writer618

He would rather keep his full-time job with its handicapped parking. thankfully required by law, than wait around for someone to "go out of their way" to accommodate him out of the goodness of their heart. Also, I shudder to think what would happen if everyone waited around for grocery stores, gas stations, etc., to "go out of their way" to accommodate people. That would just keep people in their homes and on state support, which we thankfully don't need at all because of the laws about accommodation.

Hi! I am the writer of this piece. To answer your questions: Your use of the phrase "without use of any limbs" is the problem here. That is not what quadriplegic means. It means that all limbs are affected and at least partially paralyzed by a spinal cord injury, or other injury/illness. My husband's injury level is C 5/6, which is a fairly mid-level injury- higher in the spinal cord than many and lower than others. So every quad is going to do different things than others. My husband, for example, has full sensation all over his body. Many do not. However, he has no use of his fingers, while some do. He can, however, use his upper arms, and adaptive tools, which he has used to do everything you mention: changing diapers, feeding, picking her up and putting her down, and yes, the dishwasher, cooking meals, etc. I have left the baby with him overnight while I was away for work/at the hospital. It takes him a lot longer to change diapers, but about the same amount of time to put a bottle together. He drives (with special controls in a wheelchair van), etc. Many quads do.

There are already many resources--books, videos, myriad articles, etc.--that cover quadriplegia/how spinal cord injuries affect the body/quads and parenting, etc. This was a personal essay. I hope, if you're truly interested, you make use of some of those existing materials.