Introduction

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.