Month: September 2022

Finding Hugo: Our Wheelchair Accessible Van

Post author By Angela Van Etten
Post date September 26, 2022
14 Comments on Finding Hugo: Our Wheelchair Accessible Van

Eighteen weeks without a vehicle parked in our garage was a constant reminder of our quest for independent transportation. Robert’s struggle to get into a sedan, SUV, and wagon made it clear that our next vehicle would be a Wheelchair Accessible Van (WAV)—one he could enter riding his scooter up a ramp.

Our seven trips to three different WAV dealers took us from 20 miles to 125 miles from home. We considered the Chevrolet Traverse, Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Grand Caravan, Honda Odyssey, and settled on a 2020 Toyota Sienna. In addition to sales spiels, we paid attention to consumer reports and conferred with little people in the “LP Adaptations” Facebook group. And we prayed for God’s direction.

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Given the technology needed to customize a WAV to our driver and passenger needs, one dealer would only sell to us if a Certified Driving Rehabilitation Specialist (CDRS) gave a thumbs up on the primary safety questions:

Pedal extensions or hand controls?
Seat cushions, power adjustable height driver seat, or both?
Remove and replace the existing steering wheel or add an extension?

But after waiting three weeks for this driver evaluation, the CDRS erected a major road block.

Although I had driven with pedal extensions for 50 years and most little people I consulted use extensions on their WAV, the CDRS recommended hand controls. She rejected a seat back cushion and proposed modifying the driver’s seat depth. Her idea of replacing the steering wheel with a smaller wheel meant relocating the controls on the original wheel. She gave no cost estimate for any of these “safety” changes. But clearly such customizations would add insane expense to an already costly purchase. And when we rejected the CDRS evaluation, the dealer discontinued any effort to sell us a WAV.

As with any road block, God showed us the detour that got us back on the road to WAV ownership. My online query to a dealer in Fort Myers, Florida was answered the same day and was quickly followed with an offer to send a driver to transport us free of charge from Stuart to their location. And in a surprising twist, the dealer representative wore two hats: sales and DRS credentials. Her knowledge of mobility technology squelched any safety concerns about driving with pedal extensions or a back rest seat cushion strapped in place. She retained the existing steering wheel and attached an extension in the front. Thus no modifications to the seat depth or steering wheel controls were needed. Both CDRSs recommended an adjustable height transfer seat, but only one found a vehicle that fit two scooters.

In a perfect world Hugo would not have cost more than the starter home we bought 35 years ago! Plus we would never have bought a vehicle with a fuel cap above my head. But God gave us a miracle when He steered us to Auto Express South in Fort Myers, https://www.autoexpresssouth.com. Thanks to team Yasmin, Tom, Cris and Eddie. You all are the best!

My Path to Citizenship

At 4:00 PM on September 17, 1987, the 200th anniversary of the United States Constitution, I joined the Bells Across America tribute. I was the only one at my workplace to ring a bell in remembrance of church bells ringing in Philadelphia calling people to hear the first public reading of the newly signed Constitution. This was ironic given that as a legal permanent resident alien from New Zealand I was celebrating more than my American-born citizen colleagues.

Even though I was eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship, I wasn’t ready. Ringing a bell was one thing, but taking the Naturalization Oath of Allegiance to the U.S. required me to “absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity” to New Zealand. But by 1998 my perspective had changed.

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After 17 years as a legal permanent resident alien, I was tired of sitting on election sidelines. I wanted to vote. And on January 17th when news broke of President Clinton’s alleged White House sex scandal with a White House intern, I knew I needed to vote. So on June 26th, I applied for citizenship. And my decision was confirmed in December when President Clinton was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice.

Approval of my naturalization application involved more than living lawfully in the country as the spouse of an American citizen. An immigration officer would interview me and ask questions about my application and background. In addition, I had to show the officer my ability to read, write, and speak basic English and have a knowledge and understanding of U.S. history and government. Thankfully my dwarfism was not an issue.

For the English test, I had to correctly read out loud and write one out of three sentences. No problem. The civics test was more challenging. I studied a list of 100 questions, but at the immigration interview the officer randomly picked ten questions from the list. A passing score was six out of ten. I questioned the officer when he stopped after six questions and wrote 60% on the test paper. But he saw no reason to continue and left me feeling like I fell short of the 100% mark.

September 25, 1999, the day of my naturalization ceremony in Miami, Florida, was emotional and stressful. There were no tears of joy, but rather sobbing in the car when six lanes of traffic came to a standstill for so long that we arrived late to the venue. Robert dropped me near the entrance, but was denied entry after he parked the car. I made it in by the skin of my teeth, but had to sit in a back row unable to see anything. When it was time to take the citizenship oath, applicants stood when their country’s name was called. I waited expectantly, but New Zealand was never mentioned. Instead, I stood on the last call for anyone whose country had not been named! I took the oath of allegiance, but was in no mood to ring any bells.

For a free subscription to my weekly blog on dwarfism and disability issues, go to https://angelamuirvanetten.com/blog/.

