Recently, I discovered that the iLevel® feature on my Edge® 3 Power Wheelchair gives me the ability to paint my walls.
I recently moved into a building in my hometown of Kemmerer in Wyoming. The building is from 1928 and required renovations for an office and a small apartment behind it. When I found this building, I knew it was really a good fit for what I needed to do in the future. Having an office with a home is always important.
In October, I came home for homecoming and I was looking for an office and a small place to live. While watching the homecoming parade with my friend high school friend Billy, he said I should think about the building across the street. I looked at him with a little bit of shock. The building was an old mortuary! He laughed at me and said I really needed to go look it. So, we called the owner and I went for a tour with a little bit of reluctance.
The cool thing is this building is located right in the middle of the town I love. It had an amazing office in the front and a huge room with a full kitchen. Before it was a mortuary, it had been a game room and a daycare. I really saw the potential in this building. I could section it off, make my office in front and have an apartment in the back. So, I got to work.
My high school girlfriend Cathy has a son Richie who could do all the work for me. We put up a new wall, getting rid of the polka dots that were there. Then, we started to paint. Because of having iLevel technology on my power wheelchair, I could help Ritchie paint, which I loved doing.
Many of the buildings built here back in the early 1900s had businesses in the front, an apartment up top or on the back. So, this new conversion really fit the downtown area.
What’s amazing about being home in a small community is so many people help out. I’m excited for spring to get here because the triangle park is close by. Plus, the first JC Penney store is here in Kemmerer and a grocery store is only two blocks away, which is perfect rolling distance for my Edge 3 Power Wheelchair. It’s good to be home.
About Madonna Long: Madonna works as a disability advocate to educate policymakers and congressional leaders on disability issues. She is a mother to four children and lives life on her terms, despite a spinal cord injury. Click here to learn more about Madonna.