Mommy and Me

     Since the day I was crowned my mother, Diane has been my number one support system in making my title holder year a success.  My mother does everything she can to make me be able to have every opportunity I can to spread my platform across the state of Massachusetts.  She is my taxi driver, my crown fitter, my makeup artist, and my occasional lecture buddy, despite the fact that I did not get my public speaking skills from my mom.  I contribute most, or if not all, of my caring and compassion genes to her. She has taught me to be a terribly strong person, even in the face of adversity.  I do not think I would be half the title holder without her.  It is for this reason that I took her out to brunch on May 12th, Mother's Day to IHop in Plymouth Mass.  It was just my way of thanking her and still letting the public know that people with disabilities have very good support systems.  In closing, I just want to send out a big "I love you, Mom"  for her love and support this year.

Until next time, Advocate, Educate, and Empower.

Fire Department Double Duty

     Because my Ms. Wheelchair schedule was so busy in May, there were times that I would need to schedule an event back to back.  This is the case on May 9th.  I had the pleasure of meeting two fantastic groups of individuals from two separate fire departments.

     My morning was taken up with by dealing with the rather handsome men of the Plymouth Fire Department.  They were eager to hear my perspective as a wheelchair user and what my fears and concerns were when dealing with fire department related emergencies.  I explained to them that more times than I care to count I had been stuck in the middle of non-working wheelchair lifts, and even on my first day of graduate school it was necessary for the fire department to carry me down 2 flights of stairs as the elevator was not working after all of my classes.  What a way to welcome someone to graduate school.  That being said, these are everyday situations that wheelchair users have to face with or without fear.

     On the afternoon of May 9th,  I visited Unit 4 of the Brockton Fire Department.  These men were equally welcoming of my perspective and were truly interested in what I had to say.  For me, I feel that as I go from fire department to fire department the talks get easier and easier, because I come to learn what is most important for the fire fighters to hear.

Until next time, Advocate, Educate, and Empower.

Advocacy 911

     On May 8th, I changed it up a bit, and instead of meeting with more firefighters, I had the idea that there are emergency situations that also include the police that especially concern people with disabilities.  So I wanted to see if I could explain through advocacy the importance of the special circumstances having a disability and being involved in an emergency mean.  As a person who is working on getting a driver's license and going to adaptive driving lessons, I realized that there are more concerns when traveling in an adaptive vehicle that a police officer should be aware of.  Whether or not he comes in contact with it throughout his career is a question, but at least he would be prepared.  I had the honor of meeting Sargeant Mike, dispatcher Krista, and many of the other team members of the Kingston Police Department.  What was particularly fun though was that I got to meet a very special police dog named Ollie.

Until next time, Advocate, Educate, and Empower

Advocacy is a Hot Topic

     I seem to be making a habit out of visiting fire departments to discuss the special needs of fire safety for individuals with disabilities,  There is a really good reason for this.  On my mother's side of the family there is a long line of firefighters, paramedics, EMT's, and first responders.  Since this has been a topic that is particularly special with my family, I find it important that during my rein year I touch on causes that have affected and pertained to my life.  May 7th, however, was not your average every day event for me, because it was this day that I went to the Rockland Fire Department in Rockland, MA.  It was there that I met with firefighter Craig.  This was a particularly moving experience because this firefighter was trained by my late uncle, as this was his fire station.  He is also very good friends with my cousin, who is a paramedic. Although I did not know who I was meeting with that day, when I requested to give my talk on advocacy.  I believe that there are no mistakes in the universe, and by meeting someone who is connected to my family in this way I had the ability to show my uncle, Richard, what I have been doing since he has passed, and I am pretty sure he was looking down on me smiling a little extra day.

Until next time, Advocate, Educate, and Empower

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

     Growing up in a large Italian family, we learned how to play cards at a very young age.  Most of the time we used to play for pennies or candy.  By the time we hit legal gambling age, however, we would be fully ready to face the casino head on.  One of my family pastimes every few months is to go to Twin River Casino in Lincoln Rhode Island.  Over the years as I have gotten older, I realized that there are certain aspects of the casino that could be made more adaptable.  I figured since I have fun there every few months, other people with disabilities would too.  My dad happens to know the lead host, Lori, very well so she agreed to meet with me on May 6th in order to discuss the extra needs of wheelchair using patrons.  For example, for the longest time I would only play slot machines that were on the end of a row, as those were the only ones that I could reach the buttons, because the chairs were not removable.  One suggestion was, over time.  I found out that you could have the slot technician unscrew and remove a chair for you if you only asked.  I made the suggestion to Lori, although this was a great idea for adaptation because we could play whatever slot machine we wanted.  I suggested that she and the team find a better way to advertise this as an acceptable option for players with disabilities.  I made have not won that day, and I clearly did not break the bank, but one thing I did do was hit the jackpot for disability advocacy.

Until next time, Advocate, Educate, and Empower

There Goes thge Herring Run

     For those of you not familiar with Pembroke tradition, in the spring time pretty much the entire community comes out to the Herring Run, which is considered a Massachusetts state landmark.  This year the annual fish fry was being held on May 5th, and during this time basically the whole community gets together for picnicking, family fun, and community bonding.  This has been a tradition for my family ever since I was a little girl.  It is far more exciting to attend an event that you are so use to attending in crown and sash and allowing people to understand that you are more than the Nicole they know, you are a person with a mission with a platform.  I might have got a little extra sun that day, but it was well worth the good fish, the fun time, and the unforgettable memories.