Transportation

Acts of Encouragement

I was sitting in the garage waiting room when the manager asked me to step into another room. Bad news was not what I expected to hear. But she hit me with an accident report. A worker had crashed my car when moving it into a service bay. The rear end was smashed in. The car was not drivable, not now, not ever! Written off. Junkyard inventory.

My mind started spinning as I contemplated the ramifications. Repairs on the 18-year old Mazda wagon would cost more than it’s worth. We had sold Robert’s van a few months earlier so now we were without wheels. Modifying a rental vehicle was difficult. Locating and modifying a replacement vehicle was time consuming and costly.

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These thoughts spun in my head as I observed the distress of the worker who had slammed his foot on my left foot accelerator instead of the brake. He was mortified. The manager was effusive with apologies and assurances that the garage would fully compensate me for the loss. And the garage faithfully followed through with funds for both the car’s value and cost of rides in the interim. But how could they compensate for the loss of time, independence, spontaneity, and plans that had to be cancelled?

I clung to the knowledge that God is in control and allowed this to happen. And it occurred to me that this was God’s way of expediting our long term plan of replacing my car with a wheelchair accessible van (WAV)! We had known for some time that Robert’s difficulty getting in and out of my car meant a WAV was in our near future. The accident made it clear the future had arrived.

Even so, I was disheartened and discouraged. Our plans for driving to the Little People of America Florida weekend meeting in Sarasota were scrubbed. The opportunity for making in person book sales was lost. COVID had made in person marketing inadvisable and now this!

The words of the psalmist struck a chord with me.

“Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!” Psalm 43:5, New Living Translation (NLT)

And God reminded me that He is a worthy source for my hope and praise! He activated our church and biological families to encourage us by meeting our transportation needs. They acted in accordance with New Testament instructions:

“And we urge you, brothers and sisters, . . . encourage the disheartened, . . .” 1 Thessalonians 5:14, New International Version (NIV)

“But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus.” 2 Corinthians 7:6 (NLT)

This #NationalDayofEncouragement, I reflect on our 18 weeks without wheels. Our 21 member driver team transported us to 58 destinations primarily for church activities, medical, and vehicle shopping. We also had personal couriers pick up prescriptions and mailed packages.

We are encouraged beyond what words can express! We salute you all.

For a subscription to my weekly blog on dwarfism and disability issues, go to https://angelamuirvanetten.com/blog/.

Awareness

Read and Change Your Life for the Better

Post author By Angela Van Etten
Post date September 5, 2022
1 Comment on Read and Change Your Life for the Better

Reading is good for your health. According to the promoter of National Read A Book Day on September 6, reading renews energy, elevates mood, promotes more restful sleep, and slows the progression of dementia. Another study shows that adults who read at least 30 minutes a week are 20% more satisfied with life than those who spend less time reading.

Add to that the wisdom of others who promote the value of reading:

“Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else’s shoes for a while.” ~ Malorie Blackman
“The more that you read, the more things you’ll know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” ~ Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!
“Read to make yourself smarter! Less judgmental. More apt to understand your friends’ insane behavior, or better yet, your own.” ~ John Waters, Role Models
“We read to know we’re not alone.” ~ William Nicholson

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Even though most of us know what’s good for us, we often don’t do it. Reading is one of those activities. Reportedly, 81% of people don’t spend as much time reading as they’d like. I’m one of those people. As a result, my “want to read” list has 235 books!

So how do we decide what to read? Actress Emma Thompson gives us a hint. “Books are like people, in the sense that they’ll turn up in your life when you most need them.”

After writing part one in my memoir trilogy—Dwarfs Don’t Live in Doll Houses— https://angelamuirvanetten.com/dwarfs-dont-live-in-doll-houses/, I was surprised how many parents of young children were hungry for the information I shared about my growing up years in New Zealand. One mother told me, I keep your book by my bedside and refer to it frequently. Elizabeth, a parent of a short-statured adult, revealed:

“I thought I knew a great deal about what it was like to be a short-statured person but like so many others, I was not realistically seeing life as a Little Person experiences it.”

And Rosemary wrote:

“In this book is pure wisdom and great help! As I am petite and short in height, I had experience with stares and oglers in life. . . Bravo and cheers for a wonderful, in-depth analysis!”

Susan, the grandparent of a teenager with Down Syndrome said:

“Your book has answered my questions. With this new understanding, I now see ‘little people’ in no need of pity, but as my equal and capable of achieving all God has planned for them.”

Two colleagues of average height appreciated having misconceptions dispelled and being informed of everyday obstacles a little person overcomes.

So this year, how about enjoying National Read A Book Day by reading a Kindle e-book or used paperback of Dwarfs Don’t Live in Doll Houses available on Amazon.com? Or, due to my sister’s discovery of a box of print books in her basement, order a new print and autographed copy for $4.99, plus $4.00 postage, from angela@angelamuirvanetten.com. Need more information? Go to https://angelamuirvanetten.com, read about my memoir trilogy, and subscribe to my weekly blog.