Time For Change

A couple of days ago I had what is called a home evaluation. The home evaluation is a procedure where a licensed occupational therapist shows of your home and does a walk-through to examine the possibilities of your home environment is becoming more accessible and more usable to you. In this case me. Now, this is the first time I have ever dealt with anything like an occupational therapist come into my living environment. This whole event is a major event for me. I think it's sort of means I'm getting ready for the next step in my new life of retirement. Granted this is more an issue of living environment and access but I've only come around to this idea since I retired and quite frankly been involved in the Wellness program offered through University rehabilitation.

I think I am becoming more open and examining more issues relative to access and my debilitating person as I age. I can see the need for these being traditions, and moments of advice for the medical model and the medical community but does not make that process any easier for me as a person with a disability who has been in somewhat control of his life for the past 40 some years. I mean I have survived fairly well as a person with a disability up until relatively recently. Since I've been going to Wellness as well is my rehabilitation process the last couple of years, I've gotten to know these professionals by side and to some degree on a personal level. Now this is not true of the staff at the sugarhouse Rehab facility but still I see them every moment I am at rehab and thus become familiar with the folks and I hear things about how good they do things. So I let my guard down a little and allowing these folks to peek into my world and see what they can do to make my world a bit more friendly to me.

So, this last Tuesday I had Nicole somebody who is an OT come to the house and do the walk-through. We scheduled for 10 o'clock which is okay. Dianne had spenta good portion of the weekend prepping the house to get ready for this event. The house looked pretty good. We were ready. Nicole showed up a little early which is okay. She brought a student OT with her, a para which is always interesting, I love watching paras in their own environments, which is always entertaining.

We did the greetings I introduced Dianne to the folks that we did the walk-through. Now let me say in the defense of everyone that I had never done anything like this before. I did not know what to expect, ask, our request. What I did think that the walk-through was notably more than one is. She pretty much just gave her ideas of what could be and quite frankly Dianne and I have been through this for some time on our own we know what we want what we are really doing, or what we thought we were doing, was quick enough a requirement that we would need in order to be sure we could use any changes to the house as rehabilitation nature and be open for any kind of tax options we might get or enjoy. Right off the bat Nicole pretty much indicated that is not what she was therefore into her knowledge there was no way that she could fulfill any such requirement. Now I disagree with that knowing what I know. So obviously we probably know more in this area on global issues of disability, tax benefits liabilities etc.

We wrestled to the house spending a lot of time on the bathrooms and what could or could not be done. In the end they left and we felt a little silly and having gone through the process but we did assure each other that we did have to go through the process in order to get to the next step and that is to speak with contractors who actually begin to make change in the household and this is exciting.

Which basically came out of the walk-through was that I have lived three decades actually for decades with my disability I have learned how to cope I've learned how to survive I would not enjoy my environment is much as I can. As I age I am losing the ability to continue to enjoy my environment as is now I have to look at physically changing that environment to meet my needs. I'm excited to have Dianne working with me on this project because she knows far more than I what is out there in the community and in the world for more accessible living. We now have to go to the next or work with my friend over and Assist,UCAT and anywhere else I feel might be helpful and rewarding financially in this project. I don't think it's going to be easy but it's what I've got left to do in my life spend a little time on me… I think I'm excited.