A Person is More then their Disability

Katie M.

Physical Environment Assignment

      The gentleman that I spent the day with, for this assignment is, Brandon. Brandon is one of my husband’s best friends and he was diagnosed at the age of 17 with multiple sclerosis.  Brandon’s body has been slowly breaking down over the past 14 years and mobility is not something that comes easy to him any longer. The day that we went out was a surprisingly good day for him; he was able to walk around with a cane rather than having to use his wheelchair. We arrived at Brandon’s parents house, since he cannot live on his own he has to live with his family. We parked in front of their house because my husband knew that Brandon was going to want to drive. He was right. Brandon was opening the front door as we walked up and he greeted us with his cane in hand, holding onto the columns for extra balance while walking down the two stairs onto the sidewalk. After we exchanged hugs and hellos we walked over to his car, a Scion xB, which was surprisingly very accessible for him to get in. Although he had to use a lot of upper body strength he was able to slide right into the driver seat. Brandon was also able to get behind the wheel of his car that had been modified with the brakes and gas at hand level as well as where they normally are at your feet. That day Brandon insisted on driving he wanted to show my husband and I that he still was able to do it and driving was probably the easiest part of his day because he was able to sit the entire time. 

          We soon arrived at our destination, Pepperoni’s, a pizzeria in Duluth that my husband and Brandon frequented as teenagers. Once he parked the car we got out and about five minutes later he also got out of the car, getting in was definitely easier for him then getting out of the car. Otherwise, it was the perfect day for us to have met up with Brandon. Not only was it gorgeous day, traffic was light, and crowding was not an issue because there was also a minimal amount of people at the restaurant because it was in the middle of lunch and dinnertime. So, we were able to walk right in to the restaurant with no trouble having a table available, but that is when I first noticed some physical environment problems that could occur. There were only tables available and that was not going to suffice Brandon’s comfort level. His body was so sore just from walking from his car to the inside of the building that sitting in a hard chair to eat was questionable. We sat down and ordered our pizza and before the pizza was ready we asked for it to be put in a togo box. Brandon could not handle the uncomfortable chairs and as my husband helped him up he gave him the keys. His body was so exhausted that he could not drive the 5 miles back to his parent’s house.

            Back at Brandon’s house we ate our pizza and he showed us the computer and video games that he has been playing. He did this all while lying on his bed propped up by pillows. Brandon was so worn out from not only the sociality of the day by hanging out with us, but also by the lack of comfort and adaptability that he was able to obtain while out having our late lunch. I realized that day that Brandon enjoys his comfort at home with his games and his other personal items because everything there is accessible for him. My husband and Brandon both really wanted to have fun like “old times” that day and it seemed like they both had put a lot into it, but by the end they both seemed disappointed that things were not the same. I realized that day how horrible MS really is and how hard it is for people suffering with this disability and having to adapt to a completely new life style after being seemingly well for so many years before being diagnosed.

                                            

Brandon has not let us take any pictures of him since he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). This is a picture of him (wearing black and a black hat) and my husband (in the blue).