Latest / OneLegUpAlex Media / Countdown To #ADA35 - How Ali Stroker and Cheri Srour have ONE LEG UP on Adapting 7-25-25

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Countdown To #ADA35 - How Ali Stroker and Cheri Srour have ONE LEG UP on Adapting 7-25-25 · OneLegUpAlex Media

0:02
Speaker 1: Here's your host, Alex Garrett.
0:07
Speaker 2: All right, in our eighty eight thirty five countdown, we're
0:10
Speaker 2: almost there. Tomorrow is the thirty fifth anniversary, and where
0:15
Speaker 2: I land all of this is to be very honest
0:18
Speaker 2: with you here on adapting with Alex Garrett. I've had
0:21
Speaker 2: adapt with my Roleblady, that's true. But I'm more inspired
0:25
Speaker 2: when I see others who adapt to their life circumstance
0:29
Speaker 2: that may prove to be inaccessible in the world around them.
0:35
Speaker 2: That's why we fight to make life more accessible, because
0:38
Speaker 2: I believe that this podcast is meant to bridge the gap,
0:43
Speaker 2: as I've been saying, but also to I don't know,
0:48
Speaker 2: pay it forward. That with all the opportunity to begin
0:52
Speaker 2: in my life, it's time to make the world more
0:53
Speaker 2: accessible to others as well. And that's why we're here
0:57
Speaker 2: today on one leg up, Alex. In my countdown to
1:01
Speaker 2: thirty five. However, eighty eight thirty five, I want to
1:04
Speaker 2: shout out someone that's been connected to the Viscardi Center,
1:08
Speaker 2: now written about in Able News multiple times, Ali Stroker.
1:15
Speaker 2: You remember Ali? She made history as the first Broadway
1:20
Speaker 2: star in a wheelchair in the Broadway production of Oklahoma.
1:24
Speaker 2: How cool is that? And I know for a fact
1:27
Speaker 2: Ali has spoken at Reach for a Star luncheons before,
1:31
Speaker 2: and I believe she was at Viscardi Center a couple
1:34
Speaker 2: of times as well for a celebrity night. So I
1:37
Speaker 2: got to give a shout out to Ali's Stroker and
1:39
Speaker 2: here's what was written about her in able News. This
1:42
Speaker 2: is what I love is that we're building a partnership
1:45
Speaker 2: with able News. Full disclosure. I am an editor on
1:48
Speaker 2: the editorial board as well, so to highlight them feels
1:51
Speaker 2: very close to home. Especially since the Viscardi Center acquired
1:56
Speaker 2: able News. How big of its story was that. I
2:00
Speaker 2: think in the thirty five years of eight you know,
2:02
Speaker 2: disability rights, able News being acquired by Viscarti was such
2:06
Speaker 2: a game changer and such a great move by doctor
2:09
Speaker 2: Chris Rosa. And so when you visit the able News
2:12
Speaker 2: website you'll see the Viscardi Center attached to it. I
2:14
Speaker 2: think it's brilliant. I think it's making Mscarti Center a
2:18
Speaker 2: hub for disability news and disability opportunity to thrive in
2:24
Speaker 2: the world today. But Ali Stroker, as written by Esma
2:29
Speaker 2: mazo Or Masio, says, Ali Stroker is leading the way
2:35
Speaker 2: for disabled women in the entertainment industry, They go on
2:39
Speaker 2: to write. The actress made history as the first wheelchair
2:42
Speaker 2: user to appear on Broadway as part of the cast
2:45
Speaker 2: of Deaf West Theater's Spring Awakening, which ran from twenty
2:55
Speaker 2: and That's Where I Got Started September twenty fifteen to
2:57
Speaker 2: January twenty sixteen of the Brooks Actions in Theater. In
3:00
Speaker 2: twenty nineteen, the Tony Award was awarded to her for
3:05
Speaker 2: Best Featured Actress This is the History Part and a
3:08
Speaker 2: Musical for her performance as ado Annie in Oklahoma. Award
3:14
Speaker 2: winner Right There. Stroker used her acceptance speech to offer
3:20
Speaker 2: words of encouragement to young kids with disabilities. This award
3:23
Speaker 2: is for every kid out who is watching tonight, has
3:26
Speaker 2: a disability, has a limitation or a challenge, and who
3:29
Speaker 2: has been waiting to see themselves represented in this arena.
