Kathy Ford will get a crown Monday.
But what she’s really hoping for is attention to her struggles and others like her.
The Atlantic City Police Department dispatcher will unofficially celebrate her new title as Ms. Wheelchair New Jersey.
The state has been inactive in the 46-year-old national competition that started in Columbus, Ohio, where Dr. Philip K. Wood used it as a forum to promote the achievements and needs of people with mobility impairments.
“The place that we bought our wheelchair van from sent me an e-mail with limited information about the Ms. Wheelchair America program,” she explained. “I liked what I researched about it, so I contacted the organization.”
An application, essay, two letters of recommendation and four references later, she was representing her state in the national competition.
Ford was diagnosed with fibrodyplasia ossificans progressive in 1997, after she was misdiagnosed for the first 12 years of her life.
It’s a rare condition that causes muscle tissue and connective tissue, such as tendons and ligaments, to be replaced by bone that constrains movement. Spending most of her time in a wheelchair or using walking apparatus, her every day struggles need to be shown. Having limited mobility requires use of equipment which she can use for hard to reach places, struggling to use transport such as cars and buses and much more.
“After some research, I discovered that a lady with the same disability as me ran for Ms. Wheelchair Nevada a few years ago,” she wrote in her essay. “I hope to disperse information throughout New Jersey to individuals and organizations that can benefit from the program.”
Since there was no competition this year, she will celebrate her official crowning with an informal gathering at the Ducktown Tavern from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Monday. Cake will be provided.
All are invited to come and wish her well.
The national competition will be July 30 to Aug. 5 in Michigan.
One of her lifetime goals is to develop a nonprofit organization that can help other people with disabilities fund wheelchairs, scooters, walkers, rollators, and even wheelchair-accessible vehicles, she told the organization in her essay.
“As a person with a disability, I’ve learned to speak up for what I need,” she said.
Now, she’s hoping to be a voice for others in the state and beyond.
