Hi, am Michael Megna...thats how i present my self to people in the streets, most of them reply with a hi or simply smile, others dont even bother to look... you might think i get offended but this is something i have to deal with everyday of my life. I was born with Cerebral Palsy which confines me in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. people like me with this disorder are thought to be mentally impaired because of speech defect. But if you ask some of friends they can tell you that am no retard, i may look like am not aware of my sorroundings but am just aware as anyone without disabilities. I was raised by grandmother who later place me in a Mental school because she was unable to provide me with the same help as when i was a child, i had grown up and need different attention, so that became the best solution for my family. I spend 16yrs at Fernal school for mentally retarded. While i was in the school i was labeled a "retard" and that hurts me inside because i might not have the physical features as people without disabilities but my mind, is just like people withouth disabilities. I was deprived of normal education, i never learned to read or write, for a while i searched for a school program that would teach me this skill but i was unsuccessfull. But this didnt stop me from helping others with the same problem as me, I formed a group while i was in Fernal school for people with disabilities like me. I wrote all kinds of letters to the state house to allow people with disabilities to have there own apartments and live normal lifes. I also voluntered at the watertown Public Library twice aweek where i would stamp and shelve books. I also started a group home for people in wheelchairs, where i lived for 2yrs. I was getting tired of living in unsanitary rooms and crowded with people, around 1978 i moved into my present apartment. which is spacious, with high walls, and best all i live by myself. As soon as i moved into this apartment my life changed completely. I became more independant, i would go out everyday and come back when ever i wanted, without having anyone to boss me around. Later i started to receive help from people, they where called "homemakers" they would cook for me, and bathe me, and clean the house. though they were only limited to work for two hours. as i started to get older i realized i needed more help, meaning i needed the "Homemakers" to work more than two hours for me. So i had to look for PCAS, which stands for "Personal Care Assistant" they would do the samething as a homemaker but with more hours. I have gotten used to the idea that they come and go. So when one lives i say "good bye" knowing i might never talk to them again. But there is one person who worked for me a whileago and when she worked with me she promise to stay in contact and she kept it, she is the only one that has been true to her word. Though i have to admit that sometimes it hurts knowing how much time you have spend with these people, who became sort of like a "family" to me.
I would say anything is possible, for example who would of thought that Michael Megna would walk?!!?? me, someone who has been in a wheelchair since he was an infant... i accomplish this dream when i was 40yrs old and it was one of the greats experience in my life, a feel thats unpredictable and hard to describe. This become one more thing i had conquered, because i believe in myself and nothing will stop me from living my life even if it means to fail, every fall is a rise for me.