I have angels all the time, too. People constantly ask Angella if she needs
help getting my chair in her car. they're always there to open doors too.

~Tamar Mag Raine
[log in to unmask]
IM: tamarmag48
Oakland Mayor's Commission on People with disabilities


> [Original Message]
> From: Lisa Saunders <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 12/24/2004 5:31:31 AM
> Subject: Wheel Chair on Train
>
> My daugther is unable to walk as a result of cerebral palsy. I thought
I'd =20
> send you our story of getting caught in Hurricane Floyd on a train.=20
> =20
> =20
> =E2=80=9CElizabeth=E2=80=99s and Floyd=E2=80=99s Excellent
Adventure=E2=80=
> =9D=20
> (Appeared in the =E2=80=9CRockland  Review=E2=80=9D)=20
> by=20
> Lisa Saunders=20
>
> =E2=80=9CHey!  Can  somebody please help me get on the train?!=E2=80=9D
Hurr=
> icane Floyd was=20
> roaring up the  Eastern seaboard while I was traveling south.  Alone with
my=
> =20
> severely handicapped  daughter, I wondered how I=E2=80=99d get her aboard
wi=
> th her=20
> stroller, car seat and our  luggage.=20
> I recently returned to Rockland County, NY, from Maryland, after an
absence=
> =20
> of twenty years.  I  remembered well as a teenager that nothing exciting
eve=
> r=20
> happened here. We  rarely even got snow days.  Maryland  at least had
violen=
> t=20
> thunderstorms that were thrilling to watch and there was  always a
possibili=
> ty=20
> of at least a little tornado. =20
> When I realized that Hurricane Floyd was due to hit the day I was
scheduled=
> =20
> to take Amtrak to Maryland, I was filled with anticipation.    I was
taking=20=
> my=20
> youngest and  we were going to help my husband Jim complete our move up=20
> North.  Now, traveling with my daughter  Elizabeth means no ordinary trip
-=20
> hurricane or no.  At nine, her cerebral palsy is so  severe, she cannot
spea=
> k, hold=20
> up her head, is still in diapers, and can only  eat soft foods.
Although=20
> small, she  is getting heavy!  What Elizabeth  does have, however, is a
read=
> y smile=20
> and the love of adventure.  She likes nothing better than going  places
by=20
> car or stroller.  Sitting  on my lap in the train would be a special
treat.=20
> The cab ride itself to the Newark train station was a thrill. We had to
=20
> plunge through foot-deep waters, risking stalling the car, so that the
drive=
> r =20
> could get me there on time. We=E2=80=99d lost some time getting lost and
wer=
> e behind =20
> schedule, so the cab driver dumped me off in the pouring rain. There I
was,=20=
> =20
> struggling with my suitcase, Elizabeth, her stroller, and her car seat.
