Standing Up

I used to teach at Diablo Valley College. When I was injured and in the hospital, it did not occur to me that I had upcoming class until a few days before the class was scheduled to begin. I finally "woke up" and realized that I needed to call my supervisor and let her know what had happened. I assured her that I would be able to return to work the next summer. About six months before my class was to begin, I contacted my supervisor to set up a meeting to discuss what accommodations I might need. She told me, "we gave your class away." I was totally devastated because I love teaching, I am a good teacher, and this was a link to my future that gave me some will to keep fighting. Since then, I have learned some about the Americans with Disabilities Act. I found that I qualified to file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission. I chose to do this because it really hurt me to lose that position and I wanted to know whether my feelings of being wronged were valid. I have volunteered to attend mediation regarding this issue and I'm waiting to hear if the college is willing to attend mediation. I contacted the Employment Law Center in San Francisco and was referred to a disability employment workshop in Berkeley where I would be able to meet with a lawyer to discuss the case. The Employment Law Center were very supportive of me and the issue that I have raised. It is my hope that I will be able to get the job back because I can do it with a reasonable accommodation. I will keep you all posted and in the loop. I know that I am not the only one that has experienced this sort of thing. I encourage everyone to stand up for themselves as the worst thing that can happen is that I will learn more about my rights. It may just be possible, that the employer will also learn how to be more culturally competent. Last but not least, I hope to be a good role model for students with a disability. I want to send a message that you can achieve your dreams and do what you want with or without a disability. So, I will keep you in the loop about what goes on and what I learn. Send good energy and good juju. Thank you for all the love and support.

Review

I've been thinking today and looking over all the progress we've made in the last year. In the hospital. I think we were just in shock and sort of in a fantasy land. I guess this is probably a defense mechanism protecting us from dealing with the reality of our situation. I was unconscious for 10 days. The next 20 days were spent fighting off the demons that morphine brings. The second 30 days we were moved to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, which was like spinal cord injury heaven. Things were so easy when we were there, the staff was so positive, and I believe it was by design that stress was kept to a minimum so that we could learn what we needed to learn. The days were packed with learning how to care for me and how to direct my care. We were definitely on a pink cloud when we discharged. Chaos reigned as soon as we got home. We had medications and supplies strewn all over our house. People were coming and going and offering to help, but we were either too proud or too in denial to accept. My partner tried to do everything which lasted about three weeks. Then it all fell apart. The next six months were quite hectic. Colleen moved out and I grabbed on to anyone that I thought could help me. I had never felt so vulnerable in all my life. I pretty much let people run rampant through the house because I felt powerless. Colleen was so angry with me and so hurt. I didn't believe that we could make it with my disability. Things were really awful. I cried just about every day. At some point I was able to take her perspective and understand how things had gotten so out of hand. Thankfully I was able to get Colleen to come back. Slowly but surely we got our house back to somewhat what it used to be like and we had to change caregivers. We changed a lot of things. Now it is almost like it used to be pre-injury. When I look back at all the changes we went through I realize that it was par for the course. We didn't know how to cope with the change in our lives. We could hardly look at one another because it was so painful. Questions of "what if?" and "why me?" plagued us. To be honest, they still do, but today, looking back, I am proud of how strong we've been and the progress we've made. I will have to keep this in perspective as I face the future because it will certainly be even more manageable as time goes by. I guess this is a universal truth when dealing with struggles. Somehow we get through it. Over time things get better.