Apparently All PWD's Need to be Rescued

So I guess I jinxed myself by saying in my last post that nothing really crazy has happened in a while.  Well yesterday, after a long day of computer work, my aide and I went to get my daily green tea at Starbucks.  When we're just getting tea, I stay in the van (it's quicker and easier).  Well, while I'm waiting in the van, this lady pulls up next to me and stares at me and gives me the most disappointing look and is on her cell phone.  I really didn't think this what that weird, as people tend to stare at me.  Then she walked over to the corner of the parking lot and my aide came back.  Just as we were pulling out, I saw who she was on the phone with.  A fire truck was pulling in to the parking lot and she was flagging it down.  She thought I was a poor disabled kid stuck in the van.  Why she didn't ask me if I was ok, or wait the three minutes for my aide to come back before she called the fire department, is beyond me.  Apparently because I'm visibly disabled, I couldn't possibly want to chill in the van.  Oy.  Some people!

p.s. - I'm kind of glad she looked crazy, because there was no blue van when the fire truck got there.  Payback!

People with disabilities live in a vacuum

So again, sorry for the lack of posts- crazy things are happening (all good). On Saturday my mom and I went to see the movie The Kids are Alright. It was at the theater we usually go to but they had just redone the interior and we had never seen a movie in their new setup.

Apparently you now get to pick where you sit when you buy your tickets. When we bought the tickets we were told that I could sit in the wheelchair seating but there was no companion seating available for that show. Those seats had all been bought. My mom replied that that won't work and that she needs to sit next to me. Again, they said I could sit in their wheelchair section by myself. My mom (not getting though to them) threw in the towel and came to where I was sitting to tell me what happened. Coincidentally the manager was standing nearby and overheard her explaining this to me. He asked what the problem was and again, my mom explained. Eventually we were given a folding chair for my mom to sit in so we could watch the movie together. We only had to pay for one ticket because I apparently too disabled to enjoy the movie. Now when we got into the theater there were no other wheelchair users. The companion seats were all filled by random movie goers (not companions to people in wheelchairs). I think the reasonable thing to do is reserve those chairs last so that they are only filled by random people if the whole theater is completely full or if no people with disabilities show up. But hey, we don't have lives and certainly don't go to movies with friends or family.

"She's a good helper, isn't she?"

Here's a very tiny story. I was walking one of my clients and this elderly man stops in front of me. I could tell he was about to say something. As I passed him, he said in a loud patronizing voice, "She's a good helper, isn't she?" I think he meant the dog, but I'm not 100% sure. Oy. I certainly don't mind people saying hello if they do it in a non-patronizing way. He was definitely trying to make me "feel good" versus just saying hi.

"You got a towel?"

Hey, here's a short tidbit for today. So I tried to go to the Abilities Expo at the LA Convention Center. I say 'tried' because I was going between dog walks and did not realize the line would be out the door. I should have guessed that since I only had 30 minutes to look around I might not make it in. Anyway, when my aide and I were leaving we had to go down the elevator (there was ONE elevator for everyone at the entire convention- but that's another story). Anyway, I get in and the elevator attendant looks at me and then says to my aide, "You got a towel or something for that?" She was so kindly referring to my drool. My aide said, "No, it doesn't bother her and it doesn't bother me." After hearing my aide refer to me as a female, the woman asked, "She's a 'she' right?" Then the elevator attendant tried to touch my shoulder and I just jerked away. I definitely feel bad for all the people who had to ride on the elevator with her. Happy Friday!

Letter to Invacare

As some of you may remember, I had a slight problem with Invacare. So I decided to write a nice letter to all their CEO, President, and all their VPs. Enjoy!

I'm writing to complain about your customer service. On Dec 7, 2009 I sent my display for my Power Tiger to you. The plastic on the display had cracked and moisture could get in. I also asked for this repair to be "rush" since I had zero mobility without it and had to be pushed. I was very happy when it arrived 5 days later until I plugged it in. I subsequently found out that you had updated the software (something I had not asked for or wanted) and erased ALL my settings. There was no reason for you touch the technology of my display. This made my chair NOT drive-able and took 5 days to get it back to where I needed it. I didn't have a memory card and had to reprogram EVERYTHING by hand. One phone call asking if I wanted the software updated would have saved me a lot of hassle.

When I called to discuss this matter and get an email of someone in customer service, I was informed that you don't have a customer service or email and the only way to file a complaint was verbally. This is impossible because my disability renders me NON-VERBAL. When my aide explained this we got the same reply. This is outright discriminatory. For a company that deals with people with disabilities only I would have expected you to be more sensitive.

Unfortunately since I love my chair I will continue to be a customer. I will, however, tell others about this experience, personally and on my blog on which I have over 5,000 readers, in hopes that they will take their business elsewhere.

Eva Sweeney