We have twitter, facebook, myspace, and hundreds of other social media networks, yet there was no overwhelming demand to pressure NBC to give equal air time for the Paralympics? What’s the point of social media if it discriminates against the disabled?

But the media is there when they want to air shows about little people right? I am a short stature person and I don’t even watch all of those little people shows. It’s not even about their acting, it’s about society’s curiosity into the lives of little people. Well, why aren’t they curious about the Paralympic athletes?

Who doesn’t want to see amputees race to the finish line? Wheelchair users compete on the tracks? Skiing? Yes! These people deserve our attention and support.

Even official sponsors like Coca Cola and McDonalds should demand air time for the Paralympians. And yet, there is this silence. It’s so silent that it’s driving me crazy!

I feel the physically disabled are being used by the media. We are good for reality shows, like Little People, Big World, Little People: Just Married and Pit Boss. We are necessary for talk shows like Maury Povich and Montel Williams. We make great reasons for a new home on Extreme Home Makeovers. But now, when it’s time to see people with disabilities go for the gold medal there is no show of support? Why?

People say that a petition has gone around. Woopee do da ! A petition doesn’t help unless a law is going to be passed. We need major media attention this in your face discrimination!Why haven’t the disabled people in the media spotlight done something? They have the camera on them all the time! Speak up! Support the Paralympians! This is as much a responsibility as for you as it is for all of us who are not in front of the camera.

Why hasn’t ABC and TLC felt pressure from the people they use to get their ratings up?

Matt Roloff said that we need to stop being crabs in a bucket, pulling each other down. I agree! Let’s start by helping each other up. Let the world know you are not happy that the United States of America which boasts about equality is ignoring the athletes who will be competing for the goal and representing our country. Shame on NBC for thinking that America doesn’t want to view these athletes who will proudly compete in such a way that will keep the viewers in awe!

As people with physical disabilities, we can’t let this go another year! We must demand it this year! We want the Paralympics to be aired the same way the Olympics were aired.

Let these official sponsors know that when we go to buy their products or services, we pay the same price as everyone else. You want my loyalty? You want my money? Give me a reason. Let me know that I count. If I count then show it! Air the Paralympics with the same pride and glory that you aired the Olympics!

Pass this article to everyone you know. If they are disabled they should pass it on without even having to be asked. If they aren’t disabled they should do it if they feel you are as equal to them.

Email this to official Olympic and Paralympic sponsors. Send it to NBC! Send to the everyone!Huffington Post! The View! 20/20. Your local news! Everyone! This is as much your responsibility as it is theirs.

Give these athletes the respect they deserve because they have earned just like the Olympic athletes!

If this is the land of equality then show it!

For example, the area where I live is serviced by the company, Zuni Transportation. I would make my phone call to reserve next day service before 5 pm. Then, Zuni would be given my trip and they would be the only ones to transport me anywhere in Miami Dade County, which is a pretty big county for $3.00 each way. This was a great concept because the drivers got to know the passengers and vice versa. The familiarity helped clients who for whatever reason felt hesitant to ride with a stranger.

Almost three years ago, ATS found out that one of its managers, Tesla Narvaez, was booking fraudulent trips and in cahoots with other drivers. Here is the kicker, she was also a client who used the service since she needed a wheelchair to get around. Just goes to show that even the disabled can be corrupted. After ATS found out, they reported it with signed confessions.

The next thing you know, the county is in an uproar and they do an investigation which seems absolutely logical and people get arrested, including Tesla Narvaez. However, the part that doesn’t sit well with me is the way the county is handling future transportation for the disabled.  The contract with ATS will end in March and instead of having open bids for a new contract which was put together by a group of people including myself, the county has decided that only certain companies can talk to them about gaining the new contract. Is that legal? Is it ethical? I don’t think so.

