Spina Bifida Awareness month: Day 28!! Todays topic: Transportation issues!! In elementary school my parents went to bat for me, trying to get an accessible bus into the school system. There was some statement made about my mom having to refuse to take me to school or the school didnt have to be responsible to transport me. Well, my mom wasnt going to do that, so, that battle was lost. However, the awesome bus driver (Mr. Smith) that had my route through second grade agreed to pick me up and carry me onto the bus each morning and back off each afternoon so that I could ride with the other kids. Third and fourth grade were in a different school, so, my driver got switched. It was Mr. Smiths wife, Della. She couldnt lift me (in those days I wore my braces to school every day and walked around) so they made arrangements for my gym teacher, Mr. McCall to come out to the bus every morning to get me off and take me out every afternoon to put me back on. There were quite a few mornings that he had to be reminded and I had to wait a little bit with Della, but, it worked out well and I was glad to get to ride with my friends. Middle school, I believe, is when my mom began taking me to school. I dont remember being real upset; I think a lot of kids got dropped off by middle school (my mom may have a different story). ~ Side Note: I always got to leave my classes 5 mins early once I started middle school so that I had adequate time to get to my next class without being tardy and didnt get run over by the masses in the hallways. I also got to choose a friend to come with me and carry my books. I have always loved sports and when I was a freshman, I made it to every volleyball game via either my mom (Cindy Dickey Figley) or friends parents (Patti Reeves Bosley, Di Hoss mom, Michelle McGees mom, and Im sure there were more). I was asked to be the manager of the basketball team that year, but the school system never did get an accessible bus. I made an awesome friend in the assistant coach that year (John Snyder) who made a life-long impact on me by agreeing (volunteering?, I dont remember how it came about) to carry me on and off the bus every game, and give me rides to team spaghetti dinners and even took me home from some practices so that I could always be included as part of the team. When I was a senior and they asked for my most memorable moment for the school paper, that was it. I was able to stay manager throughout high school even though John wasnt part of the coaching staff after that year, all thanks to my friends moms, and my own mom, again. Switching transportation types just a smidge: When I was little, since I couldnt ride a bike, my parents got me a chariot. I sat in it and pushed these two handles that made the wheels turn. It was pretty awesome...except my hair was so long it would get tangled up in the gears of the handles! One time it happened in the middle of the mall! But, back to major transport: When I was 16 and I got my permit, my dad (Timothy Figley) got me this awesome van that was two-toned in brown & beige (bulldog color, of course). There was a special magnet in the tail light and I had the other half on the key ring and when I held my end up to the tail light, it automatically opened the door and the lift came out for me to get my wheelchair in. I think my friends drove that van more than me (Jamey Paine, Jess CL). About my 6th time out, I wrecked it, right in my driveway as my dad and I came home from having ice cream with Mary Strohecker Foster. Big van stuff wasnt for me.....and I really dont think I was ready to drive. It took me another 3 1/2 years, but, we finally found a car that I could get my chair into and I started piling up all the hours I needed on my permit and a week after I turned 20 years old, I got my license in a sand-colored monte carlo. And as an extra side-note to the transportation issue....regular wheelchairs and sand are not friends with each other. At all. They have these awesome wheelchairs now with these really fat wheels that you can take to the beach, or go off-roadin or whatever you want! ....But man, if youve ever thought my regular wheelchairs are expensive, you should see the prices for those!
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 13:20:32 +0000