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Disability Is a Normal Part of Life
Your Lot and Parcel
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At 15, the author became paraplegic after a car accident caused by a drunk driver. She remembers waking up unable to move her lower body, not the crash itself. Finishing high school was difficult; she started remotely, then pushed to return in person despite accessibility challenges. She adapted to life in a wheelchair, finding support and humor with friends. In college and law school, she faced limited accessibility, commuting due to inaccessible dorms and advocating for improvements like curb cuts. Her relationship with her husband, Danny, was on-and-off before they married, built on mutual care and love. She became an accessibility advocate, authoring articles and collaborating with officials to improve access before the ADA. Facing job discrimination, she eventually became a successful lawyer and started her own firm, helping people with disabilities. She urges universal design and involving disabled people in planning. Her memoir, “Recalibrating Gravity,” is written in verse to capture her experiences’ emotion and complexity. The hardest parts of using a wheelchair are repairs, travel risks, and ongoing barriers, but she remains dedicated to advocacy and sharing her story.
https://www.marykeatingpoet.com/
