Ask Gary ADA

Posted By Gary Renick on December 19, 2008

Hi. My name is Gary. I was born in the mid 50’s at a time when polio was at epidemic proportions. A new vaccine was just becoming available, but there was a risk with this new vaccine. A small percentage of those who received it contracted polio. Well I was one of that small group. So at the age of three I found myself in an iron lung unable to breath without it. After a year I was out of the iron lung and in therapy. It was a long road, but eventually I was getting around on leg braces and crutches. I had a seemingly normal childhood, attending public school, riding a specially modified bicycle, playing, and just doing whatever I wanted. My parents always encouraged me to try everything. I never let my handicap keep me from doing whatever I wanted to do. Then after graduating from high school I found myself in a wheelchair. I was unable to wear braces any longer. My perspective of the world changed. I began to encounter barriers to my freedom. But still I tried not to let it stop me. I went to college and became a mechanical engineer, for 20 years I enjoyed a career in the oil industry. In 2004, after retiring from engineering for other heath reasons, a ghost from my past came back to haunt me. A previously unknown effect of polio began to make itself known in those of us who survived. It is called “Post Polio Syndrome”. It is a gradual weakening of the muscles. Now I find myself in a power wheelchair, because I can no longer push a manual chair around. I have always been passionate about accessibility and as I have encountered new barriers to my freedom of movement, that passion grows. I needed a way to put this passion to work. Recently I thought to myself I needed a forum where I could make myself available to anyone who had a question about accessible design or the “Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990″ or better known as the ADA. So with each post I will answer questions that have been submitted through the comment section of this blog. So lets get started. I will answer as many questions as possible in each post and if I don’t know the answer I will find out. Breath peace and God’s Love.

Categories: Handicap Issues
Tags: accessibility, accessible, accessible home design, powerchair, Remodeling Ada Handicap Compliance, Simple Wheelchair Accessibility Modifications, Wheel Chair Accessible Home, Wheel Chair Accessible House, wheelchair, wheelchair accessible, Wheelchair Accessible Remodeling Ada, Wheelchair Accessible Remodeling Adaptive