3:34
Speaker 2: You are meaning you are represented, she said. When she's
3:41
Speaker 2: not breaking barriers on Broadway, Stroker performs a cabaretio based
3:45
Speaker 2: on her life experiences at Acclaim. There's across the United States,
3:49
Speaker 2: from m Kennedy Center Did You Know This? In Washington,
3:51
Speaker 2: d C. To Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in Manhattan.
3:56
Speaker 2: She was first produced the World on season two of
3:58
Speaker 2: the reality television series The Glee Project, during which a
4:02
Speaker 2: second place finish earned her a guest spot on season
4:05
Speaker 2: four of Glee.
4:09
Speaker 3: She's also appeared.
4:10
Speaker 2: On Only Murders in the Building and Just Like That
4:12
Speaker 2: and The Bold Type. Stroker also portrayed disability rights pioneered
4:16
Speaker 2: Judy Human How About That on an episode of Drunk
4:19
Speaker 2: History in twenty eighteen, and starred in the Lifetime movie
4:23
Speaker 2: Christmas ever After in twenty twenty. In twenty twenty one,
4:27
Speaker 2: she co authored the YA novel young adult novel The
4:31
Speaker 2: Chance to Fly with Stacy David Viduits, which celebrates authenticity, diversity,
4:37
Speaker 2: and adaptive choreography. Stroker continues to shine a spotlight on
4:41
Speaker 2: the importance of authentic disability representation. Keaty carrying forward the
4:46
Speaker 2: legacy of the ADA. That's a little bit of Ali's Stroker,
4:50
Speaker 2: And I'll put her website in the description below as well.
4:53
Speaker 2: But she's definitely someone you want to keep an eye
4:55
Speaker 2: on in the disability space, in the advocacy space, because
5:01
Speaker 2: she's living out her life right in front of our
5:03
Speaker 2: eyes as a Broadway actress. How cool is that? All right?
5:10
Speaker 2: The other feature tonight, I wanted to bring on is
5:13
Speaker 2: Sherry Swore sro you are And here's a gal who
5:19
Speaker 2: was diagnosed with an auto immune disease at the age
5:23
Speaker 2: of eighteen, right out of high school. And she's made
5:28
Speaker 2: a lot of her life. And she's not just made
5:34
Speaker 2: something with her life, she's built her life up to
5:38
Speaker 2: be an advocate and to move the message forward for
5:44
Speaker 2: disability rights, for empowering others, and for saying why not
5:54
Speaker 2: because I can? And she says that in a hashtag
5:57
Speaker 2: because I Can. We welcome Sherry now to tell talk
6:00
Speaker 2: about her story of adaptability and always adapting right now
6:06
Speaker 2: on One Leg Up with Alex Garrett.
6:08
Speaker 1: Sherry, first of all, thanks for joining One Leg Up
6:10
Speaker 1: with Alex Garrett.
6:13
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for having me. Yeah, my story
6:17
Speaker 3: has been a journey one day, is still continuing and
6:22
Speaker 3: probably live for the rest of my life. I grew
6:25
Speaker 3: up in Brooklyn. I still live in Brooklyn. And then
6:29
Speaker 3: I was a healthy child and right out of high
6:32
Speaker 3: school and I was eighteen years old, I was diagnosed
6:36
Speaker 3: with an automni neurological disorder where my nerves pretty much
6:41
Speaker 3: attacked my body to a point that I was completely paralyzed.
6:45
Speaker 3: I couldn't walk, I couldn't talk, I couldn't breathe my
6:49
Speaker 3: own and I had to learn how to do everything
6:54
Speaker 3: all over again. And I had that conchance that life.
7:00
Speaker 2: Well, what I love about your story is once you
7:02
Speaker 2: got diagnosed, you didn't really crumble. You actually got back
7:04
Speaker 2: into rehabit, regraining your regraining your strength. So talk about
7:09
Speaker 2: how you've been always adapting, because that's sort of a
7:11
Speaker 2: theme I have here on one leg. If was always adapting,
7:14
Speaker 2: helping others adapt, how did you adapt to all of
7:17
Speaker 2: that at eighteen years old?
7:19
Speaker 3: Oh, shorts, Really, at first I did. I did grumble.
7:23
Speaker 3: I've loved eighteen and I was still very much of
7:26
Speaker 3: a child and now fully understanding the scope of what
7:30
Speaker 3: was ahead of me. And I didn't have a point
7:34
Speaker 3: where I did actually surrender and then give up and
7:39
Speaker 3: just said, okay, God, I'm ready for you to take me.
