I Want Out of This Chair

January 14,2009

We wake up early in the morning and left to the airport at 8 o' clock. The temperature was 6 degrees, its was freezing. We were very worried because we wasn't sure if we were going to make it to Puerto Rico. The two flights were over booked. Thank God, we made it! We left at 11:40 am to Atlanta, Georgia. Mark & I slept most of the fly; it took two hours and half.

As we walk we went to a shop to buy his' cigarettes and got something to eat and before you know, the fly was called at the gate. The fly was full, the stand by list was huge, the clear list was little at that point I was a little nervous after we found out that it was the last flight until next day 8:30am.

The customer agent had a horrible attitude; she said "what is your name?", we reply, "Schwartz". She looked down at the computer and ignore us through the whole time. A nice man told me, "don't worried, you will make, baby" however, the customer agent was a very evil person because she waited until the last minute, the last two available sits, and the last call to call my name.

The nice man said, "it will only take 5 minutes" transferred me with Mark really fast and another man offered his' help. The customer agent said, "forget it, this will be workless and Mark raised his' hand.

They continue... one of the stuares said, "give me a second because I will accommodated her, then she came back and explained us that they were only two chairs al the way to the back in the aisle sit. I said, "lets do it...lets take it"

In the meantime, the evil customer agent said, "take her out", the man said, "no, we are almost, there. Brought me to the chair which was very difficult to transfer. At that point, it was now or now... between Mark and the two man lift me up to the chair. The evil customer agent was looking at me with a serious face because at that point she realized that she couldn't remove me from the plane.

Mark was complaining throughout the whole day about how difficult is to do things with me, about children, about his' back, etc., etc. I decided to remain quiet but I am very hurt because the last thing, I always wanted is to be a burden to people and its all I had done for the past.

Today, my mother call me, "Forget about your apartment, forget about your home health aides service, and leave everything behind".

She said, ?I was walking with Ada at the Botanical Garden and the cell phone rang with an unknown number.? My aunt picked, it was from the office of Dr. Font looking for Rafael Quinonez. My aunt right away gave the phone to my mother.

My mother told her I don't know Rafael Quinonez. However, I call long time ago for my daughter to receive an appointment; she lives in United States and she is willing to travel at anytime. Try to do somethin, she lives in New York and will bring her to Puerto Rico right away.

She gave an appointment on January 15, 2009. I agreed with tears of joy because I had receive the best Christmas Gift Ever! I will walk again! I am out of this chair!

In New York, Health Care Proxy Law which allows you to appoint someone you trust in case of a health crisis. For example, a family member or close friend to make health care decisions for you if you lose the ability to make decisions yourself. By appointing a health care agent, you can make sure that health care providers follow your wishes.

Your agent can also decide how your wishes apply as your medical condition changes. Hospitals, doctors and other health care providers must follow your agent's decisions as if they were your own. You may give the person you select as your health care agent as little or as much authority as you want. You may allow your agent to make all health care decisions or only certain ones. You may also give your agent instructions that he or she has to follow. This form can also be used to document your wishes or instructions with regard to organ and/or tissue donation.

The importances of this Act to serve as a national model to people that both employees and customers with disabilities must be accommodated

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, or ADA, employers cannot discriminate against disabled employees in hiring, promotions, pay or termination. The court ruled that the repeated taunts, teasing and name-calling created a ?hostile work environment? for the disabled employee.

Under the ADA, employers must make reasonable accommodations for employees with a disability. Reasonable accommodations might include providing a phone with a volume control for a hearing impaired employee, or a ramp for a wheelchair employee. In this case, reasonable accommodations were not the issue ? childish insults were.

The ADA was enacted on July 26, 1990 and prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies, and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.

?All individuals deserve the freedom to compete and advance in the workplace on a level playing field ? including individuals with disabilities.? According to EEOC Supervisory Trial Attorney Suzanne M. Anderson. ?Employers should proactively prevent disability discrimination by putting policies and procedures in place to ensure that employees and managers clearly understand and abide by the letter and spirit of the law.?

Disability discrimination is more common than most people realize. Since 1992, the EEOC has received more than 235,000 complaints alleging disability discrimination. The EEOC has filed more than 700 lawsuits and obtained just over $665 million for disabled employees.

The ODEP is the nation?s first assistant secretary-led office that specifically addresses policies that impact the employment of people with disabilities.

In recent years, the ODEP has developed innovative methods for the 3,500 One-Stop Career Centers nationwide to serve people with barriers to employment, including individuals with disabilities. It has established DPNs, or Disability Program Navigators,

The Office of Disability Employment Policy provides national leadership by developing and influencing disability-related employment policy as well as practice affecting the employment of people with disabilities. Its vision is ?A world in which people with disabilities have unlimited employment opportunities.?