Archive for February 2012
Why I Am Offended By Leap Year (A Satire)
by Treadmarkz
Every four years the Earth has an extra day inserted into the calendar so that it has time to catch up and make it around the sun before December 31. I don’t know about you, but that sounds like some kind of special treatment. Sounds like some of the special education programs I went through so I had more time to sit and think so I could get my math homework done.
You think Mars gets an extra day on its 687 day calendar every four years just so it can catch up? No. I bet it stays on its course, pays attention, and gets the task finished on time. It knows that its orbit is different from that of other planets, and yet it follows through.
This kind of lax attitude is exactly why the beings on other planets have the technology to visit, study and examine us and we’ve barely got a space program.
Nay! I say down with Leap Year. And while we’re at it I’m glad Pluto was stripped of its title as a planet. It was not qualified. Our solar system should never hire planets just to fill a quota to meet the laws on fair hiring practices.
When the Medically Necessary is Deemed Unnecessary, You Get the Feeling You’re on a Sinking Ship
by Treadmarkz
This ought to raise the ire of apologists for both sides of the political scene, but I don’t really intend it as such. Though I am sure it will become a big issue during this election season, I think this is the result of a problem that has been stewing over the course of the last three administrations, if not longer. The problem? Intermittent Catheters have been deemed not to be “medically necessary” and therefore not covered by UCare. Many people on Medical Assistance have recently been moved over to UCare or a similar program.
I have to be very blunt, I fail to see how something so basic as emptying the bladder has been deemed not necessary. Its kind of like how insulin is covered for diabetics but the syringes necessary to inject it are not covered.
Has anybody faced either of these problems or anything similar? What have you done to solve it?
Couple of Links To Peruse
by Treadmarkz
Just stopping in to drop a couple of links to my other blog. Normally I would keep the two blogs separate because of the wide gulf in subject matter. But these two posts, while related to my spiritual life, also have a lot to do with disabilities. So you may be interested. Have a look:
I Think I Found My Boundaries In Messing With Walkies
by Treadmarkz
I feel like rolling around town wearing a sweater that says “Texting and Driving Put Me In this Chair” But I won’t. Because I haven’t found a shirt like that yet. Nah, just kidding. The reason is because it is distasteful. And not true. If it were, I’d make a cause out of it. I know a lot of people actually ARE in chairs because of texting and driving. But I don’t know if really outspoken appeals to emotion like that even work. Its kind of like that picture that some of you may have seen floating around the internet of a handicapped parking space with the words “Every 9 minutes Someone Becomes Eligible To Park Here.” Does that work?
I Want Shoes That Fit Me, But Don’t Have Spider-Man On Them
by Treadmarkz
Because of my disability, at a certain age my legs and feet stopped growing. I am an adult with very small feet. I also work in a professional environment, and so I try to keep myself attired appropriately. I have had a hard time, over the years, finding shoes that were age-appropriate that actually fit me. I think I am currently wearing a boy’s dress shoe, which is fine. Because it is either that or a sneaker with a super hero on it.
I have found a couple of websites that sell clothing for disabled people but when it come to shoes usually it is orthopedic shoes, or shoes that are specific to the needs of people with diabetes or different nerve disorders. Often they are slippers. Nothing very professional. Maybe if I came to work wearing slippers nobody would bat an eye knowing that my situation is different, but I would rather not.
As a vegetarian it is also important to me to avoid leather if possible. Unfortunately when it comes down to it, with feet my size, and being on a budget, I often have to take what I can find. Anyone else have a similar experience who can offer some advice?
Leaving Treadmarkz in the Astral Plane
by Treadmarkz,
Greetings! Alright folks, I appreciate your support, and the comments I’ve received from you on the issue’s I’ve raised thus far. And I will continue to write on this blog, hopefully venturing into new uncharted waters on topics relating to disabilities.
But this blog is unable to contain another topic which I really want to write about. So I want to let you know I have expanded to another blog, rollingwithVishnu.wordpress.com in which I will wax philosophical. Its a bit deeper, more esoteric, WAY less sarcastic, but hopefully just as meaningful.
I understand that to many of my readers, it will not be for you, and I respect that. If so, I hope you will continue to follow and contribute to treadmarkz.wordpress.com and appreciate it for what it is.. Thanks, and take care of yourselves.
Victory!
by Treadmarkz
Good news! After a couple of years of asking, borderline complaining, and explaining to my landlords why it would really be helpful to me and beneficial to them to put in a ramp in the front of their office building, I was told today that it fits into their budget to put one in this spring.
I know what you’re thinking, it fits into their budget? Well it is only one step. But it does get complicated to pull myself up that one step. And I told them that having that ramp there would look good to potential renters who are in wheelchairs.
Just to catch new readers up, two years ago I had been told that they might be able to do it but I would have to pay for the materials and labor myself. And then later I was told that corporate told the land lord here that they wouldn’t be able to do it at all. People always ask me “Isn’t that against the Americans with Disabilities Act? Apparently not.
Funny how now that I don’t know how much longer I am going to be living in this apartment, it is finally getting done. But at least it will be there for future residents with disabilities.
Support Televising Wheelchair Basketball National Championships!
by Treadmarkz,
If you are a fan of adaptive sports, you can voice your desire to see the Wheelchair Basketball National Championships on television by going to the facebook page below and click the LIKE button. Let ‘em know there is a market and the networks would do themselves a favor by looking into wheelchair sports and consider televising them. Here’s the link:
