This past weekend, the disabled of America lost a hero and a champion. He born with cerebral palsy, and he died this past weekend at the age of 45. He was married to my sister, who was also born with cerebral palsy, and leaves behind a great legacy and a torch for all of us to carry on from here.
This is an excerpt from the newspaper editorial column about his life. Please keep my sister and her son in your hearts right now, because they are devastated.
(from The Dominion Post, Wednesday Oct 17 2007)
One who lived what he believed
Ervin's advocacy, contributions to state's disabled won't die with him
Political, physical and all other realities were something that Ken Ervin believed you rise above.
Born with cerebral palsy 45 years ago, Ervin died quietly in his sleep last weekend. But his life and his advocacy on behalf of the more than 400,000 disabled residents of West Virginia were anything but quiet.
...
A point he never tired of making: Disability rights are civil rights, too. And he insisted that people with disabilities may have a medical condition, but it is also really a social condition. "We're not Medicaid numbers, we're human beings," he was quick to note. But words and working from within were not his only tools in promoting equal access and fair treatment.
Protests that ran the gamut from shackling himself to the White House fence and a local school's flagpole, to demanding governers and presidential candidates to attach their signatures to political promises, also figured in his advocacy as a citizen.
After spending much of his childhood in and out of state facilities, Ervin, who organized the West Virginia chapter of Americans with Disabilities for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT WV) constantly lobbied for allowing the disabled to live in a home of their choice.
...
"It's not a matter of nursing home quality. Would you rather live in a community or a place where you lose contact with family and friends? People can go from being a productive citizen to being locked away in a nursing home," he said in October 2000.
...
Our state has Ervin to thank for many changes that no longer allow for ignoring or disregarding the disabled. Of course, he would be the first to point out that more needs to be done, but his contributions have made a real difference.
Although Ervin lived with some harsh realities, it never stopped him from fulfilling his dreams.
Rest easy, Ken. You died a conquerer.
:cry:
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