7:42
Speaker 3: I did what it is I understand the circumstances, and
7:46
Speaker 3: also because the doctors had lost so much hope in
7:49
Speaker 3: me and my recovery, so I did. I tried to
7:53
Speaker 3: give up, and I saw that that wasn't working and
7:56
Speaker 3: I was only getting worse, and I kind of used
7:59
Speaker 3: that my advantage to get stronger and ate myself to
8:03
Speaker 3: getting better and trying to prove to the doctors that yeah,
8:07
Speaker 3: you can say whatever you want, believe whatever you want.
8:10
Speaker 3: Back the end of the day, it's all in contend
8:12
Speaker 3: and if you have a little to fight and a
8:15
Speaker 3: little to live, then it'll happen. And that's what I did.
8:19
Speaker 3: And I spent many many months in rehab and I
8:24
Speaker 3: was strong enough to eventually went a home where I
8:27
Speaker 3: so needed a lot of assistants and a lot of dependence,
8:31
Speaker 3: and I was an appasion directory for a very long time,
8:36
Speaker 3: consistently on a daily basis. And as we were stronger,
8:41
Speaker 3: I eventually got down my therapy at a facility I
8:46
Speaker 3: did someone home and kind of implemented that into my
8:52
Speaker 3: new daily routine.
8:54
Speaker 1: You know, I gotta say this, Sherry, I love your
8:57
Speaker 1: workout videos.
8:57
Speaker 2: I love that you actually did run a marathon to
9:00
Speaker 2: raise after all, lot look at that in a second,
9:02
Speaker 2: but the moment that you realize you can regain the
9:07
Speaker 2: strength and get back out there. You also got a
9:09
Speaker 2: college degree, so talk about that transition between high school
9:12
Speaker 2: to college. I mean, you're coming into college with this
9:15
Speaker 2: auto immune disease, and talk about that journey.
9:20
Speaker 1: Yeah.
9:20
Speaker 3: So when I wanted to apply to play a Flight
9:23
Speaker 3: to college and I wanted to go to college, I
9:26
Speaker 3: had this mind set that I was not going to
9:28
Speaker 3: attend until I was one hundred percent back to where
9:32
Speaker 3: I was, and you know, I don't want to depend
9:34
Speaker 3: on anyone, and I wanted to just go to college
9:36
Speaker 3: and have that f FO college experience. And I kept
9:39
Speaker 3: waiting and waiting and waiting, and then I said, there's
9:42
Speaker 3: never going to be there's never a time bringing ready.
9:44
Speaker 3: You just got to get up and do it. And
9:46
Speaker 3: if you are not in this state where you start
9:48
Speaker 3: would be that's fine because we can learn to adapt
9:51
Speaker 3: and you can do whatever you need to need to
9:53
Speaker 3: be done. And I decided to start with one class
9:57
Speaker 3: and I said, okay, it's one hour, I have it
10:00
Speaker 3: be you know, and my name adult chair, and I
10:03
Speaker 3: might say whatever device is to need at the time.
10:06
Speaker 3: And I loved it. And then the folling semester, I
10:10
Speaker 3: had a full schedule and a full time student, and
10:14
Speaker 3: before I knew it, I graduated. I bachelors agree. I
10:18
Speaker 3: took some time off to figure out what I want
10:20
Speaker 3: to do with that, and then I decided to go
10:22
Speaker 3: into social work and I found my manster's in social
10:25
Speaker 3: work very cool.
10:26
Speaker 2: That's awesome that you've been able to build and we're
10:28
Speaker 2: catching right before your work your day job today.
10:31
Speaker 1: Yeah, sure, I gotta ask this. You did mention the wheelchair,
10:35
Speaker 1: and I believe you also use a walker. There's a different
10:37
Speaker 1: kind of mobility you have.
10:39
Speaker 2: We're thirty five years of the ADA, and as someone
10:43
Speaker 2: who had to adapt and utilize the power chair of
10:45
Speaker 2: the wheelchair and the mobility, I asked you off there.
10:49
Speaker 2: We tried a first recording and I asked this in
10:51
Speaker 2: the first recording about if the city of New York
10:55
Speaker 2: was the perfect place to adapt was successful, and you said, no,
10:58
Speaker 2: tell me how New York City easier is not accessible
11:01
Speaker 2: for you?
11:02
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's definitely continue some works. It definitely has a
11:07
Speaker 3: lot of obstacles, some point that I now learned to,
11:12
Speaker 3: you know, research where I was going beforehand, find out
11:15
Speaker 3: if it is the NBA compliant, if there's stairs, if
11:17
Speaker 3: there's an elevator, if there's a ramp.