Turns out one of the companies is MV Transportation. That is another curve down this slippery road. I did some research on this company and you can too, by googling news reports on them. They seem to make some type of headlines that would make a Miami Paratransit passenger want to stay home if MV were handling the trip. Is the county concerned for our safety or saving a few bucks?

If that isn’t enough, there is a terrible rumor that people will have to call the county hotline 3-1-1 to make their trips. Have you seen the number of calls logged in? http://www.miamidade.gov/infocenter/311_fact_sheet.asp

Incoming Calls
(from October 1 -September 31)

Miami Dade County Paratransit was one of the best if not the best transportation service for people with disabilities based on my research several years ago. I researched companies all over the United States including Hawaii and nothing compared to the service in Miami. Our hours of operation were better, hours to make reservation and late vehicle calls were more convenient and overall the service covered more land and more people than any other service in the country. With so much to be proud of, the county now wants to hand over reservations to a call center that handles dead animal pick ups. Will I be riding with a dead German Shepard in order to save the county gas?

But let’s look at the other side of the coin, in all of my 20 years riding Miami’s Paratransit service, ATS has been the most accommodating company! Previous companies would turn a blind eye and a deaf ear regarding our complaints and suggestions to improve its service. For example, when Zuni Transportation first started out, there was much to be said for it but Jorge Azor, one of the owners, took people’s suggestions and complaints very seriously and today it is one of the best transportation companies around.

The rest of the companies under ATS have also improved throughout the years and have made a comfortable bond with its riders.  In fact, this past month at the county meeting, the provider and the clients were fighting on the same side. As passengers, we want to keep ATS!

Yes, a few rotten apples have left a nasty taste in our mouth but should we get rid of the goods ones altogether? If we did that in every company or organization, we would never have any hospitals, schools or governments. The county is taking this fraudulent situation to change the system in their favor and against the very people it’s supposed to help: the disabled.

Rumor has it that people who might be getting laid off in the county will be transferred to the call center to do what ATS’s experienced staff can do and for less money then what the county will be paying its employees. Does that sound reasonable? Does it even sound responsible? Did I forget to mention that ATS employs numerous people with physical disabilities that have been with the company for more than 10 years? Where will they go to get another job? All that training to get excellent service will be taken away because of the actions of a few?

Other rumors have it that the hours of service will be greatly reduced. At the moment, I can book by 5pm for anytime of the day or night. Do you have any idea how liberating that is for the disabled?

It finally gives us the opportunity to live like the able bodied community. We can go to dance clubs, parties, festivals, visit relatives during the holidays, go to school, get jobs without having to worry about the last pick up or if it is on a holiday or if they are even open during those hours.

I hear from my other friends in other cities who use similar services and they tell me that they can’t go out on certain days or certain hours and that they have to book trips one week in advance and even then they might be told that no more reservations will be accepted. What is that? Sounds like a communist thing to me.

Instead of the county making a U-turn back into the days of terrible routing, nasty vehicles, rude service and the passenger’s urge to no longer want to take trips, they should have an open bid for the new contract, allow ATS to bid in the RFP, and ensure that the county’s reputation of giving the best transportation service to the disabled in the country stays as their number one priority. Don’t allow the actions of a few to ruin the lives of thousands!

I can’t say this enough. The public loves the accommodations for the physically disabled but hates to acknowledge their true purpose or even support us on tough stands like equality and acceptance into society. If they want to share our throne they should share our other issues that go with that throne.

For example, look at the picture of this Barnes and Noble bathroom in Miami, Florida. What’s wrong with this picture?
Many public establishments claim to be wheelchair friendly but they fall short on their boasting. You would think a company like Barnes and Noble with all of their knowledge would realize how physically impossible it would be for a person in a wheelchair to use this bathroom. Have you spotted the problem?

If you haven’t then think of the steps you must take to use any bathroom. At the end, you have to wash your hands and wouldn’t it be nice if you could reach the soap?

Thanks to my sister, Ingrid Alvarez, I carry my own little bottle of soap sanitizer. But if that wasn’t enough, look at the other picture. How can anyone find the toilet paper? Once I found it, I had to struggle to make the roll ROLL!

