GOOD IS POWERFUL BEYOND MEASURE Vision Supporter and Co-editor Andrea Christofferson has worked in a cave, in a government bureaucracy, in a museum, and recently retired from her sales and marketing work for the University of Wisconsin Press. She loves exploring nature and learning about history. She currently volunteers as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children under the legal protection of the court system.
In GOOD IS POWERFUL BEYOND MEASURE Andrea Christofferson writes a piece about two friends in wheelchairs titled “Love Found a Way! She says “Michael (whom we see in the photo) loved hearing his story and we read it over the phone to his dear aunt!
Here is an excerpt “…One summer, Suzi organized a trip to Milwaukee’s Summerfest with another friend.
Miraculously, she ran into Michael, a friend she had known back when they lived in a huge facility for the disabled. Suzi and Michael’s cerebral palsy was misunderstood in that era and their education and independence were limited. When they fell in love and wanted to marry asteenagers, their families split them apart.
Their joyful reunion led them to renew their hopes for a future together. This was not easy for
two people needing caregivers and accessible housing and living in two different counties. By sheer will and determination, they fought the system and won the right to be together. On June 22, 1980, they had an outdoor wedding on the grounds of Cave of the Mounds, where I worked.
Special vans brought the bride and groom and their wheelchairs to the ceremony. Bob, my boyfriend and later spouse, was Michael’s best man. Those of us lucky enough to be there cried tears of joy.
Suzi and Michael found an accessible apartment, hired caregivers, and began to pursue
education and work. Their physical disabilities and communication difficulties did not dampen
their intelligence and wit.
Suzi tested new technology that allowed her to interact with her computer via a device on her forehead. She finished her GED and launched into courses at the
to overcome misconceptions in the community technical college.
Michael had never been offered the chance to learn to read and worked hard. They were truly in charge of their own lives and so balanced that their strengths supported each other’s weaknesses and needs. Suzi had many worrisome physical ailments but was an able manager of her and Michael’s care. (It is very hard to find and train trusty caregivers.) Michael had more physical strength and could get himself in and out of his own wheelchair, which gave them more independence. They loved getting out and about in their power wheelchairs…”