - 150 lbs ( 65 Kg - 68 Kg)
Hair Color: Red
Eye Color: Green
Religous Background: Spiritual-but not religious
Languages: English
Educational Level: Professional Degree/Certification
Job Title: customer service rep
Company: valley shipping supply
Company Website: www.valleyshipping.com
Previous Companies: comet cleaners /seamstress, Against Abuse In. /casemanager
Areas of Expertise: casemanagement/certified Medical Assistant front office/back office
Current Status: Employed, full-time
