i'm stuck and fortunately-- though i didnt think so at the time---- i
was stuck away from home in another city but this other city had on
demand paratransit and my life felt nearly normal. the paratransit
was available 20 hours a day 7 days a week so i could work, teach, go
to shows, plays, movies-- and i did-- and also did all my shopping
for myself
only at home at last did i become crippled because i can go nowhere,
and get nothing.... not even can i be assured of a ride to medical
appointments and i had to give up physical therapy because the
agency that subsidized the occasional ride rationed services to 3
trips max per month to doctor
only, between the hours of 10 and 2, if you're lucky
so i've been working on creating a paratransit nonprofit after a year
of begging, explaining and letter writing. my municipality SUCKS big
time-- they're contemplating getting rid of seven firefighters and
the firemen are the best first responders here-- faster than the
ambulance/911 and waaaaay better
than police..... sorry for the rant
but back to what you asked. call around. if your community is more
enlightened than mine, you have either public or private
paratransit-- folks to help you get from a to b
hook up with physical therapy asap. if you live in an enlightened
place there may be transport
to the therapy ( as there was in Rochester)
There are LOTS of paratransit/lift equipped vehicles in my area, ARC,
pathways, school buses, the
thing is you, like i, as a former able bodied person who was not in
the system, don't fit any of the target populations for help
BUT your community may be smarter and kinder than mine and SO these
organizations with vehicles
may extend their support to you--- or maybe even your public
transport has a service as all the counties surrounding mine do....
so make lists, call, and write AND just in case you live in as
unrigorous a place as I do, call every place at least twice if you
don't get the answer you want, because the next day the answer may
change ( i have a story about filling out a form for transport
sending it to the bus company-- a 3 month process only to find out
the day before my drs appointment that the pick up service did not
serve
my city. then spent another 6 months fighting to get the bus company
who gets federal funds to do
route deviation, to do route deviation and assist me over the
grassy media on to the bus
.... i can't use them because after twice making reservations and taking
the bus didn't have tie-down equipment-- two life risking rides is
two too many but again, your municipality may be more rigrous,
enlightened and suppportive of its physically challenged citizens)
Akua
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