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LOCAL COMMENT: Don't leave disabled behind 

Escape plans and volunteers can be lifesavers in workplaces

October 18, 2001

BY BARBARA MCKEE

The elevator is stuck again. It's the sixth time since I began this job. Up until today, I would joke with the people passing me by on their way to the stairs, stating I was keeping watch to make sure no one ripped off a computer or try to get a date with a cute fireman. This would bring the inevitable smiles and small talk, and then they would continue their descent to the ground, where freedom lay.

But today I can't engage in such inane chatter. As I look out to the parking lot and street beyond, I have an overwhelming urge to crawl out of my wheelchair and make my way down the stairs no matter what the physical consequence. But I don't, reminding myself that the events of Sept. 11 aren't happening to me, right here, right now. It's just a broken elevator. No one is trying to kill me; no one knows, or even cares, that I wait in fear.

I can't help but think of those who perished as a frightened throng of people, some friends of the disabled person, filed past in desperation to save themselves. Some might have given encouraging words of rescue; some averted their eyes, knowing that they were leaving a fellow human being behind. It dawns on them how fast humans can disassociate from someone who might keep them from salvation.

One brave soul took the chance and carried one of us on his back, telling the others he encountered that he would be back to get them. The relief of those who passed by was apparent, as this Good Samaritan lifted their burden of guilt. I imagine the pats on the shoulder, the murmurs of good luck and prayer. The abandoned had no choice but to trust this hero, unable to accept that the crumbling building had sealed their fate.

As I think of the horrifying scenarios that took place, I can't help but begin to cry, knowing that I, and others like me, might suffer that same fate one day. Left behind with promises and lies, words of encouragement that mask the truth: There is no plan to be saved by ordinary people. That task is left to the "professionals," the firefighters and police. But what if they don't come? What if they can't? This is what happened inside the towers, and it will happen again.

Most people don't know that carrying a disabled person is much like carrying a child. We are, in fact, reduced to the helplessness of an infant in times of crisis. A set of stairs reminds us just who we are. A fire alarm announces to us that we are completely dependent on altruism. We feel the fear begin in our gut, hoping that just one person will be our Good Samaritan today.

Disabled Americans must teach others how to save us, and teach ourselves. Many of us have no idea that it's our responsibility to case the building to ensure our safety. How many of us ask for the disabled escape plan at our jobs? How many of us have one for our homes? I know hundreds of wheelchair-disabled people who have only one way out of their house. Even the best-designed accessible homes have one exit.

In multistory buildings, disabled individuals truly put their lives in danger if there isn't a well-developed escape plan. Help from a compassionate stranger or a firefighter can't be the only answer. But how to remedy such dangers? Exclude the disabled from working anywhere than the first floor? That would place them at risk of being denied employment. Landing a job in the disabled community is tough enough as it is. Throw in their safety in a crisis and it will be close to impossible to get a job in a multistoried building.

Ideas are the cornerstones of change. I have one that I hope will begin some serious discussion that is long overdue. Bouncing a wheelchair down a flight of stairs is dangerous to all involved. Common evac chairs are clumsy and intimidating. How about a special stretcher on each floor that can be slid down the stairs by other employees? Rescue teams have been using the stretcher on steep rescues for years. Training for such rescue makes sense, just as training to administer CPR has proved to save thousands of lives.

My fellow Americans in New York had no chance of survival. Blessed are those who tried to save them. The many who died had no idea how to save themselves. Neither did those around them. But that can change. It MUST change. It is our duty as humans to help one another, sometimes at the risk of our own lives. People can learn how to rescue the disabled, just as they have learned other life-saving procedures. It's time to give the disabled an equal chance at staying alive.

BARBARA J. McKEE lives and writes in Albuquerque, N.M., where she is a freelance writer on disability issues. Write to her in care of the Free Press Editorial Page, 600 W. Fort St., Detroit, MI 48226.

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