What's wrong with this picture?

Who can find the toilet paper?

True story. In the UK, there will be a reality show “Cast Off” parodying the USA show, “Survivor”. According to the article, in this link, the goal is to show how messed up we are just like our able bodied counterparts. Ahh! Isn’t that sweet?

Imagine that, disabled people stuck on an island. I used to think about that all the time when Survivor first aired in America. I had a feeling that I would be booted out simply because I couldn’t do as much of the physical work as the others but I wasn’t about to sell myself short. I knew that if I was placed on a rock near the water, I could sit there all day and catch fish because most people can’t handle sitting down all day long. Sitting was something I did for a living.

I also knew that I could help when it came to the intellectual activities. I had seen several buff men and women who were dumber than the rocks they had to lug back and forth during competitions. I would be the brains behind it all. But, something more important was stopping me from thinking I could ever be a part of such an experience.

Luxury. Not a spa or computer type of luxury but the luxury to go to the bathroom by myself. I found it impossible to have someone help me dig a hole in the ground, help me to the ground, and then back up to my wheelchair. Nevermind, the fact that it is impossible to move around on sand in a wheelchair and that usually the contestants are thrown off a boat and forced to swim the rest of the way to the island. While I can swim, I don’t think I could swim and haul my wheelchair with me. Perhaps one of the reward competitions would be a new wheelchair for the island?

I wish this show would be broadcasted in the USA but I have a feeling that since we are so politically correct, it wouldn’t make it through the first episode. I’d like to see how much damage or good it would serve the community of physically disabled people.

Who knows? It might one day spur a real reality show with disabled people and not disabled people who happen to be actors portraying real disabled people.

One time a toothache that felt like someone had stepped on my brittle bone jaw needed serious dental work. At the time, I was receiving government assistance. I found out that once I turned 18 years of age, dental medical coverage was not included with medicare or medicaid.

My only option was the county hospital which required poor people like myself to be there on a certain day at a certain time for a first come first serve appointment. I was there at the crack of dawn. No lie!

Since I used paratransit to transport me there, I made sure to give myself enough time before the clinic opened. I was so naive into thinking that there couldn’t be that many people seeking a dentist. Unfortunately, half of Miami was already there ahead of me. I thought I would never see a dentist and my head was spinning like a flying saucer.

If it couldn’t get worse, I was instructed to get on a line to see if I qualified for this free dental work. Seriously, if I could have afforded a dentist, why would I be there?

Once I got my little blue plastic card, which is a waste of a card for a one time use, I went on another line to wait for a dentist.

Finally, my name was called. While I am petrified of going to see dentists with their eagerness to say open wide and prick me with a long, pointy, scary needle, it was nothing compared to the fear I felt when I was told that I would be seen by student dentists!

Yes, that’s right. These dentists were going to use me as a real guinea pig. Better yet, I was tiny and in a wheelchair with a brittle bone disease that affected my teeth! You couldn’t get that in a text book!

I sat in the dentist chair and stared back at all of these wanna be dentists who stared down at me. I was told that the tooth had to come out. What a relief! If these guys thought they had to work on the tooth I might come out with no teeth at all.

One of them shot me up with Novacaine. Unfortunately, I could still feel the tooth, the gums and the pain. They did it several more times. Still, no numbness.

They put their studious heads together and decided to call the head dentist. After he explained to the happy students that this was a good time to realize that someone with my disability might need more than the usual person because of the lack of something or other. I don’t think he knew what he was talking about that day. But he did tell me that this was unusual because of my small body I had already received enough novacaine to put a grown man down. I apologized for not suiting his needs.

He decided to give me the next shot. Lo and behold, I was numb. Then, you wouldn’t believe it if I told you. He used his finger to see if my tooth was wobbly and the tooth came out by itself! Just like that!

