Bonnie's Blog

Life... who knew? Life is not always, and indeed is seldom, what we thought it was going to be. Had anyone told me when I was 25 that at age 43 I would be diagnosed with a rare neuro-muscular disease and that by age 58 it would leave me in a wheelchair unable to walk, drive or work, I would have laughed at the possibility. It was not in my plan. Yet here I am in just that situation. I have a progressive disease. There is no cure, there is no treatment. I can’t walk, I can’t drive, I can’t work.

Yet, I can think, talk. I can feel (and I don’t FEEL any different) and I still want to live my life.

I am lucky. I have a wonderful husband who, after a short adjustment period, has become my full time care giver. He will take me (and my chair) anywhere I want to go. He takes me to the hair salon, grocery shopping, the mall and the Peach Festival. We go to the AZ State Fair, the Tempe Arts Festival and the Phoenix Theater where we enjoy live stage productions.

Yes there is an American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) that would seem to say that all these places have to be wheelchair accessible. This is not always the case.

In this blog I am going to talk about my experiences getting around Arizona in a Wheelchair. From the Malls, to the Fairs, to the Grocery stores and shops, to the tourist attractions, the Zoo, the Library. I will talk about my experiences, the good, the bad, and the ugly. By doing this I hope it will help others be more informed and perhaps encourage some of these establishments to widen their idea of what is accessible and what is not.

I am not a disabled person. I am a PERSON, with a disabilty.