Welcome to a special six-part series featuring Megan Bailey. Megan speaks openly from her perspective as a young woman living with a lifelong disability. In her early years, she received therapy services through Rainbows United.
Today, she’s a college graduate, a professional, and an advocate—ready to share her journey.
Special thanks to Brandon Paulseen, host of the ICT Podcast, who sat down with Megan to hear her story—you can listen in here.
Sometimes I wish I didn’t have CP because then I could walk and run around more easily. When the weather is cold, my legs cramp up. I have to dress warmly, but sometimes when I am covered in layers of clothing, my muscles still get tight. I like the warmer weather better because my legs don’t cramp up at all. Once at the Swim Club, I was swimming in water that was not heated and my muscles got so tight that it was difficult to walk to the car because my legs hurt and it was so cold outside.
One of the challenges of living with my disability is that I don’t drive, partly because of my CP, but mostly because of my anxiety. It is sometimes frustrating that I have to wait for a ride from someone. Most of the time, it is my mom that takes me where I need to be. Unfortunately, if she is busy or not feeling well, I don’t get to go, or we need to make other arrangements. When I make plans to go out with my friends, I have to wait for them to pick me up.
Choir practice is on Wednesday nights. When I get dropped off at church, I have to let my mom, or my driver know the time that I will be done, so they know when to pick me up. Similarly, when I had class and work. I would give my mom a few minutes’ notice, so she knew when and where to pick me up. Walking takes extra time with my canes, so we always try to park in the handicap parking, so I don’t have to walk as far.
Traveling has always been difficult for my family and I. When we travel, we try to find hotels and Airbnb’s that are handicapped accessible, and we always take my grab bars, so I don’t slip and fall in the shower. New places always present challenges. There was an Airbnb in Minnesota where I had to walk up and down a steep hill in the yard that had wet grass to get into the basement apartment. It was not quite as advertised.
My mom and dad try to choose attractions that I can get to easily. This excludes long hikes. I can only take short walks to waterfalls, or wherever we are going. If it is a long distance, I ride in my wheelchair, so my legs don’t get worn out. Most of the attractions we find are indoors, so it is easier for me to get around.