Letters: May 2016


Thanks to Portlight
Portlight Strategies and all of its partners are working to prevent the kinds of chaos that disabled people experienced during Katrina and Sandy [“Training the Red Cross,” March 2016]. I can testify firsthand that Portlight made a real, tangible difference in my home community of Coney Island in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy and has continued to provide relevant support and resources.
Leslie Freeman
via newmobility.com

Money and Planning
When storms hit, people in the path of those storms suffer tremendous economic pain [“Training the Red Cross”]. But people with disabilities whose incomes are marginal at best don’t have the monetary means to relocate, nor are facilities and equipment readily available. When streets are riddled with debris, it is impossible for people with mobility issues to even move to a place of safety. Wheelchairs don’t roll over tree limbs. Power wheelchairs require electricity, as do breathing machines. Medications often require refrigeration. Disasters wreak havoc on most people but can be deadly for people with disabilities. It’s imperative that FEMA and area emergency management agencies have plans that include places where disabled people live. They need to be aware of medical requirements and whether a safe place should be either a shelter or a hospital. The only way solutions are going to be found is by including disabled people in the planning stages.
Danny Neff
Lavaca, Arkansas

Climate Change Disasters
The job I worked at assisting people with disabilities started disaster prep a few years ago in case of an environmental emergency, which included random simulations of what to do and extensive quarterly training [“The End of the World As We Know It,” March 2016]. But this started only a few years ago. You would think all agencies would do this, but ours was a pioneer. I agree that the minority group of people with disabilities is often left out, which is incredibly disheartening, but a lot of it is just ignorance by the majority, not intolerance. Thank you for spreading the word about this and the incredibly scary reality of our current climate state.
Shantra Perez
Eugene, Oregon

More Chairs, Lower Cost
Many years ago, my husband took my daughter’s old manual wheelchair, bought the big EZ tires and welded a system to connect the two [“Beach Wheelchairs — More Available Than Ever,” March 2016]. She has used this for years, allowing a completely different beach experience for the whole family. It even floats so she can “jump” waves. People come up to us every trip asking where we got it. I’m glad to see so many other options now, and I hope as their popularity grows, the price on these remarkable chairs will become more affordable for every beach town to have plenty for all who need them.
Christie Smith Hilliard
via newmobility

WD-40 to the Rescue
I would like to recommend that Kary Wright add a can of WD-40 to his tool arsenal [“The Dead Chair Game,” Outdoor Tracks, March 2016]. WD-40 (the WD stands for “water displacement”) is great for drying out wet electronics. It has saved my life a few times.
Paul Vaughn
via newmobility.com

Other Side of the Desk
Allen Rucker writes an interesting column about Texas Governor Greg Abbott and his cynical abandonment of the disabled community [“The Strange Case of Fightin’ Greg Abbott,” Raising a Ruckus, March 2016]. What he did not mention is that Abbott sued when he became a paralyzed law student and as of 2013 had collected $6 million, and ultimately could be $9 million. Rucker is right. Abbott was probably as empty of compassion before his paralysis as he has been after. A multi-million dollar settlement has sure enabled him to be even more disgracefully insensitive. Without all those dollars, Abbott would have been on the other side of the desk alongside ADAPT in the governor’s office, not snubbing them.
Nicholas Fowler
Elizabeth, Maine

Reaction Formation
I appreciated the column on Greg Abbott. His injury clearly didn’t make him more empathic. In fact, in people like him, the tendency is to get worse in regards to empathy. Speaking as a psychologist and a quad, it is what is called a reaction formation. Put simply, the feelings that you have for yourself are unacceptable, so you go in the opposite direction. This made me think about whether Abbott might have been more empathic had he become a quad. I used to work on a spinal cord injury unit (one of the top ones in the country) and had a guy as a patient who became a quad when he was 18–20. I found out much later that he became a judge in a mid-California county and was known for his insensitivity to the needs of poor and disabled people. He seemed to have forgotten that he was a recipient of Medi-Cal and other state-funded services.
Dan Mayclin, Ph. D.
via newmobiity.com


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