A Day With Thomas

Frederick Smith

10/21/2014

HS 3300

“A Day With Thomas”

For my outing I went with Thomas who is a disabled friend of mine. Thomas is a paraplegic. When he was 16 he got into a motorcycle accident where he skid into a rail side and hit his back to the point of paralyzing his legs. He was comfortable with the restaurant Zaxby’s. The accessibility was good as well. Thomas is a great guy with no problems of privacy on his condition. He’s very open in terms of sociality and interacts with anyone who ask him about questions. He even wrote a story about his accident and how it affected his life that he shared with me. It made me tear up because of how passionate he wrote about it and the way in which he wrote it. Although personally I will never understand what he has gone through he did a very good job at showing just how much this changed his current life and what was going through his mind. He talked about how he wanted to go to college for soccer when he was able to play. The way he handled this change was extraordinary. One thing I've learned about him is that he likes to have control over opening the door. Some people try and open the door for him, but he insists that he can do it himself, which he can. He doesn't like to do any sports anymore because the activity reminds him too much of when he used to be able to play sports and use his legs. After we ate at Zaxby’s we went to the park to feed ducks and geese. Even though there was a lot of people at Dillenger Park crowding had no effect on him. He had no problem of moving through the people and seemed very happy to interact with the animals. I was impressed with how comfortably he moved around his environment and nothing seemed to be an obstacle to him. Legibility was very well. A little girl came up to him and asked him what happened and he smiled and answered her. He has had no problem finding his way and I’m honestly affected by him in a strong way. To see someone go through so much and have to face something each day from the questions and the concerns of accessibility with environment. He’s a passionate and positive person. What happened he has not let get down on him.  I know that each day that goes by in his life anyone who has a disability can see him as a person to look up to. The way he handles each day with confidence and happiness is a unique outlook on life that can be embraced. The story he wrote is something he could use to reach out to people that are struggling to adjust to their new life or current life. I hope to continue to be his friend and learn more from someone like him everyday.