Independent woman

Heather Urick's efforts to improve conditions for the disabled at FGCU helped lead to her Muscular Dystrophy Association's 2003 Personal Achievement Award for Florida

Tuesday, August 19, 2003

By BETH FRANCIS, emfrancis@naplesnews.com

Heather Urick laughs good-naturedly at the fact that the maintenance men at Florida Gulf Coast University call her the "toilet seat lady."

The old seats were so-called split seats, with a gap in the front. The new seats go all the way around the toilet bowl.

Urick, who relies on a wheelchair for mobility, said her skin used to get caught between the seat and the porcelain bowl as she slid onto the seat from her wheelchair. The result was welts and bruises on the back of her legs.

"The administration has been great about listening to my recommendations and adopting them," Urick said. "I also got them to put handles on the handicapped bathroom doors. They had little slide locks on them, but they were too hard to grasp when you're sitting in a wheelchair. Sometimes I had to go the bathroom so bad, I just went without closing the door."

Because of her work advocating for the disabled, Urick recently received the Muscular Dystrophy Association's 2003 Personal Achievement Award for Florida. That puts her in the running to be named the National Personal Achievement Award winner, which will be announced on the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon from Aug. 31 to Sept. 1.

Urick will be appear on the telethon in an interview Labor Day from the Cape Coral studio of FOX-4 television station.

"The achievements of Heather Urick demonstrate the vital community contributions being made by people with neuromuscular diseases," MDA President Robert Ross said.

Urick was diagnosed at the age of 12 with Friedreich's ataxia, a form of muscular dystrophy that causes progressive lack of coordination and muscle weakness.

Even though she can no longer walk, Urick manages to live independently, residing in the dorms on campus.

 

Heather Urick helps Randy Dutra, a customer with cerebral palsy at the Center for Independent Living, find a Web site Wednesday. Urick works at the center's clubhouse to improve social interaction and provide recreational activities for the consumers. Urick is completing her degree in human services this year at Florida Gulf Coast University. James M. Patterson/ Staff

She takes the public bus to do her grocery shopping, hanging the plastic bags full of groceries from the handlebars of her motorized scooter and placing them on the scooter's floorboard. She does her own laundry, piling her dirty clothes on her lap for the scooter ride across the parking lot to the campus laundromat.

"I usually try to wrap my clothes in a towel so unmentionables don't fall out," she laughed.

To get to her job at the Center for Independent Living in Fort Myers, she relies on Good Wheels, a transportation service for people with disabilities.

Not only is Urick a strong advocate for people with disabilities, she is a good role model for them, said Cori Whiting, coordinator of Adaptive Services at FGCU. The department provides accommodations and services to staff, faculty and students who have disabilities.

"Heather is very involved. She's willing to be a mentor and advisor to other students with disabilities, and she helps show other individuals they can succeed and achieve despite having disabilities," Whiting said. "Heather stays up-beat. She is aware of her condition and she understands her limitations, but she's pretty good about not letting it get her down. She's very positive and independent."

Urick shrugs and smiles when asked if she worries about what the future holds, knowing that her condition is progressive and will likely get worse.

"No one promised me life was going to be fair," she said. "My philosophy is that my condition is something I can learn from."

Urick, who is majoring in human services, said she hopes to find a job advocating for people with disabilities.

She said she loves her job at the Center for Independent Living, and would like to continue working here or someplace similar once she gets her degree.

 

Heather Urick reaches to pick up a package for paper plates that she accidentally knocked off the shelf. Friedrich's ataxia, a form of muscular dystrophy affecting the nerves, presents many daily challenges to Urick, who keeps a positive outlook despite her disability. "It's an incredible pain in the neck," she says, "but nobody told me life was going to be fair." James M. Patterson/ Staff

The Center for Independent Living works with disabled people on independent living skills.

"For example, next week we're going to take Jason on the city bus to the mall to have lunch to show him how to use the bus," Urick said of a client at the center who has a brain stem injury. "There's no reason people in wheelchairs shouldn't be able to ride on the city bus."

Urick said that she believes the clients at the center find it easy to identify with her because she also has a disability.

"I live completely independently, but a lot of people with disabilities don't think they can," she said.

Urick said she gets frustrated sometimes because some people treat people with disabilities as if they should be segregated from the rest of society. Even though her speech is somewhat slurred due to her condition, Urick speaks eloquently about the contributions disabled people can make.

"There's no reason people with disabilities shouldn't be fully integrated into society," she said. "People with disabilities can be good, contributing members of society."

As for her recognition as a personal achievement winner for the state of Florida and the chance to be the national winner, Urick is introspective.

"It's a great honor, but there are so many people who make achievements in their lives every day. For some people, just getting out of bed is an achievement," she said. "Everyone should get to feel special. We all need a pat on the back for what we achieve every day."

A final view ...

Warren Conklin, a bus driver for Lee County, looks back to check on his passenger, Heather Urick. Urick rides the bus often to get around town, and uses a private transportation service to and from work. She likes having routine in her daily life so she can get to know people such as Conklin who are kind and helpful. James M. Patterson/ Staff