Health Care: It Should Mean Something To You!

What does health care mean to me?  It means quality of life!  It means being able to go to the doctor and dentist when I need to. It means living in the home I do, and being able to have 22\7 personal assistant care. It means being able receive the tools such as my power chair,  communication device, eye glasses, strategically placed grab bars around the house,  shower chair, and manual wheelchair; all of these things make me as  independent as I am.

It was clear I had a disability from the traumatic birth I went through. The real question of just how disabled I was had to wait and be seen until I grew. However, the doctor told my parents that there was an institution called Fairview that I could go to. My parents didn’t give it a thought, and kept me at home.  All through my childhood my mom was able to get me the help I needed when I needed it. A contact of mom’s got me seen at Shriner’s hospital, Shriner’s sent me to Child Development and Rehabilitation Center, where I received my first physical, occupational, and speech therapies. I was born the year after the Higher Education Act of 1965, and that ensured that I received “financial assistance” for the special equipment I needed to get my education.

I believe that without my family’s support and the timely medical care I received early in my life: I wouldn’t be the person I am today!  I also know that if people are not personally disabled or are attached to a person whom who is living with a disability,  they may  not understand the importance of specialized health care for individuals who have disabilities. Be aware, be involved, be an advocate!