Not=20=
> a =20
> single harried soul there felt inclined to help this poor, distraught,
runni=
> ng =20
> late-to-catch-the-train mother of a handicapped child. I finally figured
out=
> =20
> how  to carry Elizabeth and everything, and found an elevator that went
up t=
> o=20
> the  track level. Just in time. The platform appeared deserted except for
an=
> =20
> old,  confused woman clinging to her son. =20
> =E2=80=9CMom, I=E2=80=99m sorry, I have to go now =E2=80=93 I=E2=80=99m
ille=
> gally parked. When the train =20
> comes, just pick up your suitcase and get on it.=E2=80=9D With that he
kisse=
> d her and =20
> ran off.=20
> Oh sure, I=E2=80=99m thinking. My grandmother, even in the earliest
stages o=
> f her =20
> Alzheimer=E2=80=99s, would never have been able to figure out how to get
on=20=
> the right =20
> train with her luggage and get a seat. =E2=80=9CDon=E2=80=99t
worry,=E2=80=
> =9D I assured her. =E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99ll=20
> make  sure you get on.=E2=80=9D When she surveyed my situation, she
didn=E2=
> =80=99t look =20
> confident.=20
> Now what was I going to do? I always thought it was adventurous to figure
=20
> out how to get Elizabeth from point A to point B, but a confused
grandmother=
>  =20
> with her luggage too? How on earth were we going to leap on the train in
ti=
> me?=20
> As the train pulled in, I panicked. As people disembarked at the far end
of=
> =20
> the platform, I yelled, =E2=80=9CCan somebody please help me get on the
trai=
> n!=E2=80=9D A =20
> baggage-type person helped the grandmother, and I managed Elizabeth,
strolle=
> r, =20
> suitcase, and car seat. Once on board, I knew it would be impossible to
find=
>  a=20
>  seat. People sprawled themselves apathetically across both seats and
watche=
> d=20
> me  struggle. Finally a tough looking young  man with a colorful cap
grabbed=
> =20
> my car  seat and said he=E2=80=99d find me a seat. He ordered a woman to
mov=
> e her=20
> stuff, and I  was situated comfortably at the end of a car. By that
time,=20
> Elizabeth and I  realized we were completely soaked, but we also felt
exhila=
> rated by=20
> the  excitement. Little did we know: the excitement was just beginning!=20
> When we pulled inside the Philadelphia station, we were told over the =20
> speaker system that as a result of Hurricane Floyd, we=E2=80=99d be
stopping=
>  there =20
> indefinitely. The other passengers groaned at the delay. All I could
think o=
> f  was how=20
> much more exciting this would be if we were parked outside, watching the
wa
> ter swirling around us, than stuck down here in the dark, dingy bowels of
a=20=
> =20
> train station. =20
> Eventually our train moved out and continued heading south. Lo, the wind
di=
> d=20
> blow and the rain did descend. I watched the flooding with awe.=20
> I took Elizabeth to the dining car, so I could stock up on cookies and
othe=
> r=20
> necessary supplies, just in case we got stuck again. The man behind the
foo=
> d=20
> counter noticed Elizabeth and let me cut in front of everyone. Traveling
=20
> with her does have its advantages! I asked him not to sell the last
yogurt.=20=
> That =20
> was the only soft food that Elizabeth could eat if we were forced to
stop=20
> again  for long periods. He promised he would keep it for her.=20
> As we chugged along southward, the water on the tracks grew deep. We
plowed=
> =20
> slowly through it. Then stopped. We stopped and started several times,
whil=
> e=20
> they kept clearing the tracks of fallen trees. Stranded automobiles along
t=
> he=20
> way sat parked with water up to their windows. During one of our stops,
it =20
> was announced that we would be stopped for an indefinite period of time.
The=
>  =20
> signals were down, and we could not cross over a bridge which lay just
ahead=
> .=20
> We  were told to remain calm =E2=80=93 that's always a confidence
booster=20=
> =E2=80=93 and to go=20
> to the  dining car for free food. One woman ran to the dining car and
starte=
> d=20
> screaming  hysterically. =E2=80=9CYou have no biscottis! That=E2=80=99s
what=
>  I wanted =E2=80=93 I=20
> wanted  biscottis!=E2=80=9D A true New Yorker!=20
> Elizabeth, of course, was having a ball. All this stalling meant more
time=20
> cuddling in my lap. She turned her head up to look at me and smiled =20
> contentedly, fully unaware that no one else around her felt such joy.