11:19
Speaker 2: Uh.
11:20
Speaker 3: Many times, if I'll attend the venue, I'll reach out
11:23
Speaker 3: to that before and just say, hey, this is not coming.
11:24
Speaker 3: What's the protocol. How do I Renevor myself. It's it's unfortunately,
11:29
Speaker 3: but it's it needs to be done in order for
11:31
Speaker 3: me to have a fun experience. There are many times
11:35
Speaker 3: I'll go to a venue, I'll go to a place
11:38
Speaker 3: and I'll say, like, no disrespect, I here's the suggestion
11:42
Speaker 3: of how you don't improve with you know, your accommodations.
11:45
Speaker 3: And it'd be so helpful, not just for me, but
11:46
Speaker 3: for others. And I feel that it's so important to
11:50
Speaker 3: you know, raise your voice because a lot of times
11:53
Speaker 3: it's not about the intention, you know, I just don't
11:56
Speaker 3: realize it. And if some help educate and half others,
12:01
Speaker 3: but why not. When I went back to school, I
12:04
Speaker 3: actually wanted to be an independent as fastile and it
12:09
Speaker 3: was on a larger campus where I had a place
12:12
Speaker 3: to building a and then I had a pla to
12:13
Speaker 3: building within a five minute you know stretch to get there.
12:18
Speaker 3: And I actually went to the disability division and said,
12:23
Speaker 3: this is a nice schedule and I would like to be
12:25
Speaker 3: an independent as fossil. I would like not to have
12:27
Speaker 3: someone common touch around or you know, just gets where
12:30
Speaker 3: I need to be. So we actually rearranged my entire
12:35
Speaker 3: schedule to have all my sizes in two buildings that
12:39
Speaker 3: were adjacent to each other, and then ended up creating
12:42
Speaker 3: this program helping others you know, have this option too,
12:46
Speaker 3: and they were so friendful for it because they didn't
12:49
Speaker 3: realize that it's it's a complication, and from my end,
12:52
Speaker 3: I was so grateful that that still have been adjusted.
12:58
Speaker 1: It hunter. You say, or which college.
13:00
Speaker 3: Jes that was in Brookham College of.
13:02
Speaker 1: Brooklyn College, Okay, and that's such a spacious campus. You
13:05
Speaker 1: would think it would be accessible. Yeah, so interesting it is.
13:07
Speaker 3: It's accessible, just that it's because my schedule was so drastic.
13:12
Speaker 3: Were at my classitor they were very accommodating.
13:17
Speaker 2: While you are making stride for people like yourself and
13:20
Speaker 2: others with disability, you also break out of the community,
13:23
Speaker 2: meaning you socialize with by people.
13:25
Speaker 1: You sort of just interact with everybody.
13:27
Speaker 2: And I feel like that's an important message to tell
13:29
Speaker 2: others that sort of still are in that.
13:32
Speaker 1: Little bubble if you will, and say, hey, get out
13:33
Speaker 1: of that bubble. Let's start all expanding and being in
13:37
Speaker 1: the within the world. If you will.
13:39
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean there's no reason why I should say
13:41
Speaker 3: in the bubble. And like from my advantage point, I
13:46
Speaker 3: try to be as independent as possible, and and yeah,
13:49
Speaker 3: I just walk around there. I do need assistance here
13:52
Speaker 3: and there, and I've time to realize that people are
13:57
Speaker 3: wanting to help. You know, if I'm going to an
14:00
Speaker 3: office or a store and then there's a door that's there,
14:03
Speaker 3: I don't mind it, and so on, Hey Jimon holding
14:06
Speaker 3: the door, and then they're very grateful to do it
14:09
Speaker 3: and then happy to do it. Sometimes people are just
14:12
Speaker 3: unsure if it's appropriate to ask for of her health,
14:15
Speaker 3: and it's it's okay to ask for it because they're
14:18
Speaker 3: more than happy to do it.
14:20
Speaker 2: All right, Let's get to the big thing. That guy
14:22
Speaker 2: on the map, which was this Disney marathon. E News
14:25
Speaker 2: ESPN covered your story, which is pretty awesome. I mean,
14:29
Speaker 2: if you go to Sharey's Instagram right now, you could
14:31
Speaker 2: watch her walking to the finish line, walk running to
14:35
Speaker 2: the finish line, no mobility aids or anything.
14:38
Speaker 1: She just did it on her own two feet. Talk
14:42
Speaker 1: about that process, Shery, how you got to that moment?
