Posts
All Comments
For many years, I have been working with a Japanese nurse, Nozomi Kawabata (pen name) who has a disability. He has been working tirelessly to share my work with other Japanese nurses with disabilities. This is one example of his efforts.
Many thanks to my dear Japanese friend and to Mrs. Kayoko Kanou for sharing my coloring book on her YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKwD4QDYdXk&t=627s
(At 14min 21sec)
Cheers!
Donna
Judith Heumann was born in Philadelphia on Dec. 18,
1947. She grew up in Brooklyn. Her parents, Werner and Ilse Heumann, were both
sent away from Nazi Germany as Jewish children, and neither of them saw their
parents again. Werner ran a butcher shop, and Ilse volunteered for local civic
groups.
During the 1949 polio epidemic, when Judy was 18 months old,
she was diagnosed with the disease. She spent three months in an iron lung.
When her mother tried enrolling her in kindergarten, the
principal said she could not attend, calling her a “fire hazard.” She was not
able to properly enroll in school until she was 9 years old, and even then she
took her classes with other disabled students in the basement. She was able to
mix with the rest of the student body only once a week during assemblies.
She attended a special high school, graduated from Long Island University with a bachelor’s degree in speech and theater in 1969, and earned a master’s in public health from the University of California at Berkeley in 1975.
She first came to prominence as an advocate for the disabled
in 1970, when she tried to become a New York City teacher. She passed every
requirement except a physical and was denied a position, with the cited cause
being “paralysis of both lower extremities.” Regulations stipulated that
teachers must not have physical issues that prevented them from moving on
stairs quickly or from escorting students out of school in case of an
emergency.
Ms. Heumann sued the city and went public, telling The Times
that if a school lacked a ramp or elevator, she could teach on the ground
floor, and adding that she moved faster with her electric wheelchair than
normal pedestrians did walking.
Within a few months, Ms. Heumann won her license — becoming
New York City’s first teacher in a wheelchair.
A pivotal moment came in San Francisco in 1977. It had been four years since President Richard Nixon had signed the Rehabilitation Act, one section of which, 504, was supposed to outlaw discrimination against disabled people by any institution receiving federal money.
Yet officials repeatedly delayed implementing the measure, and Joseph A. Califano Jr., the secretary of health, education and welfare under President Jimmy Carter, said he had wanted to overhaul the regulations before authorizing them.
Activists responded that there would be national protests if Mr. Califano did not sign off on the original form of the law by April 4.
April 5 arrived. Protesters in cities throughout the nation occupied federal offices. Ms. Heumann, then 29, organized the San Francisco contingent. She appeared with more than 100 other people of varying disabilities to demand action from Joseph Maldonado, the regional director who reported to Mr. Califano from San Francisco.
…. the San Francisco sit-in continued for almost a month. It has often been described as the longest nonviolent occupation of a federal building in American history.
Judy Heumann..... went on to become an official in the Clinton
administration, a special adviser in the Obama State Department and a fellow or
board member at some of the nation’s leading nonprofits. She was also featured
in the Oscar-nominated 2020 documentary “Crip Camp.”
Donna Maheady
Read more about her work:
Judy Heumann, Who Led the Fight for Disability Rights, Dies at 75 - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Judith Heumann, ‘Mother of the Disability Rights Movement,’ Has Died | HuffPost Latest News
Judy Heumann | Disability Rights Advocate | Judithheumann
Judy Heumann, trailblazing disability rights activist, dies at 75 (msn.com)
Judith Heumann: Our fight for disability rights -- and why we're not done yet | TED Talk
Justina Miles, a Bowie State University pre-nursing major, is the first woman who is black and deaf to sign during the Super Bowl halftime show.
According to an interview on "CBS Mornings" with Gayle King, Miles has some hearing. She is able to hear music but considered deaf based on audiologist measurements.
Miles is training to be a nurse so she can advocate for deaf patients and lead
the way for nurses who are deaf.....
To learn more visit:
Justina Miles' Performance at the Super Bowl Goes Viral | Bowie State
Cheers!
Donna
Michael Franz from New Mobility posted a review of gloves made for wheelchair users by "Gloves for Life". The review included these comments:
"Debbie Riggsby, a C6-7 quad, and her husband, Zane,
bought Gloves for
Life from the original owner in 2013. They have dedicated the last
decade to developing gloves that help quadriplegics and others with limited
dexterity push better."
"I use power assist wheels and usually don’t wear gloves.
Once I put the gloves on and started pushing, the difference was very
noticeable. Pushing required much less effort, and even when I didn’t make good
contact with the handrim, the wheel still propelled forward. Another benefit I
noticed from wearing the gloves is that they helped when I had nerve pain in my
hands. On bad pain days, I have more difficulty pushing, but the gloves seem to
dampen the impact on my hands — and the pain."
"On top of the pushing benefits, the gloves can be used as an
adaptive cuff to hold items. For example, I put a fork through the thumb hole,
similar to how one would use a universal cuff. It is not something I would do
regularly, but if I forgot to bring my adaptive utensils with me, this would
work in a pinch. I used the gloves to hold a pen, and while they won’t replace
my adaptive writing splint, I can see the option coming in handy. The gloves
also made it much easier to hold on to items like cups and to slide items
across my desk. "
For more information, read the full article by Michael Franz and visit the Gloves for Life website.
Cheers!
Donna
https://www.glovesforlife.com/
Take a CPR class prior to the start of your nursing program. Learn what to expect and if you need to ask for accommodation.
Practice!
Volunteer at a nursing home, assisted living or any available health care setting. Learn all you can.
Practice!
Visit the College Office for Students with Disabilities. Talk to them about accommodations you may need.
Practice!
Take as many pre-requisites as you can prior to starting the nursing program. This will help to reduce your course load when nursing classes begin.
Go to summer school.
If you can, take advantage of lower class fees at a community college. Make sure credits will be transferable.
Listen up nurses with disabilities: You could be the next
RaDonda Vaught
By now, most nurses know about the tragic story surrounding RaDonda Vaught, the Tennessee nurse found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of patient. She was criminally prosecuted for a medical error. https://exceptionalnurse.blogspot.com/2022/04/listen-up-nurses-with-disabilities-you.html
5 Lessons learned from the RaDonda Vaught case from Nurse
attorney Lorie Brown
Nurse attorney, Lorie Brown is the founder of EmpoweredNurses.org. In the following YouTube Channel video, she shares some excellent lessons learned from the RaDonda Vaught case. These lessons apply to all nurses. https://exceptionalnurse.blogspot.com/2022/04/5-lessons-learned-from-radonda-vaught.html
Nursing student with Brittle Bone Disease (OI) and her service dog from CCI will graduate from the University of Tampa
Dani Hillenbrand, a wheelchair user, graduates from George Fox University College of Nursing in Oregon
"Last year, while she was already in nursing school, Hillenbrand suffered a catastrophic medical event that left her in a wheelchair. While many would be discouraged, Hillenbrand said it pushed her to work even harder." https://exceptionalnurse.blogspot.com/2022/06/dani-hillenbrand-wheelchair-user.html
"Nurses at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust are trialling the glasses. Nurses are to wear virtual reality-style goggles during home visits in a bid to cut paperwork and free up more time to spend with patients."https://exceptionalnurse.blogspot.com/2022/08/could-smart-glasses-help-nurses-with.html
