OLD -SCHOOL WHEELING-MOUNTAINS

Another Wheeling Around Phoenixville article which appeared in The Phoenix on September 5, 2005..

Recently I got the following email: "Greg, how do you handle going to a place where there is no ramp(assuming you're not aware of that fact?). Do you just turn around and leave,look for assistance? I had a father in a wheelchair awhile, and it was very annoying to get somewhere and not be able to enter..."

I totally agree! My answer would be, depends on how many steps you have to tackle. Luckily, I haven't run into this situation often. I've learned, since I was a kid, to call ahead- to restaurants, movie theaters, etc, to see if there are any steps to contend with.

Things have gotten a lot better since the passing of the ADA law in the early 90s. More ramps, more cut curbs, more handicapped parking places. Now, all new buildings are required to be accessible. Any older buildings are required to at least try to become accessible, or prove why accessibility is impossible.

But, just because the ADA law exists, doesn't mean that things are perfect, as we will see. Sometimes the ADA law is used against accessibility.

To answer the question, if it's a place I really need to attend, I"ll look for someone to assist going up the stairs. Even a curb can be as high as a mountain to someone in a wheelchair, but it is not always easy to find someone willing or able to assist.

But going up a flight of stairs, or even down, you can imagine can be perilous, anxiety-filled experience. You're really in the hands of God, and the assistants helping you. one slip and...

That's why I always hold my breath and pray.

But I try not to find myself in those situations.

I was Best Man for my younger brother, Mark, almost ten years ago. Quite an honor, one which I still cherish and would never trade.

But until we arrived at the restaurant, I wasn't aware there were at least three flights of steep stairs to climb to get to the reception hall.

The reception was held locally, in an older restaurant. I was scared to death., yet I knew, somehow, someway, I had to get to the top of that mountain. Luckily, Tracy, the bride, has two very strong relatives. her brother Todd and her cousin Brad. Brad, an ex-professional football player, offered to carry me-and the chair- up the stairs and down again.

Brad is about 6'3 and close to 300 pounds of muscle, so it's good to have Superman on your side.

We made it, but there are times like that when you worry. Going down the stairs can be just as adventurous.

I have used other measures in the past to scale mountains of stairs. I have climbed up stairs on my backside, one step at a time. I have allowed someone to carry me up the stairs first, then the wheelchair. Both are not so dignified, but better then the humiliation I was offered once.

An ex-employer had their Christmas party at a place which was not accessible. First, my situation wasn't considered, and second, when it was finally brought to light, "What about Greg?" I was actually told I could ride the dumb waiter elevator to get upstairs.

I thought they were joking, but no, they were quite serious. I politely declined the offer, and couldn't believe the insensitivity of such a request. Luckily, most workplaces are happy to have a disabled employee, and go out of their way to comply, and go farther then what the ADA laws stipulate.

There aer new inventions out now, such as wheelchairs which will climb steps. Supposedly they work, and they might be a benefit in the future, but I don't know if I would be courageous enough to try one over a flight of stairs. It would be like jumping out of an airplane, only without a parachute.

Ramps are tricky too. Just because all ramps need to be "ADA eligible" doesn't mean they are correct and can be used.

I know from experience. My house was built before the ADA law was passed. All we told the contractor was that we needed two ramps-one for the front and another in the back- for a wheelchair.

Well, we got our ramps, but the one leading to the backyard still isn't accessible even some twenty-five years later. The sloping wasn't done correctly, so that when you reach the top of the ramp, you tip over, backwards.

The same situation exists on my street, Dianna Drive. There are cut-curbs at almost every corner, but are they usable? They were designed "within ADA specifications", but the ramps are too steep. They weren't graded properly. You can blame other circumstances as well, like the road. I can go all around Phoenixville and find ramps which may be in compliance with ADA regulations, but are just unusable in the real world.

Imagine the feeling of being trapped on your own street, unable to move off your own block.

There is a very easy way to test a new ramp or cut-curb. Have someone wheelchair-bound, either permanently or even a worker who is able-bodied, try the ramp to see if it is level and usable.

I know, money may be an issue. Sadly, as long as a ramp is in compliance, that's all that is required, usable or not.

Handicapped parking places are now a way of life. It's hard to imagine a time when there weren't handicapped parking places around. That's great. Trust me, coming from someone who needs them, they are a big help. And most places keep an eye on people who use them and don't have a handicapped card or license. There is nothing more frustrating than finding all the spots full, especially with people who aren't qualified to use them, but only park there "for a minute" to run in and out of a store.

There was a joke going around last summer before the Olympics about 76er's player Allen Iverson, who was found to have illegally used handicapped parking places in Philadelphia. When informed he had made the Olympic basketball team, his first reply was, "Do they have a lot of disabled people over in Greece?"

Anyway, the next time you step over a curb to cross a street, please don't take it for granted. Feel as though you have scaled Mount Everest, because that is exactly what it feels like for many disabled people each day.