Recognizing disabilities reduces the handicap

The memorial to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt that is opening this month on the mall in Washington sparked controversy over whether or not the former President should be shown in a wheelchair. Some people may have been surprised when my husband recently supported the idea of an additional statue of FDR with his disability in full view. It was no surprise to me, however, because I have seen Bill deal with the temporary disability he has had to live with in the aftermath of his own injury.

He heard the pop when he tore the tendons connection his quadriceps muscle to his right knee as he missed a step. Although he was in severe pain, he did not realize how serious the damage was until he heard the doctor's verdict: "It would have been better for you if you if you had broken a bone or even your kneecap." The doctor meant that a broken bone could be immobilized and pout in a cast for healing, which, although cumbersome, would not require surgery or as long a period of recuperation.

The operation to repair the tendons took about two hours because the surgeons found that more than 80 percent of the tendons had been torn on an angle. I was a nervous wreck during the surgery and in the hours immediately after. I hated to see him in pain. But I became really concerned when the morning after the surgery, the doctors, nurses and physical therapists came into the room to announce they would start moving the injured leg. They planned to have Bill out of bed learning to use crutches and how to get in and out of a wheelchair a few hours later.

Learning to move again after the kind of operation Bill had is not easy. I felt relieved when he agreed to use a wheelchair for several days after he left the hospital, including for his summit in Helsinki with President Yeltsin. The accident happened the day before Chelsea and I were scheduled to leave for Africa, and my first reaction was that we should cancel the trip. But Bill wouldn't hear of any postponement longer than a day. He expected to be at home by then and assured me he would be fine.

I spent the time before we left preparing the White House for Bill's return. With the help of the medical staff, I looked for anything that might be a hazard to someone on crutches. Boy, did I learn a lot about what people with physical disabilities go through every day. We taped down carpets and removed furniture, like chairs on wheels, and rearranged our bedroom to eliminate obstacles. We installed railings and handles for him to use in the bathroom.

Chelsea and I called Bill from Africa every chance we had to check on his progress. We heard about his daily physical therapy, in which his leg was being bent and moved to increase its strength and mobility. He also had to do weight training for his upper body and aerobic exercise.

In the six weeks since his accident, Bill has taken physical therapy twice a day and made slow but steady progress bending his leg and becoming more mobile on his crutches. He will soon "graduate" to a cane. But he has at least four more months of hard work to rehabilitate his leg so he can run and -- most important -- play golf again.

As I have watched my strong, seemingly indestructible husband struggle in the morning to put on his clothes or carefully lower himself into a chair, I've sometimes had to stop myself from rushing to help him, since I know he wants to be as independent as possible. He and I have talked about the small daily challenges that people in wheelchairs or on crutches face that we never fully understood before. While he's been coping with them, he's been working every day as President, too.

One night, we were marveling about the daily burdens President Roosevelt endured as he dressed, moved or performed any of the other mundane tasks most of us do without thinking. When I refurbished the Map Room on the ground floor of the White House, where President Roosevelt reviewed troop positions during World War II, I asked a man who had worked with the President to describe to an artist how the room looked then. Based on his description, the artist drew Roosevelt sitting in his wheelchair reviewing maps.

Bill and I now regard President Roosevelt even more highly because of all he did every day to carry out his obligations. And if he could plan America's victory in war from his wheelchair, we should share that story with the world.

-- Creators' Syndicate