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MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY HANNUKAH
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Font enlarged for the sight impaired.
Domain! - NAOTD has finally found a permanent home! We are domained! Check out our new WEB page address! No more changes! YEAH!!!!!!!! Many thanks to our Vice President, Tracy Mankins, her husband Mark, and her brother Bob Stump for their help in not only getting it organizied BUT for our new look!
AccessHOPE - Our charitable sister organization, chaired by Jaminator/Jim Heida, Jr. has branched out on her own. Jim is in the process of starting up an ILC in the upper tier of Michigan which will better serve AccessHOPE's mission. Jim will soon have his own WEB page set up for AH and though he is branching out, he will remain as our acting Treasurer. Good luck, Jim!
NAOTD is proud to announce the election of Wally Dutcher to our Executive Board. Wally has accepted the position of Executive Director of Operations.
We are also proud to announce the appointment of Donna Eustice as our Advisory Panel Director/Parent's of Children with DisAbilities. There is a letter of introduction from Donna, further on in this post.
We are also pleased to announce a new section to the monthly Newsletter. "Rhythm~n~Blues" This new section is dedicated to the many fine disAbled writers, rising film producters and musicans. Jaminator is the creator of RnB & Pullar (Shane Pullar) will be his co-editor. Please submit directly to them.
**NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS**
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Magee Rehabilitation has announced that it is now recruiting subjects to take part in a clinical research study for a drug 4-AP, which may reduce some of the complications experienced by survivors of spinal cord injury (SCI). They already have 5 subjects, so there is room for only 5 more. Anyone interested can contact Mary Call at 215-955-6579.
Eligible subjects may be either men or women with SCI, between the ages of 18 and 65, whose injury occurred more than 18 months go. They must have symptoms which include spinal pain and spasticity (involuntary, repetitive movement of paralyzed muscles.) Stan Melton
************************************************* From: magdisbl@ccnet.com (Maggie Dee-Dowling)
Sender: owner-berkeley-disabled@access.berksys.com
American Health Line has entry level writing opportunities available. Journalism background/experience, as well as some knowledge of health care, is preferable. To apply, fax resume and cover letter to Patricia Miller at 703-518-8703
************************************************* AOL’S DRUG REFERENCE GUIDE:
What do you know about the drugs a doctor prescribes for you? Have you been given a new prescription and are concerned that it might interact with other drugs you take? AOL's Drug Reference library can help answer these questions. It’s like having a pharmacist on-call 24 hours a day. To find the guide, go to keyword: DRUG REFERENCE. This will take you to the Consumer Reports Comparative Drug Reference. You'll see a space to enter the name of the drug you want to look up -- by its generic or brand name. Simply type in the name and then click the LOOK UP button.
************************************************* Do you love to send flowers? Check out this very nice WEB page:
http://www.the-park.com/flowers/flowers.cgi
They're free! And while you may not be able to smell them, they sure are pretty and can brighten a friend's day.
************************************************* NSRC/American Lung Association and NIH WEB - an update
National Sarcoidosis Resource Center (NSRC) founder, Sandra E. Conroy, has contacted me and she is still working out the details regarding the establishment of a National Sarcoidosis WEB SITE under the National Institute of Health (NIH) and American Lung Association (ALA). They had another conference call about ALA's expectations and agenda on their participation and ours in this venture. A decision as to when this will all happen is expected very shortly. As we are associated with NSRC, we will become a national resource and listed as same.
Compliments of:
THE SARCOID BYTE - AGTConsult - Anne Grenier-TaylorTHURSDAYS 10pm ET in Equal Access Cafe - Regular Members with DHWALLACE and SThornbear
SUNDAYS 8pm ET in IMH Conference Hall - Newly Diagnosed with AGTConsult and BrendaH644DISABILITY DISCOUNTS - STRIKE ONE
************************************************* *~*~MEMBER OF THE MONTH!~*~*
Rick Butera, who we met in Seattle and works for America On-Line, has spoken on behalf of not only our organization, but other AOL communities and NAOTD regarding obtaining a special discount on rates for disabled members who live on a fixed income. AOL has decided not to discuss this at this time, due to their new pricing package. That said, Rick remaines optomistic and dedicated to this proposition (he is also disabled), and shall return to the bargaining table in the future on our behalf. We thank Rick for his efforts and continued diligence!
