I met Rita Kobert many years ago when I was a graduate student at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. I always looked up to this beautiful lady who is very intelligent, a talented singer, excellent painter and sculptor. Unfortunately an accident put Rita in a wheelchair. Through sheer will power and hard work she achieved the almost impossible goal of being able to leave her five-year confinement to a wheel chair. Amazingly, even during difficult times, Rita kept a very cheerful attitude and was finding ways of helping others. Rita talks to Lokvani about her experiences and about services available to improve life conditions for the disabled.

Lokvani: Thanks for agreeing to speak to us. How does it feel to be walking again?

Rita: Oh it is wonderful. It gives me a new sense of freedom.

Lokvani: Could you give us a little background about your injury?

Rita: As a young child I had a few back injuries from horseback riding. When I got into the accident I think the injury added to my already existing condition and my back was fairly badly injured. My injury was a little unusual in that the accident did not create an immediate drastic condition like paralysis. But it was slowly deteriorating.

Lokvani: So you were not right away put in a wheel chair?

Rita: No. In the beginning I was suffering from a lot of pain but the doctors were not able to diagnose the problem. Obesity also runs in my family. Obesity and back injury is a deadly combination. I started by just using an umbrella for support. In a few weeks I needed a cane. Later things got quite difficult and I finally bought a manual wheel chair. Later we moved to Washington DC for my husband's job. I then found more access to resources and I ended up getting an automated wheel chair.

Lokvani: Why did you not get an automatic wheel chair right away?

Rita: Cost was a big factor. I bought the manual wheel chair second hand for $125. The automatic wheel chair cost $17,000. When I fell ill the "Americans with Disabilities Act" was not passed and hence insurance was not good about covering the costs.

Lokvani: How did it feel transitioning from the manual to automatic wheel chair?

Rita: Oh it was like I was reborn! I now could be independent. With the manual wheel chair I needed to have someone with me all the time. But with the automatic wheel chair, I became what my husband termed as the "WWW" - "Wild Woman on Wheels". We added a wheel chair lift to my van and it made it possible for me to go to school to finish my degree. After I finished my degree I got a job with the Office of Personnel Management in the Federal Government. I work for the Office of Diversity focusing on disability issues.

Lokvani: In addition to the wheel chair you also used service dogs.

Rita: Yes. My first service dog is "Gracie". She was of great help to me. She is now old and hence retired. I now have my new dog, "Dharma", who helps me a lot.

Lokvani: You kept looking for ways to improve your health.

Rita: Yes. I kept reading about new research in medicine. This led me to find the Gastric Bypass surgery. In a gastric bypass operation, the stomach, which typically holds 50 to 80 ounces of food and liquid, is separated from the intestine and divided into two parts. The larger part becomes inactive. The smaller part is made into a pouch, reconnected, and it becomes a tiny, new stomach, able to hold only 1 ounce of food. As a result, people who have had the surgery feel full after just a few bites of food, and they eat much less. The surgery helped me loose significant weight which I could not have done otherwise. Loosing the weight allowed me to do physiotherapy which ultimately led to my being able to walk again.

Lokvani: What kind of advice would you give to people in your situation?

Rita: First learn to accept your disability. Often this is the most difficult part. Do research to be better informed of your condition. Seek support aggressively. Find doctors who may have a team that can do extra paperwork that is needed sometimes for insurance purposes. Not all doctors are willing to do this. Never feel sorry for yourself. It will take a lot of work to get the support you need, but do not give up. Also do not turn your family members into caregivers. They cannot fulfill that role. There is plenty of help available. Be aggressive and seek it out. Service dogs and service monkeys are often very helpful and people should look into that option.

Lokvani: Could you suggest suitable resources that could help ?

Rita: Well I have been part of the team that launched the disability website for the government at http://www.disabilityinfo.gov. The centers of independent living websites are also very valuable and these may be found at http://www.jik.com/ilcs.html. I would encourage everyone to be aggressive in seeking support.

Lokvani: Any final comments?

Rita: I would urge all to support the needs of the disabled. Get sidewalks put in your town so that people on wheel chairs can move freely. If you find a facility that is not accessible, bring it to the notice of the town. "The Americans with Disabilities Act" was a big step in the right direction but it is up to the citizens to implement it so that every gets an opportunity to attain their potential.

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