I left with major dizziness and I could barely talk. But I knew that I would no longer have pain. I left feeling as if I owed that man my life.

But once I got home and thought about the day, I was angry and resentful. It wasn’t my fault I didn’t have insurance. I wanted to work. I wanted to pay my own bills. I wanted a chance to be a grumbling taxpayer. But I wasn’t.

Although, some people like myself will be fortunate enough to have a job that gives health insurance, others will never be able to work because of their disability.

Should they suffer? Should they be forced to stay in their beds without any necessary medical attention? Where is the humanity?

Don’t government officials realize that these services help us to become productive citizens? If it weren’t for the services that I used before I had a job, life would have been much more difficult and frustrating.

How many people with disabilities are struggling to become independent people with medical needs that will be cut or eliminated?

Does the government prefer to turn a blind eye on the needs of a minority who never asked to be in this position in the first place?

When we, as a society, ignore the basic needs of humans, we can all consider ourselves emotionally CRIPPLED!

Questions and comments email us at nathasha@audacitymagazine.com .

A few weeks ago, I accompanied Mom to Kroger’s grocery store to do a little shopping. We get to the checkout counter and as the cashier is ringing us up, she glances down at me over the groceries and says “Hello,” in which I respond back with a polite “Hi, how are you?”

She then proceeds to have a slight pause followed by, “So what grade are you in?” She looks at me, and just assumes that I am younger than 25 years old because I’m no taller than 3’3″.

A week or so later I go to the Ohio State University Medical Center to wait on my mom for her yearly doctor’s appointment at the James Cancer unit. It never seems to amaze me that every time I’m there with her, the nurses and hospital staff assumes that I’m the patient who needs to be seen by the doctor.

On the same visit at the Ohio State University Medical Center,which is about an hour south from home, a nurse walks by while I am in the waiting room, she looks and me and proceeds to say, “I remember you when you were a little baby.”

I just smile at her knowing that she assumes that I was someone else because I am smaller than most people, but I know for a fact that it isn’t me she is thinking of.

Lastly, just last weekend, I am working at a craft show about an hour east of home and this guy comes up to the booth and smiles at me and says, “Hey, what have you been doing since high school?” I look at him, clearly knowing that I do not know this guy, but he assumes that I am who he thought I was.

This world has so many assumptions of people that they do not take the time to actually look at the person they are speaking to and think about what comes out of their mouth, before it does. While there are various different kinds of medical conditions, it doesn’t always mean we are all the same and that we all look alike.

I’ve dealt with all of the stares, questions, and comments throughout my almost 26 years of life; so I guess you could say that I’m used to it by now. But it just would be nice if people actually took the time to get to know someone before they judge them on what they see or think they see.

With so many comments that I receive each day of my life, there’s always a comment that makes me smile every once in a while, and that is, “Hi, how are you?”

It’s truly amazing how that simple statement can make one person be happy. They never once asked me a question about my appearance or assumed that I was someone that I’m not; they simply wanted to speak to me as a human being. I know you’ll never change the world completely, but as the saying goes, you just take one day at a time.

Send us your comments or questions to nathasha@audacitymagazine.com ]]> http://www.audacitymagazine.com/2009/07/02/assumptions-are-demeaning/feed/ 0 http://www.audacitymagazine.com/2009/07/01/is-the-recession-stopping-the-disabled-from-commuting/ http://www.audacitymagazine.com/2009/07/01/is-the-recession-stopping-the-disabled-from-commuting/#comments Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:03:54 +0000 Nathasha Alvarez http://www.audacitymagazine.com/?p=1125

Budget cuts are the buzz words in today’s world and rightly so. More and more leaders in organizations are found mismanaging company funds and profiting themselves.

There is nothing wrong with tightening the cash flow of a company. Paratransit systems, transportation providers for people with disabilities, are no exception to these budget cuts. However, in Miami, Florida these cuts are cutting into the needs of its riders, the people with physical disabilities who are unable to ride the public transportation services.

