Hello again, I hope you are doing well today.
I’m writing to share what I learned during my visit to Chicago to help my documentary film making friends Anthony Saldana and Jason Figueira with the first screening of their latest Playing Hopscotch With My Brain.
I helped them promote their last film Straight Off The Canvas which was about how the visually impaired create, teach, and appreciate art.
And we became good friends. So, they invited me to come to Chicago with them.
The Fall
While walking around the city, I fell on one of the sidewalks. I was actually half way in the road for a little while before dragging my leg up on to the curve.
Anthony and Jason tried to help me up, but that didn’t work. Thankfully, a couple of real gentlemen came across the street from where they had been eating lunch.
One of them was a Navy Corman, and the other was a Doctor of sports medicine still wearing his scrubs.
They showed Anthony how to help me get up safely. And with three people helping me and a little effort on my part; they got me upright again.
They helped me over to a cement bench where I waited until I recovered from the exertion.
Emotional Recovery
Part of me felt really disgusted with myself. I don’t mind falling, but I hate the idea that I might be somewhere that I can’t get back up again on my own.
But then another part of me said Max you called on the angels and they sent the perfect people to help get you up again. And I remembered so many times in my life where strangers came along to help me overcome some serious setback.
And finally I remembered my pre-podcast conversation with Teri Brown where she shared one of her 10 little tools She said never quit on a bad day.
I added her advice to all my previous experiences and went to bed hoping for better the next day.
The next Day
The next day was better. The film is about Jason’s experience with OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder.
So, I went with them to the International OCD Foundation Annual Conference also being held in Chicago.
I helped Jason network and we invited a lot of great people to join the screening scheduled for the next night.
I even got recognized as The Blind Blogger. Something that has never happened anywhere they weren’t used to seeing me.
I asked the lady if she knew who I was before or after she read my name tag.
She said she had wanted to come meet me earlier when she saw me across the hotel lobby. I told her how much I appreciated that, and she gave me a hug.
I’m sharing all this as background. The real point of this post comes next.
You see, Anthony and Jason are good friends and even better people. So, the rest of the weekend they were really careful with my safety. And because of that I feel I learned something about what people in wheelchairs have to put up with.
Less Access = Fewer Choices
I remember us choosing restaurants or how to get to and from places by whether or not there were ramps or curve cut-outs available.
We also stuck to routes that had benches I could rest on or polls I could lean against.
And I began to notice other things.
For example there was one restaurant where they had an elevator but you had to go around to the back. And the elevator was a mostly open cage where you had to look over the side.
While we were in Chicago, we also attended the Dramatic Improv Festival that Jason was performing in. He went on two nights, so we were there a lot.
ADA Doesn’t Cover Churches
They used a room in a church. The church had a ramp, but it was a long fairly steep one around to the side.
Once you got to the top of the ramp, you would have to open two regular doors to get inside.
And once inside the only elevator was an old-style one where you had to open and close a grate.
I don’t honestly see how anyone in a wheelchair could navigate the place without bringing an assistant with them.
But then places of worship are exempt from the ADA, Americans With Disabilities Act.
Couldn’t Face An Escalator
We went to the local DXL. That’s a clothing store for big & tall men.
I needed to replace my belt.
When you enter their building, you are confronted with an escalator. I almost turned around and gave up.
Even though I really needed that belt.
I should mention that escalators aren’t dangerous in their nature. Many blind people navigate them safely every day.
In fact I would usually enjoy taking an escalator. I love hearing about the reactions of the sighted folk when I do it. 🙂
But not this day. Someone did tell us there was an elevator, but you had to walk to the other end of the building and go around a corner.
I can say that as a blind man I was impressed with the way the cashier dealt with me.
She spoke to me directly not to the two gentlemen with me. She put the bill directly into my hand and told me she was doing it as she did.
And when I asked her what she would have done if there had been more paper money in my change. She said that she was trained to give it to me in order of denomination and tell me what amount the bill was and how many of them there would be.
I found out just how bad I needed the belt after leaving the store. Without my off hand holding up or pulling up my pants I walked more upright. My posture was better, and I had better control of my movements.
Air B & B Issues
The Air B & B they booked had a lot of problems.
You had to step up on to a high curve that sat on a slope.
Then you had to navigate a chainlink fence. Then go down eight short steps before having to step over a wide high step at the entrance.
Thankfully, by the time we left I got to where I could navigate it without thinking about it. But Anthony and Jason still kept a watch on me, gave me their arms, and reminded me to be careful.
Something I was fine with because in my mind their witnessing my fall gave them permission to be concerned.
Besides navigating, buildings, streets, sidewalks, etc; there was also transportation.
The only time I could get in and out of an Uber easily was when they ordered a XL or a Comfort vehicle.
I tell you when I got to the airport to come home I was oh soo ready to accept all the help the airport staff would give me.
I always let them push me in a wheelchair due to the fact that most airports are huge.
But I usually refuse taking a chair from the gate down to the plane. But this time, I let myself be taken care of even more than usual.
Too Tired TO Advocate
And I think that’s the worst part about my experiences. Is there has to be a point where people living in a wheelchair just get tired of struggling upstream.
Where they just can’t ask another person for help or just can’t navigate another roadblock in their daily lives.
This I already understood in reference to digital accessibility.
As a blind person I often get tired of having to ask one more website owner, one more app developer, or one more business owner to make changes so I can use their products or services and accomplish my goals.
Access Must Come With Dignity
I hope my friends who do put up with the barriers to wheelchair access every day aren’t offended by what I learned during my fall in Chicago.
I know there is much more to learn and to understand about your challenges. But at least I hope I get this one thing right.
When it comes to providing access for people in wheelchairs, access is just a small part.
The bigger issue is providing that access in a manner that maintains the dignity of the individual.
I’m going to have to be more careful for a while. I will probably avoid destinations or events where a lot of the activity takes place outside of a hotel.
But I’ll still be out there sharing my experiences and teaching the lessons I’ve learned.
Thanks so much for listening. Til next time take care out there, Max
