This
body has betrayed me. It’s often a
struggle to regulate my blood sugar and I daily battle depression with
anxiety. Add to that diagnoses of
Sjogren’s syndrome, connective tissue disease, fibromyalgia, and
hypersomnolence. With all of this, I
have been truly blessed. I’ve come to
appreciate the good days and am grateful that there are now more of them than
bad ones. With the help of an amazing
medical team, I’ve come a long way. When
I started physical therapy many years ago, I could not walk two blocks without a
cane. Now, with proper planning and some
help, I’m able to go for daily walks and enjoy a great deal of
independence.
Every
few months, I make the drive from Somerset to Nashville to visit my grandson
(and his parents, of course). Remaining
in one position wreaks havoc on my muscles and increases pain. So, I do as my physical therapist suggests: I
stop often to move around. He also
dictates that I “live, woman, live!” Good advice.
Daisy
is my traveling companion – my partner, my friend, my service dog. She is a carefully trained mobility assistant. If I kneel, she stands before me to act as a
brace while I rise. She pulls me
upright from a seat. She helps me keep
my balance by pulling just enough on the leash.
She retrieves things I’ve dropped and carries valuables in her
pack. She gives me the freedom to travel
alone and she shares my adventures.
She has
walked with me through the forests of six states, ridden on buses and in tow
trucks. She has toured Makers Mark Distillery,
the Corvette Museum, Mammoth Cave, and the Louisville Zoo. She watches over my grandson, playfully
fetches the ball he can only throw a few feet, and was invited into the
hospital when he was born. At our
“halfway home” – the Comfort Inn in Morehead KY – she is greeted by name and
knows her way to our regular room.
As we
returned from our last visit, I chose a different hotel in an attempt to save
some cash. Big mistake. When I informed the night clerk that I was
travelling with a service animal, she stated that there would be an extra
charge. I have never been charged a fee
before, but a second employee reinforced the position, saying that he’d checked
with the manager that morning. Now, this
is illegal, but I was tired and in no mood to argue - all I really wanted was a
hot bath and a clean bed. So, I asked if
there were grab bars in the tub and was, surprisingly, told that there were
not. I then asked for a handicapped
accessible room and was told that they were not pet friendly. Baffled, I requested my credit card be
returned as I would be staying elsewhere.
In the
parking lot my mood changed from baffled to incredulous, then quickly escalated
to righteous indignation. After a few
deep breaths, I returned to the desk to inform the staff that I would be
pursuing the matter further only to be met with a look of honest
confusion. “You just denied me access to
a handicap room because I have a service dog.
That’s illegal!” I nearly shouted with wavering voice. With utmost calm, I was told that I wasn’t
being denied, I just had to stay in a pet friendly room. (And forgo my bath, I suppose) Like a two-year-old in a tantrum, I bellowed,
“This is the worst travel experience I’ve ever had!” and stomped away.
We live
in a digital world. My first act was to
post an unfavorable review on the hotel’s Facebook page, my second, to complain
to my friends. That night we stayed at
another hotel – one considerably more expensive than the Comfort Inn (that will
teach me not to be cheap) but, at least, I enjoyed a bath and was treated with
respect.
With morning came a message from
the hotel manager containing a perfunctory apology and an attempt to defend his
position. What followed was a long, but
polite, argument via Messenger. As we
conversed, my anger dissipated. This
gentleman truly impressed me as he researched the ADA (Americans with
Disabilities Act) and pledged to educate both himself and his staff.
In the end was this, indeed, a big
mistake and the worst travel experience ever?
Maybe not. It is my belief that
people with disabilities – visible or not – will enjoy a greater understanding
of their rights and that this hotel will strive to accommodate them and their service animals. For my part, I’ve rewritten my review and am
looking forward to our next visit to Grayson, KY.
Rebecca is the President & Executive Director of The Ethel Fund
Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to changing animals' lives by
providing assistance in times of catastrophic veterinary need. To learn
more, please visit http://www.ethelfund.org or
https://www.facebook.com/TheEthelFund. You may contact Rebecca at rslindeman@ethelfund.org.
Phil Balko is
the proprietor of Photography by Balko and donates his talents to the Ethel
Fund Inc. as well as other community organizations. To see more of his work, visit http://philipbalko.com/.
You may contact Phil at inquiry@philipbalko.com.
Did you
notice i was crying
Baylee Kimmel has never considered
himself “book smart.” He is more of a
hands-on kind of student and an independent learner. For almost as long as he can remember, Baylee
has worked alongside his father, repairing or rebuilding some form of
transportation. His career interests
vary but follow a certain theme: mechanics or, as he puts it, “anything you can
take apart and try to fix.” He has
considered becoming a pilot, living off the land in Alaska, or following family
tradition to work in the coal mines. His
hopes currently lie in motorcycles and he has plans to someday open a bike shop
of his own in one of the southern states where the weather allows riders to
enjoy every day.
Dylan Shipley has long known what
he wants to do with his life and has laid a path that will surely lead to his
success. He can remember when he was
just a child of eight years, watching his mother struggle to improve her
cooking skills. He speaks with
admiration of her journey from tasteless meals to delicious cuisine. Her transformation inspired his career choice
and he is well prepared. Dylan has graduated
from both high school and vo-tech, where he studied culinary arts. He will continue his education at the
Pittsburgh Technical Institute studying both Culinary Arts and Hospitality
Management.
Ask any of these students and
they’ll admit this is the day they’ve been waiting for. The day they leave childhood behind and walk
boldly into adulthood. They will also
admit that each is a bit afraid, but they’ll be okay. Ashley, Baylee, and Dylan have been well
prepared by their families and their school.
As they – and the entire class of 2016 – set out to make their way, they
have the support and congratulations of us all.