Rumor has it, and you know how we hate to gossip, that in Miami, Florida, one of the largest paratransit operations in the United States, is planning on cutting back the services to the riders.

The leaders claim that its riders have been given beyond what the Americans with Disability Act requires for paratransit services. I can’t disagree with that.

I have been using Miami Dade County’s paratransit service for almost 20 years and when compared to the outline in the ADA regarding paratransit services, Miami has done a really good job going beyond what is required.

Thank goodness! The ADA gives the bare minimum. If people with physical disabilities are given the bare minimum, their lives are barely living.

I spent my 20’s going to clubs at night, job interviews during the day, visiting friends and family whenever I could just like any other person my age with the use of paratransit. Isn’t that making the playing field more leveled?

Could I have done that with a paratransit that went word by word from the ADA? I seriously doubt it.

The county commissioners would like to take us decades back to a time when people with disabilities rarely went out so the ADA guidelines were practically winning lotto tickets for us.

But, ummm times have changed commissioners! People with disabilities have lives! It’s true!

There are better ways to save money than to take away vital services for people who have no other alternative means of transportation.

Put yourself in our wheels!

Questions and comments email us at nathasha@audacitymagazine.com . ]]> http://www.audacitymagazine.com/2009/07/01/is-the-recession-stopping-the-disabled-from-commuting/feed/ 0 http://www.audacitymagazine.com/2009/01/11/no-longer-daddys-little-girl/ http://www.audacitymagazine.com/2009/01/11/no-longer-daddys-little-girl/#comments Sun, 11 Jan 2009 16:01:11 +0000 Nathasha Alvarez http://www.audacitymagazine.com/?p=1314 On January 10th at 6:35 in the evening, as I was relaxing from my birthday celebration the night before, I got a text from my father’s son.

“Just letting you know dad passed away this morning at 1130..I stood with him till the end. Stay safe”

This is how I found out that my father’s life with Parkinson’s disease was finally over.

A major chapter in my life closed on that day.

I will no longer be waiting for my father to apologize for not being there for me during the important times in my life.

He won’t ever apologize for excluding his three daughters from his summer family vacations.

There are many statements I will never hear come out of my father’s voice.

While each family will have a different version of why and how the relationships between my father and his three daughters deteriorated, it is a fact that the only reality we have is our perception of the events.

We learned many lessons from this absent relationship.

I learned that being father means more than sending the rent check on time.

I learned that a father or lack of a father had an enormous impact in my life.

I learned that my father loved me and my sisters but it wasn’t enough to give him the courage to stand up for us.

I learned that sometimes one strong parent is enough to raise three strong independent women. Thanks mom!

I learned that being able to say I am sorry makes everything less painful in the end.

A long time ago, my mom used to say that my disability came from my father. My father would adamantly deny it.

It was the biggest insult for him.

But as my mom enjoys reiterating, time will tell.

Lo and behold, several years after their divorce, they each had a son and the proof was in the teeth!

My mom’s son didn’t have the well known OI teeth and my father’s son was smiling OI teeth.

Luckily, he never showed any of the other OI characteristics.

Luckily, my father loved his son to no end. His son was the pride and joy of his life.

Luckily for my father, his son was with him during a time in his life that was filled with pain and frustration.

You see, my father and I spoke on the phone often and he hated the idea of using a cane and then graduating to a wheelchair.

Parkinson’s was taking away his manliness. It left him feeling vulnerable and weak. He would complain to me about how life is was so bad. When I asked him why. He said because he couldn’t walk.

I would get upset and remind him that I couldn’t walk either but I didn’t think life was bad.

He said, it was different for me.

He was right. It was different.

Perhaps his absence in my life was a blessing in disguise. While I was raised by my mom never being allowed to wallow in self pity, my father had about 60 good healthy years and was drowning a cup of sorrow.

As people with physical disabilities, we must endure more than the average person and though attitude is everything, we must remember that it was nurtured, fostered or taught to us by someone.

