I just can't stand the idea of being labeled. Yeah, I know we all do it. It is just an easy way to define people. As I live with paralysis, I realize that labels are more confining than my wheelchair.

I've been fortunate to find open-minded individuals who realized even though I use a wheelchair, I work just as hard as anybody else. My hope is that some day, business owners will not have to know someone personally to care about making their environment accessible.

Like a lot of childless women in their 40s, I hear my biological clock ticking and am thinking about starting a family with my husband. Unlike a lot of my fellow mothers-to-be, I'm paraplegic.