************************************************* From: Johnny94@AOL.COM
Sender: MOBILITY@SJUVM.STJOHNS.EDU (SJU Mobility Disablities List)
Reply-to: MOBILITY@SJUVM.STJOHNS.EDU (SJU Mobility Disablities List)
To: MOBILITY@SJUVM.STJOHNS.EDU (Multiple recipients of list MOBILITY)Auditory input device [an oral word processor program] vendor for Macintoshes?
The voice recognition system for Macs is called Power Secretary, and now sells for just $599 (it was $3,000 when released in 1993) and can be found in any Mac Warehouse or Mac Mail catalog. I know a few people who use it, and they love it. John
************************************************* The MS Runway will not be seen this month. Fred Temple's computer has crashed. He will hopefully be back with us soon.
************************************************* Parent's of Children with DisAbilities - AP Director - DEust10440 -
My name is Donna Eustice, and I am the newly appointed Advisory Panel Director/Parents of Children with Disabilities.
I am 37 years old (will be 38 on Dec. 7), married, and the stay-at- home mom of 2 children. Joey is 11 years old, and is a "typical" boy in every sense of the word. At least he's as "typical" as puberty will allow him to be
and Melissa will be 4 years old on January 3, and who has been diagnosed as being AUTISTIC. Of course...her mom considers her to be a genius!!! It is my job to be here for anything that other members who are parents of disAbled kids might need. But first there is something *I* need from all of you. I need the parents out there to contact me and tell me all about your children, so I know who I'm representing! Please feel free to write me anytime at DEust10440@aol.com. I would also appreciate any information or web sites you might have that would help me to learn more about your child's disability. It has taken me nearly 2 years to learn all I know about Autism, and I haven't even learned a fraction of it yet! But as parents of disAbled children, I am sure that we have many of the same concerns such as an appropriate education for our kids, making sure they are accepted by so called "normal" kids, and respite care.
I'm hoping to hear from all of you soon!!!
************************************************* BEEN THERE.....DONE THAT by Blue55Wing - Submission by FLWeather -
Destination Toronto
The adventure bug hit me over the summer and I was looking for a new vacation destination. A friend invited me to Toronto, Ontario, and since I had never been to Canada before, I took her up on it.
While I have done some airline travel alone before, this would be my first trip with my power wheelchair. I’ll admit to being somewhat apprehensive about the treatment the chair would receive from the airlines, but it turns out my fears were unfounded.
I chose a direct flight from Miami to Toronto on AirCanada. While Miami is a two-hour drive from my home in Naples, that was the closest airport that had a direct flight to Toronto during the summer months (the low travel season in Florida). The drive to Miami was a much better option for me than having to change planes along the route.
AirCanada was very cooperative and helpful in responding to my needs. We removed the gel batteries and packed them in boxes. This is not required for non-spillable batteries, but it does make my Action Storm Torque much lighter and therefore easier on the loading crew. I disconnected the controller and footrests and carried these items onboard. I am always loaded on and off an airplane with the aisle wheelchair.
On arrival, an agent and two baggage handlers assisted me off the aircraft and took me to the baggage claim area to assemble my chair. While the AirCanada employees admitted to never having assembled a power wheelchair before, they followed my instructions and the batteries, controller and footrests were attached in short order. I was headed to the cab stand in a matter of minutes. Knowing your wheelchair well is essential and carrying a copy of the owners manual is a good idea in the event that something is damaged or there is some doubt about proper assembly. Performing a practice run in breaking the chair down is a good idea a few days before travel to get an idea of what things should look like.
I had pre-booked a wheelchair accessible cab and it arrived after I checked in at the appropriate cab stand. There are at least two cab companies in Toronto that operate minivan cabs equipped with ramps or lifts. I found there service excellent, friendly and knowledgeable. The fare was US$30 from the airport to downtown Toronto.
The Canadian equivalent of the CILhad provided my host with a list of temporary PCAs. The PCA we hired was terrific and things were really falling into place. I had arranged for a commode/shower chair to be delivered on the day of my arrival and it was waiting for me when I got in. There were no hitches of any kind in my arrangements relating to my personal needs, so I was very lucky in that area.
Toronto is a city of 4.5 million and has a large number of disabled residents. I found the access in Toronto quite a bit better than in American cities. Wheel Trans is their door-to-door public transit system for the disabled. You must be a resident to use it and the registration process is thorough, but a resident may take a guest along with them on excursions which is what we did. A 24-hour advance reservation is needed for the bus and last-minute changes are usually not accepted, but overall, I found the bus system to be very punctual and reliable. As a guest, I paid about US$1.25 each way.