When I=
>  was  forced=20
> to leave her in her car seat to forage for food, the bored woman across
the=
> =20
> aisle seemed pleased to watch her, glad to have some purpose in  life.=20
> When my turn arrived in the dining car, I was alarmed to learn that all
the=
> =20
> yogurt was gone. There was a different man behind the counter who knew =20
> nothing of the promised yogurt. He was still recovering from the biscotti
la=
> dy.  I=20
> panicked for a moment. What if we are here overnight? What if Elizabeth
=20
> starved? Could I keep her warm enough? What if, Heaven forbid, I ran out
of=20=
> =20
> diapers? =20
> I felt like a distraught mother in one of those disaster movies, enduring
=20
> all kinds of perils to keep her child alive. Suddenly I noticed someone
with=
>  an =20
> uneaten yogurt on her lap. I paused before asking =E2=80=93 but this had
to=20=
> be done. =20
> =E2=80=9CExcuse me,=E2=80=9D I said, =E2=80=9CI have a handicapped child,
an=
> d yogurt is the only=20
> thing  she can eat. Can I trade my sandwich for that?=E2=80=9D=20
> =E2=80=9COf course,=E2=80=9D she said unhesitatingly.=20
> Another woman overheard us. =E2=80=9CHere, take mine, too.=E2=80=9D=20
> My disaster movie, getting better all the time, rolled along as more of
=20
> these previously apathetic people came forward with their yogurts. One
old m=
> an, =20
> who shared my sense of adventure, went around taking pictures of our
plight.=
>  He=20
>  took a picture of me standing in the aisle, arms stacked with
yogurts.=20
> After standing still in one spot for several hours, we again were on the
=20
> move. But we got stuck again on a low bridge over a wide body of rising
wate=
> r. =20
> The wind blew fiercely, and I couldn't help pondering the problem of
getting=
>  =20
> Elizabeth off a flooded train. And the worst fear of all: How would I
hold h=
> er =20
> head above the rushing water? Maybe this wasn't fun after all.=20
> Eventually we chugged on and pulled into Baltimore. We were told that it
wa=
> s=20
> the end of the line. They just could not go any further and we would have
to=
>  =20
> take a bus. Again I was faced with the chore of getting Elizabeth and
our=20
> stuff  through a crowd, this time packed with tired, angry people. When
the=20=
> bus=20
> came  for us, I just was not able to plow through the pushing throng in
time=
>  to=20
> catch  it. This was too much adventure, even for me. Elizabeth was
getting=20
> wet in the  rain and colder all the time. Knowing how poor her
circulation w=
> as,=20
> and how  purple her hands and feet can become, I started to cry.=20
> Seeing my distress, one bus driver, who wasn't even headed to where I was
=20
> going, got out of his seat and carried Elizabeth aboard. =E2=80=9CI=E2=80=
> =99ll take you where =20
> you need to go,=E2=80=9D he said. Fearing he'd just plop Elizabeth  down,
as=
> suming she=20
> could sit up by  herself, I frantically shoved my way through the
packed=20
> aisle yelling, =E2=80=9CPlease  be careful! She can't sit up by
herself!=E2=
> =80=9D=20
> I heard a woman yell forward, =E2=80=9CDon=E2=80=99t worry, I=E2=80=99m
hold=
> ing  her up.=E2=80=9D  Saved =20
> again!=20
> My husband, Jim, was pacing with anxiety when we finally  pulled in to
New=20
> Carrolton, MD. What should have been a three-hour train trip,  ended up
taki=
> ng=20
> ten hours as a result of Hurricane Floyd. I guess things can be  exciting
in=
> =20
> New York after all.  Well=E2=80=A6we were on our way to Maryland!=20
> You just read an excerpt from my book RIDING THE TRAIN  WITH ELIZABETH.
If=20
> you would like to know more about Elizabeth, visit my website  at=20
> _www.authorlisasaunders.com_ (http://www.authorlisasaunders.com) .  If
you w=
> ould like to=20
> order a copy of RIDING THE TRAIN WITH ELIZABETH,  you  may do so by
visiting=
>  the=20
> _www.nathhan.com_ (http://www.nathhan.com/)   (they are an organization=20
> dedicated to serving families  with disabilities. =20
>
>
> _www.authorlisasaunders.com_ (http://www.authorlisasaunders.com/)=20
> Riding  the Train with Elizabeth, EVER TRUE: A Union Private and His
Wife,=20
> and RIDE A  HORSE, NOT AN ELEVATOR