I know I have already written a post for this month but I thought both of these stories were blog worthy
I was lying in bed with a really bad cough wishing that I was at my parent’s house because for some reason they seem to have better immune systems. When I thought ok there’s nothing I can do about it. So how can I think positively? It was then that I thought about Lester Pritchard a man who was a disability advocate who spent his entire life thinking positively and working to better the lives of people with disabilities. I only wish I had the opportunity to meet this amazing person. As a tribute to him here is a little bit of information about who he was.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-obit-pritchard-15-oct15,0,3668892.story
As most of you know besides living on my own, going to school, and getting an education is very important to me. All throughout my time at Oakton just like Lester, I have had to advocate for my needs as I have said before in this blog. Since I am graduating in May I knew I had to plan ahead. Now you might be wondering Jess why now it’s only October? When you have a disability you have to plan ahead even for my graduation because in order for me to stand up in the ceremony the way I want to, they need to order a special ramp and reconfigure the seating in a different way. From prior experience with this particular person I was expecting her to be negative and even though I didn’t get everything I wanted I still got about 90% and that was only because of safety.
I was really impressed at the detailed notes she took of our conversation and how much she seemed to care about my situation. I was excited and giddy. I left the woman’s office with a huge smile on my face. I think I not only made myself happy but taught her a lot as well!
Lots of love
-Jessi
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