Meet Corey
Meet Corey: He trains and coordinates Junior Volunteers for Valley View
Hospital, holds a degree in psychology and loves pushing the limits of his
abilities. His voice will change you.
At age two, I was diagnosed with a degenerative muscular disease.
I have been in a wheelchair since second grade.
I have limited use of my arms and hands. Yet, in my mind, I don’t see
myself as I look. When I’m talking to someone, or in my dreams, I don’t see
myself in my chair. I would describe myself as having the mindset of an athlete
– confident, stubborn and a bit cocky.
There was a time when I was self-conscious about my physical
presence, but no more. If people seem
uncomfortable with that, I can pick up on that and I approach them. I admit that I might push their comfort level
purposely. It might be kind of a jerk
thing to do, but I find that opens up the gate to communicating. Those with
disabilities have a responsibility to do our part in opening up conversation
and not just waiting for someone else to be the first to say hello.
I do want to use my voice to speak for those that cognitively
or physically can’t speak for themselves. What I want people to know is that I
just want to be seen and treated as any other person. We all have our strengths and quirks.
I can easily identify all the positives I got out of the
negative. I am a realist. I know that the muscle degeneration that I
experience puts limitations on my physical self, but it does not limit who I
am.
I like to be a part of the community. I like to walk around town and stop in at the
coffee shop and read the newspaper.
There are physical barriers that keep me from being able to fully
participate as others might. I was called to jury duty some years back. I am capable of serving on a jury, but I
couldn’t because I couldn’t get into the building. Not that I’m complaining about getting out of
jury duty. There are many buildings that
are inaccessible to me even if they have no stairs. Without an auto-door opener, I can’t open the
door. That door opener that most people
don’t notice is to me, and many others, the difference between being included
and independent or not. If we looked at
these “little things,” we would solve big problems.
I recently graduated from the Roaring Fork Community
Leadership Center with the class of 2018.
I think that leadership is really about letting people organically grow
and guiding them. To lead is to teach.
I hope adding my voice to the conversation helps educate and
teach, and that it lets people grow in a new understanding of inclusion for
all.
Join the conversation.
We want to hear YOUR
voice.
In what ways is our
environment inaccessible to people with disabilities?
Valley Life for All, A
Non-Profit. Reach us at: 970-319-1279 www.valleylifeforall.org voiceabilityBLOG#valleylife4all #voiceability4all
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