Until next time, Advocate, Educate, and Empower.

Swing Batter

     On May 4th, some friends of mine requested that I cheer on the Pembroke Youth Baseball League as Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts.  I got to spend a nice sunny day cheering on some future Red Sox players and watch these kids play their heart out.  Some people may ask what this has to do with my platform as Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts, but I believe  it is very important to not only support causes that enhance your platform, but it is equally important to support community causes so that the greater public can understand that individuals with disabilities have just as much a role in their communities as their able bodied counter parts.  Let's face it, who can resist little children playing sports.  As far as I am concerned that's always a good way to spend a Saturday.

Until next time, Advocate, Educate, and Empower

One of My Personal Favorites

     On May 3rd, I got to visit with the students of Crystal Springs, Inc.  This is a residential program in Assonet, Mass.  This is a non-profit organization that provides care for youths with cognitive disabilities.  I can honestly say that this is hands down one of my favorite organizations.  My visit there changed the course of my title holding year.  I think as Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts we get caught up in advocating for people with physical disabilities, but this showed me how important advocacy for cognitive disabilities really was.  I got to cheer the children on during therapy swim class,, and I for one can say I am super jealous of the heated olympic sized pool.  Had I had a bathing suit I would probably have jumped in with them.

     One of the attributes of their campus that I am in awe of is the accessible tree-house in which any wheelchair can fit into.  Where were these types of cool things when I was a kid.  This shows how far we have come.  I also got to meet with clinical directors, Angie and Dennis, who are perhaps two of the most tireless, yet humble advocates I have ever met in my life.  This day was such a pleasure that I cannot wait to go back to visit and I hope to work with them again in the future.

Util next time, Advocate, Educate, and Empower.

Back to Titanville

     One way to make a Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts title holder feel old is to send them back to their elementary school and make them realize how small the children actually are.  In all seriousness, I had the honor on May 2nd to go back to the North Pembroke Elementary School.  What is special here is this is the same school I attended as a child.  Why it holds special memories is because I was the first student wheelchair user to attend.  One huge difference is seeing how much the ADA affected the accessibility of the school.  You see, when I attended I had to enter the school through the back boiler room as there was no ramp access.to allow me to get to my classes.  Now the school is paved with ramps, has accessible doorways, and the bathrooms go beyond meeting standards.  So Pembroke has come a long way since the mid eighties.

     At my event I, along with nurse Judy, who was my nurse in school,  got to speak to four separate classes of 5th grade students.  Not only did I get to share my experiences about bullying, friendships, and academic successes, but nurse Judy made sure she brought out the old pictures of me when I attended.  The children even convinced me to sing the smoke free class of 2000 song, and for those of you who do not know me very well, my singing voice is less than stellar, and that shows my commitment to disability advocacy.

Until next time, Advocate, Educate, and Empower.

Adaptation and Access Fair

     On May 1st I got the opportunity to attend the Halifax Library Adaptive Technology Fair.  I, along with other non-profit organizations got to present different types of technology that are available to people with various disabilities.  The library asked me to help make this a family friendly event, so I read various children's books about disabilities, including the book "Susan Laughs."  The best part of the day for me, however, was the question and answer period that I held in between reading different books because it never ceases to amaze me how inquisitive about disabilities that young children can be.  A fun time was had by all and most importantly I did a lot of networking in order to be able to have people understand the mission statement of Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts Foundation.

 Until next time, Educate, Advocate, and Empower.

5 Alarm for Advocacy

On May 1st, I got to have the pleasure of meeting the gentlemen at the Bridgewater Fire Department in Bridgewater, MA.  As many of you know, my mother's side of the family comes from a long line of Paramedics, EMTs, and Fire Fighters.  I have grown with an understanding of how important emergency situations are.  My cousin Dick, who runs emergency services schooling programs and I were talking one day about what it means to be in the middle of an emergency crisis and to have a disability on top of that.  There are many times that I have been stuck in elevators, stuck on wheelchair lifts in the air, etc, these are situations that able bodied individuals do not have to deal with.  It was my intention to go into the firehouse and explain that we as a disabled community are very grateful to the emergency rescue workers who come to our aid in these situations.  I also wanted to take this time as a teaching tool to teach the newbie fire fighters that these are situations, although they may not come across them often, are really near and scary to us.  No one wants to be stuck up in the air. 
       I need to take the time to thank the chief and fire fighters who graciously gave me a tour, made me laugh, and took the time out of their busy schedule at 9:00 AM from pulling busy night shifts to listen to what I had to say.  I am forever grateful to have this experience because this is the Empower part of my platform.  I can take time to make people realize how important, even the littlest changes in a rescue can make a person with a disability feel at ease and let's face it, as you can tell by the picture, these guys aren't bad looking.  I might be Ms. Wheelchair Mass., but I am still a single lady, so even advocacy has it's perks.  Until next time, Advocate, Educate, Empower.