A great deal can be seen around the city just by 'wheeling' around the various districts. Every corner is curb cut and many buildings and stores have automatic doors. Some small businesses and cafes that were built years ago do not have to comply to the accessibility code and therefore may not be accessible. In general, the access is outstanding throughout the city. The citizens of Toronto are among the friendliest and outgoing that I have met anywhere. On several occasions, perfect strangers came up to me on the street and asked if I was having a good day and enjoying myself! I felt very welcome and at home immediately.
The city is host to the Royal Ontario Museum and the Art Gallery of Ontario, both are worthy of at least half a day. Queens Quay is a large picturesque shopping complex on Lake Ontario where boats of all sizes make excursions across the lake. Ontario Place is an amusement area on the waterfront which has a variety of attractions, rides and restaurants. Toronto also has a theater district which rivals New York’s Broadway with scores of productions running at any given time. SkyDome is home to Toronto’s professional sports teams and is located right next to CN Tower, an 1815-foot observation tower and restaurant complex that is the largest free-standing structure in the world. In clear weather, one can see Niagara Falls from the top.
On the return flight, AirCanada decided that packing the batteries separately was unnecessary, and they loaded the chair with them in place. The flight was delayed on the runway for two hours due to weather and a faulty water pump in the restroom, but eventually we arrived in Miami. That delay made the 3-hour flight into a 5-hour one and reminded me that airline delays are becoming the rule rather than exception. Always keep in mind that a delay may occur and take care of personal needs accordingly. On arrival in Miami my chair was in fine condition and once again the AirCanada agents made sure I was ready to roll before leaving me.
I would highly recommend Toronto as a destination for disabled travelers. There is a lot to do there and I look forward to returning soon to see the things that I could not fit in this time. As with any travel arrangements, make your needs and desires clear and double check on all reservations. Things may not always go perfectly, but for me that is part of the adventure of travel.
Joe Miller - Naples, FL
************************************************* RYTHMN~N~BLUES - Jaminator/Pullar - Submission - Jaminator
On Monday November 11th a movie premiered on CBS that had the first role that Christopher Reeve has had since his accident that left him paralyzed. In this movie he plays a peer counselor that befriends a young boy who was paralyzed himself in a diving accident. The movie itself was about the kid and his single mother trying to help him obtain an experimental surgery that would help him be free of pain from a severe spastic condition. A side story was that an older brother felt responsible for his accident and so he became very overprotective.
The movie showed a good example of what some of our country's health care problems are. The surgery that the mother needed for her son was an experimental procedure so her insurance company wouldn't pay for it. The mother ended up getting a doctor to make her son a study case, thereby getting funds directly from the hospital.
All in all the movie was good but went a little bit overboard on happy endings. Now I don't want to be a killjoy but reality is far from the wonderful, Utopian world where dreams come true and fairy tales are real. As for its portrayal of the disabled, it isn't the worst I've seen, but it wasn't the best. Christopher Reeve had a very small role but his presence was the best part of the film.
This is but one of many reviews I hope to bring to the newsletter. Our illustrious leader (Weefiend) has even named this column for me and I like it. Rythmn and Blues will bring you tidbits on movies, music, entertainment and the media and how it affects or relates to the disabled.
"The Jaminator."
************************************************* SPEAK UP....SPEAK OUT
The elections are over and Bill Clinton sits on the highest seat of power in this country. He made some promises to the DisAbled Community during his campaign and whether you voted for him or not....it is YOUR duty to make sure he keeps those promises. DO NOT sit idle over the next four years! SPEAK UP....SPEAK OUT. Become involved in your local disAbled advocacy issues. You DO make a difference!
************************************************* THE ADVOCATE - by Weefiend }:D
The Holiday Season is a time for reflecting...looking back over the past year, making plans for the new year and making wishes. As disAbled people, we have different type wishes; cures for our diseases or conditions, a lessening of pain, and hope for a better future for us all.
My wish for the New Year is to see ALL disAbled communities come together. If we are to accomplish the many goals we have set for ourselves....WE MUST COME TOGETHER. While we are different from each other...our individuality making us so, we ARE brothers and sisters. Our voices, spoken separately, are soft and ineffectual. Spoken in unison, we CAN and WILL be loud enough to be heard.
************************************************* That's it for this segment!
We at NAOTD want to wish all of our MEMBERS a wonderful Holiday Season.
Stay well...take care...KEEP THE FAITH!
NAOTD