Fortunately for me, my mom had more of an influence in that area of my life than my father.

So now my father is gone. He will never admit how he chose his second wife over his three daughters but some would say that he left us a little stronger, a little wiser, and a little more realistic about men.

Some would say that.

Some would deny that.

Some will have to live with that.

*Disclaimer!

I write this because many readers have expressed an interest into more of my personal experiences. What can be more personal than getting a text message stating my father’s death?

Ciao!

Comments and questions nathasha@audacitymagazine.com

I have been using Special Transportation Service (STS) for 15 years during that time I drove for about four of those years. I probably would still be driving except that my poor beloved Volvo died after Tropical Storm Irene five or six years ago.

Getting a car the first time around was the biggest headache on earth. My father bought me a cavalier and my mother didn’t think it was safe enough for me and Vocational Rehabilitation wouldn’t pay to put the chair topper on that car.

Finally, my mom bought me a Volvo. It wasn’t totally mine. I had to share it with my mom but it felt great to pick up my friends or do errands without having to wait on someone.

I would use Special Transportation Service for everything that was preplanned. It is a great program. Although it has its flaws, I think it one of the best programs to receive a better quality of life for people with disabilities. Without STS, thousands of people with disabilities would be unable to attend work, visit relatives, socialize, and live an overall meaningful life.

We only pay $2.50 each way. We can travel from one point of Miami Dade County to another! It is open 24 hours a day! We need only to make our reservations before 5 p.m. the day before and we are guaranteed a ride. That is awesome!

Once a month we gather with the county and a representative of the transportation companies. Most of the time people’s problems are resolved at the meetings.

So why would I want a car when gasoline prices are crazy? When insurance is going to make me go nuts? When traffic is so congested that people tend to get road rage? Why?

Very simple. I need more. There are those times when I am waiting needlessly for my transportation. I need more freedom. I want to make more than one round trip per day. As it is, I spend $5 per day to get to work. That doesn’t even include the trips to the grocery store, the mall, the doctor, the pet store, and the post office. Most of these places are located within five miles from my home, yet I have to pay $2.50 for each trip. In one day I can spend $20 and not even leave my neighborhood.

Another reason to purchase a car, I can drive. I know how and I am physically capable of driving so why not? STS is great for people who will never be able to drive or hardly ever travel but life is getting busy for me. Even if I only use the car for short trips it would save me money, time and peace of mind.

Yup, I am feeling the need for control! This past week my driver was behind a car with a lady who was looking for a paper in her car. We were still in my apartment complex and her car was not moving. I told the driver to honk so that she knew we were waiting. He didn’t. Instead Einstein decided to go around her right side. As we were parallel to her car, she started turning right. My driver put on the breaks and blasted the horn. Ridiculous! I told him if he would have beeped nicely the first time she would have moved on and we would not have had to avoid an accident.

Last week, I went grocery shopping. I live around the corner. In fact, the front of my home is located behind the grocery store. I have to get out of the complex in order to get there but it is still behind the grocery store. I waited 45 minutes for my ride and it took five minutes to get me home. Ridiculous!

Now this doesn’t happen often. In fact, if I have to rate the service I would give it a 9 out of 10. It also makes a great back up for people with physical disabilities when their vehicles are in the shop for repair. It is excellent for the elderly who shouldn’t be driving on the road anymore. It is fabulous for those long trips that I will take every now and then. But it hit me like an 18 wheeler, why should I when I don’t have to?

I tried working with the county to see if perhaps the more trips we took the less we would pay or perhaps a prepaid card for the month. But as of right now, I spend $150 per month on transportation. It is not worth it for me at this point in my life. Time is short and I have so much to do.

While I love the owner’s attempt to make all of my trips run smoothly, I realize that I am the one that needs the change.

So please join me as I take us on a scary road trip. Hopefully, when we get to our destination you will see me driving the car of my dreams or at least one close to it.