The Road Less Traveled Many people do not realize what it’s like to undergo a disability or even take care of someone who has a disability. During this assignment, I realized how our society could be selfish and view a person with a disability as dumb, incapable, or broken. You never know the sentiments or emotions until you are in those person’s shoes. Therefore, we need to cherish everything we have in life and live a fulfilling life because one day we can be a happy family and the next we are going through a road less traveled.
On March 26, 2014 I was scheduled to meet with my neighbor whom is two houses down from me. Mrs. Villarreal is a 48-year-old woman born and raised in McAllen TX, a mother of 2 children, and a loving wife. She has two girls named Lizette who is 5 years old and Yvonne who is 6 years old; both who are healthy and very active. Raising them was no problem for her and as they grew up, they routinely did every thing as a family. However, she did mention that she has a brother named Ruben who has a disability, and would visit every so often at her mothers house. Ruben has severe rheumatoid arthritis disease in which led to high levels of disability, the use of a wheelchair, and inability to work. In addition, he has heart disease, anxiety, and depression. As for her, everything seemed to go perfectly fine with her mother being the primary caregiver for her brother for three years. Her mother was very active and on top of Ruben’s needs. Until, a year later, her mother became ill that she could no longer keep up with the needs of Ruben and needed for Mrs. Villarreal to be the primary care giver from then on. At that point she was in shock and didn’t know what to expect regarding his disability. Even though he had support from an agency named All Valley Home Health, she felt helpless. She had no knowledge of his disability and knew that there was