Tag Archive for steps

Help a Friend with Mental Illness

May 2, 2017 Comments Off on Help a Friend with Mental Illness

I know people struggling with depression or who are bipolar or have other conditions–friends with mental illnesses they try to hide, and friends with a mental illness that is very apparent.  You probably do, too, since one in four people experience it within any given year.  Sometimes, dealing with them isn’t easy.  Because I care for them, I want to support them; I want to make their lives more livable.  But I’m not a professional, and I don’t want to do or say something that would be harmful to them.

An article I read recently gave me some answers.  “How to Help a Friend with Mental Illness” offers five simple recommendations: 1) Listen to what they are saying.  2) Validate what they are saying. 3) Ask what they need.  4) Educate yourself about their experience. 5) Keep being a friend. (See explanations at http://www.care2.com/greenliving/how-to-help-a-friend-with-a-mental-illness.html.)

I’m trying to apply these steps to my friends.  I hope others will apply them to me when I need them.

 

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Forced to Crawl onto a Plane

June 12, 2015 Comments Off on Forced to Crawl onto a Plane

A wheelchair-bound woman had a choice: crawl up the airplane steps or miss her flight.  American Airlines told Theresa Purcess it was too late to set up a ramp because she hadn’t requested one in advance.  Maybe so, but we never know in advance if we’ll board a plane through a floor-level tunnel or up long, steep steps.

I know from personal experience that there was at least one other option.  I’ve been placed in a chair and carried up airline steps by two airline employees.  Judging from this passenger’s picture, I wasn’t quite as heavy as Ms. Purcell, but these people are trained to bring people of all sizes up those steps.

American admits they blew it, not adhering to established regulations. They’ve apologized to her…but refused any compensation.  I think she deserves something for the humiliation she went through (again, from experience, I understand her humiliation), for denying her basic human dignity.  I doubt it’s worth what she’s asking; however, American should be penalized.

Meet Ms. Purcell and read more about her story at the Ch. 7 Eyewitness news story “Woman in Wheelchair Sues American Airlines after Having to Crawl onto Plane.”

 

 

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