Contact
 Executive Director
 

My name is Judy,  before my illness 
 I was a paramedic and single parent of one.

 I was originally diagnosed 
as having Asthma with symptoms gradually 
worsening leaving me to require oxygen 
support and progressing to ventilator dependency.

At the present time 
doctors feel it is no longer asthma but a 
muscle disease related to the central nervous 
system.

When I was first placed on the ventilator I was 
told I would no longer be able to care for myself and 
would have to go into a nursing facility. I then 
demanded to be given a chance to try to
care for myself and started receiving home 
nursing care and support from my family. 
I soon found out I craved my independence 
and did not need the Home Nursing Care and
discontinued it leaving my Doctors shaking 
there heads. 

This is where my interest in computers and 
the internet started.  I wandered onto a chat 
server and began chatting with other
people.  I soon found that people really didn't 
understand the daily struggles of a disabled 
person and I opened a chat room out of
frustration called "Handicapped-Frustrated". 
Within a few minutes I had several people 
joining the chat room telling me their 
frustrated stories about themselves.  After 
several days I soon began seeing the need for 
such a place for Disabled People and People who 
want to try to understand to come together and 
also offer support to the families of the disabled. 
Friendships quickly started to develop and 
people soon found it was part of their daily support 
system. At this point the Chat Room was 
renamed to "Friends-w-Disability" 
and the demand and needs for more grew.

On March 19, 1999  the "Disability Network" 
was founded with Chattersville IRC Chat Server 
beginning soon after . 
Disability Network was incorporated on 
September 17, 1999 
with (501 c 3) status soon to follow.

Our goals are to continue to grow and offer 
support to the Disabled and Their Families 
and Friends. Our mission is to reach out around 
the world to show what  the true meaning of 
disabled is.

Disability Network

P.O. Box 1563   Mentor, Ohio  44061