Americans for Disability Act

I've been sort of scornful of some of the uses the ADA has been put - like the stripper in the wheelchair who couldn't get work. However, since I've been the mainstay of my brother who is in a wheelchair I've had an awakening.

Really - don't park in those handicapped places. Even if it's "just for a minute while I run in", it's not cool to take one of those spots. This is especially important since I just got a Handicapped tag for my car.

Also, don't block the ramp which leads from the parking lot to the sidewalk. Recently I took him in for a manicure (I tried trimming his fingernails myself and almost amputated the end of his little finger - this was a job for a professional!) I pulled up to Jannie's and someone had parked in the ramp. Let me tell you that pushing the wheelchair (very light - an Excel Translator - more about that later) with 185 pounds of dead weight up the curb is no fun. Not impossible - there was a slight incline - but still!

Next, for goodness sake! When planning a medical facility in which sick people are waiting for radiation or a variety of scans, don't furnish the waiting room with benches with no backs! What kind of idiot does that? (This was in the Baylor Medical Pavillion, 3900 Junius, Dallas.) In other news, the young aide who took Bobby back to prep him for the CT scan (a) was chewing gum (why do I think this is so offensive?) (b) took him to a room which was not equipped with anything she needed to access a vein for the introduction of the contrast material for the scan - no alcohol swabs, no stretchy thingy to make a tourniquet, no gloves. She had to go get everything - one thing at a time, including another aide who finally did get the needle in the right spot. Also the chair he might have used if he was not in a wheelchair had an attached table that had old coffee rings on it. Ugh.

And finally, when we met his oncologist's nurse for the neulasta shot (to help boost his blood count), the office had moved into a new facility and Monday, when we were there, was their first day. So, OK - I can understand confusion during this transition time.
No less than eight people were standing in like to check in at any one time, and they subsequently lost his check in "ticket" to have his blood drawn, so we waited about 45 minutes before I caught on.

But the main sin is that they have a bank of seven elevators. Seven. And each of the elevators' up/down lights which let you know which elevator has appeared are recessed. Yes, recessed! Not in front where a person could see which door has opened, but hidden from view. There is not one spot on which a person can stand to see all the lights. So, when the elevator dings - you have to rush over to see which one might be available. Unbelievable! Doesn't anyone check this stuff out. This was the new Sammons Cancer Center at Baylor - 3410 Worth Street, Dallas.