Celebrating Cerebral Palsy!

 

Welcome back people! I can’t believe it’s been an year since we last spoke of Cerebral Palsy. On October 6th last year, we celebrated World CP Day and I spoke of what Cerebral Palsy is and what are the variations of the disability and how it is often judged as polio in me. Today, I thought we should shift focus from the problem and the gap in providing solutions to the attempts that have been made to bridge the gap. It is a lesson that a learnt from 2020 that I must appreciate things I have today instead of crying about the things I that want or could have had.

I’m going to list out things as they come to my mind and if I miss something, please let me know in the comments section. These advantages may not be specific to CP, but they definitely make it a little easier to live with this disability.   

I’m going to talk about my favorite thing first – I can go to the mall and the movies with my friends and family. Yay! I’m glad that I’m living at a time when most of the malls have wheelchairs keeping in mind the needs of their disabled visitors. I would definitely miss out


a lot of fun if this sensitivity didn’t increase along with the growth of the mall culture.

If I want to spend money,  I gotta be earning, isn’t it? Employment opportunities for the disabled are far better today, than they were a few decades ago. If there is 3% reservation in government jobs (CP is yet to find its separate place, but we could hope to see some specific changes soon ), the private sector is not very far in providing its share of support for the people with disability. In my experience, I have seen some very interesting policies of inclusion that take care of the employment  and well being of employees like me.  

Hyderabad’s metro rail has also given me many reasons to be happy. I hear that the lifts, ticket vending machines, and fair gates are all wheelchair friendly. The distance between the platform and the train has been designed keeping in mind the convenience of wheelchair users. Inside the train there’s a specific  spot reserved for a wheelchair.  Apparently every metro station has a specific washroom for the differently abled, which are equipped with grab bars. Although it has been in operation since 2017, I ‘vent had a chance to travel by it.  I hope I get an opportunity soon so that I can enjoy the facilities designed for me.

I thought climbing a number of steps is the only way to reach God. I could never imagine a lift in a structure like a temple. I was surprised to find a lift in not one, but temples – the Birla Mandir and the Wargal Saraswati Temple. These are the only two temples I’ve seen with a lift, but Google tells me there are many temples in and around Hyderabad that provide this facility. if you’re someone who uses a wheelchair and want to visit a temple, don’t worry about accessibility. Now, going to the temple is made easy for us too.

I heard that counting blessings increases them, so let’s hope I can add more things to the list of activities I can do and places I can visit by next year.  Happy CP Day!!!!

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