HollyAlonzo – Never Giving Up Hope

My health has gone down hill. Not only am I deaf-blind, but I am also now physically impaired.

I fall several times a day. I got to where I was walking while basically hugging the walls. I knew if I walked that way and fell, I wouldn’t fall as hard and hurt myself.

I started using a wheelchair while outside. I didn’t feel safe walking on my legs. I knew that if I fell outdoors, I could do some serious damage.

The wheelchair I was using was a manual wheelchair, which is fine except the fact that I can’t do it on my own.

In order for a blind person to know where they are going, they have to use a white cane. Using a manual chair, my arms were busy and I couldn’t use my cane. Edward is blind as well so he couldn’t push me. I had to have someone sighted go with me and push my chair.

We decided that a power wheelchair would be best for me. Then I could steer the chair with a joystick and use my cane in the other hand. Doing this I would finally have independence again!

Only, the wheelchair store we went to refused to give me a chair because I was blind. I was told that “blind people can’t see where they are going. You might run into things or people and you could really hurt someone with a power chair.”

I explained that we use canes to make sure we don’t run into things or people, and some of the guide dog schools even train guide dogs to guide a power chair. Why would t his be in place if blind people didn’t have and use power chairs?

Finally, I went to the doctor and he prescribed a power chair but the venders they tried would not give a power chair to a blind person. Finally they said that the only way they would give me a chair would be a companion chair.

This still wouldn’t work for me, because that would be someone else driving, and Edward can’t do it since he would have no way to use a cane. I would still have to have someone sighted with me, and if I wanted it that way I would just use a manual.

I decided to look around on the internet. One of my friends has a power chair and I test drove his and liked it. I found one like it and bought it second hand, that way no one could tell me I couldn’t have it.

It was very cheap and I got one heck of a deal. But now I have safety and freedom. I don’t have to wait for people to take me somewhere now, even a place as simple as the bathroom.

I could get places fine, I knew how to get there, but my balance was so bad that I couldn’t safely get there on my own without falling.

Denying a person a power chair for the simple fact that they are blind is discrimination. It’s a liability issue. They do not want to be responsible if you “hurt” yourself. Anyone can hurt themselves, blind or not. Will I fight them on this for discrimination? I’d like to because I don’t want to let them get away with it, and maybe I can help someone else having the same problem get a chair. I don’t know if I have time to fight them on this though. With fundraising and my health, I don’t have a whole lot of time left over. I may contact the ADA lawyer my friend knows and see what all it would take before I decide.

I’m just happy I have my own chair now. Driving it isn’t too hard either, although I have to get used to my new size since I am not usually this big. I’ve noticed in just one week I am getting more used to it, so it shouldn’t take long.