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COMPUTERS are such wonderful things! Ever since I got one installed in my home, life has never been dull or monotonous.
And adding an Internet software about two and a half years ago has enabled me to go places where my wheelchair can't. I can communicate with hundreds of people through e-mail without having to go to the nearest mailbox or worry about inaccessible post offices.
This year, I've made lots of friends on the Net, many of whom I have yet to meet. Among them is a group of friends with service dogs that are specially trained to help people with disabilities.
Recently, I wrote to them asking how they intend to spend Christmas with their special four-footed companions.
Elaine Dechter, 45, of San Francisco, the United States, who lost her hearing and sense of balance eight years ago after contracting a rare virus, writes:
"My Tawny, a three-year-old yellow Labrador retriever, alerts me to significant sounds like people calling my name, my keys dropping, the kitchen timer alarm, the doorbell and the telephone."
"She helps me to walk and keeps me steady. She also helps me get down on the floor and back up again safely and easily.
"Tawny is also a great way to bribe my daughter to get her schoolwork done. My daughter will do anything for a chance to play with Tawny!"
"Decorating the Christmas tree is a delightful exercise for Tawny. Last year she demolished most of the chewy treats that Santa had left her in her Christmas stocking and was quite pleased with herself afterwards."
Judith Saylor of the United States was injured in a motor accident 12 years ago. It took 4 1/2 years for her to learn to walk again. But because of a spinal-cord injury, she now has to contend with a serious co-ordination problem.
She writes: "The doctors say I'm using different nerves to control movement. It can be as significant as wanting my leg to take a step but making a fist instead. Mornings are the worst. I can't roll off my back without help. I also struggle with stiffened muscles--so stiff that when I wake up in the morning, they are like cement.
"My service dog, Bear, an Irish Wolfhound/Akita mix, waits patiently beside my bed each morning and greets me the second my eyes roll open with an enthusiastic 'kiss".
"Bear helps me with several of the exercises I must do to get my muscles to respond. These exercises can take up to two hours at a time."
"Bear rolls me into position, tests my legs periodically for muscle responsiveness, helps sit me up on the side of the bed and even lifts me up to my feet by burrowing his head and neck under my arms--always careful to make sure that I don't fall in the process."
"Having Bear around gives me the much-needed confidence and independence to go out shopping or eat out at local restaurants."
"Bear and I will be training a new service dog for a little boy (also disabled) this Christmas. The boy got his canine partner on his birthday earlier this month. Bear and I will stay with the family until Christmas to teach them how to work together effectively."
Nancy E. West from Lakeland, Florida, is also disabled and is assisted by Sarge, the pet Cocker, and Dazzle Vizsla, a service dog in training. West and her dogs are looking forward to attending the Christmas eve service at their church.
For Sherrill Horn, 54, of Beltsville, Maryland, her two dogs, Mysty and Timer, and her cat, Buttons, it's a time of joy for they always get their Christmas stockings filled up to the brim.
"Christmas brings 20 rawhide bones per dog and catnip for Buttons. The two-year-old Mysty will also get a crate and a new bed next week, and Timer will get a new stuffed toy."
"I use a reclining/tilting wheelchair and Timer, who is 11 1/2 years old, used to help me open doors, transfer from seat to seat and bring anything that I needed."
"She helped me when I felt bad or was sick. She used to go everywhere with me including the hospital, schools, stores and restaurants. Her arthritis and sight worsened over the last two years, and since then she has retired from all heavy work and only goes out to one or two places.
"Mysty joined our family last summer and already knows several specific tasks. This New Year we will celebrate both their birthdays."
Kirstan Mooney, 33, of New Zealand, became blind when the nerves in her brain were damaged in a car crash 16 years ago.
Mooney now spends much of her time giving talks mainly to children about disability and safe travelling. Mooney has two gorgeous black Labrador-Guide dogs, Fern, 14, and Anna, 4. She say: "Fern and Anna can't wait to help us unwrap our presents (and theirs too!) on Christmas morning. They then scamper around the house with bits of shiny wrapping paper in their mouths.
"But the 'girls' are usually on their best behaviour during Christmas lunch with the whole family--despite the irresistible smell of turkey, vegetables, ham and delicious desserts."
"They won't get up from under the table--as they've been trained to do. What they don't know yet though is that, after we have lunched, a special Christmas treat awaits them. This time, it will be a small portion of turkey each together with some chewy dog-treat that will keep them busy and happy for several hours."
"I love my two wonderfully loyal and affectionate 'girls' who make my Christmas happier and more meaningful in so many ways. "
-article used with permission from the author and is copyrighted by The Star (1998).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anthony Thanasayan, is the wheelchair bound writer of The Star’s Wheel Power column. He highlights issues on the disabled in his Wheel Power column which he started writing in 1995. Anthony is also the founder of REACH (which stands for Reaching out Educating the Able-bodied and Caring for the Handicapped) which was set up in 1985. Since then he has campaigned against rail company Star-LRT in 1994 for their lack of disabled friendly facilities. Way to go, Anthony!
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