14:46
Speaker 3: Okay, it's cred a story. So I am a very
14:50
Speaker 3: big Disney fan. I still believe in happy endings and
14:53
Speaker 3: fairy tales and then love all the princesses. And I'm
14:56
Speaker 3: definitely still a child at heart. IAM across a Disney
15:02
Speaker 3: marathon opportunity, and it was a half marathon, and it
15:06
Speaker 3: was a consistent of a twenty thousand runners, and I
15:11
Speaker 3: decided I wanted to participate in twenty sixteen, and I
15:16
Speaker 3: applied to join, and I received an email back saying
15:22
Speaker 3: that if I was unable to propel myself in a marathon,
15:25
Speaker 3: that I was not able to participate. I was like,
15:29
Speaker 3: you know, safety issued, and I reached that vaccent and said,
15:33
Speaker 3: I physically cannot push myself at thirteen miles, but I
15:38
Speaker 3: do have my brother in laws, an elite runner, and
15:41
Speaker 3: I've offered to push me the entire a marathon, and
15:46
Speaker 3: Disney gaded some pushbacks saying it's out of their protocol,
15:49
Speaker 3: it's not safe for the other runners. So I kind
15:53
Speaker 3: of read in my mission to you know, break that
15:55
Speaker 3: barrier and tell them that I would not give up
15:59
Speaker 3: until I said, yeah, so let's figure out a way
16:01
Speaker 3: to make it happen. And Disney is the place where
16:04
Speaker 3: dreams were true, and this was my dream to do it,
16:06
Speaker 3: So let's figure out.
16:07
Speaker 1: That shock you when they first said no, I mean,
16:09
Speaker 1: here's a place that seems so welcoming.
16:10
Speaker 2: Yet here they are telling you, no, you cannot have
16:13
Speaker 2: this kind of assistance.
16:14
Speaker 1: That's very interesting that they would deny that.
16:17
Speaker 3: This is actually very exomic baby that actually happens to
16:20
Speaker 3: be very very accessible. I think it was more out
16:23
Speaker 3: of like a safety hazard for the other runners, I understand.
16:27
Speaker 3: So we worked together and we figured out a way
16:32
Speaker 3: to make it happen. And in twenty sixteen, my brother
16:35
Speaker 3: in law and I were the first considered powers you
16:38
Speaker 3: Will to participate in the Disney Marathon, where he approached
16:41
Speaker 3: me for the entire a marathon, and twenty seventeen came
16:47
Speaker 3: along and every shot the Disney again, I said, hey,
16:49
Speaker 3: I want to participate again. And when I registered on
16:52
Speaker 3: the West site, there was now an option participating as
16:56
Speaker 3: a power dull, so that was really cool to see.
16:59
Speaker 3: So seventeen that was our you know, I was going
17:04
Speaker 3: to explot me accomplish it, and by the finish line,
17:07
Speaker 3: I pushed myself across the finish line. And then in
17:11
Speaker 3: twenty eighteen I was growing stronger physically and I decided
17:16
Speaker 3: to train and surprise everyone and talbot the finish line.
17:22
Speaker 3: My brother in law said, my veilchair. I got up
17:26
Speaker 3: and I pushed him across the finish line. And then
17:29
Speaker 3: in twenty nineteen, I said, Okay, how are we going
17:31
Speaker 3: to make this given more cool? I was at the
17:34
Speaker 3: time still growing stronger as I continued here today and said, okay,
17:39
Speaker 3: let's train for something really cool. And I got out
17:44
Speaker 3: of my wheelchair about a half a mile before and
17:48
Speaker 3: walked independently across the finish line, which was a massive
17:52
Speaker 3: accomplishment and took a lot of training. And Disney called
17:57
Speaker 3: Window that story and decided to publish it and advertise it.
18:01
Speaker 3: And then a few days later, I guess the kind
18:05
Speaker 3: of blew up and ABC was attracted to it in
18:09
Speaker 3: the news, then CNN, and then before we know it, it
18:12
Speaker 3: was all over the place.
18:14
Speaker 2: Talk about whether you're ever going to do in New
18:16
Speaker 2: York City marathon, can your body do something like that
18:18
Speaker 2: for New York City style or is that in the
18:21
Speaker 2: works at all?
18:22
Speaker 3: So actually, my brother inlad and I did participate in
18:25
Speaker 3: a New York City full marathon. Wow, it was throughout
18:29
Speaker 3: the five hourrows. That took a lot of time. And
18:33
Speaker 3: I told him I hope they got that out of
18:34
Speaker 3: his system because I was never doing that again.
18:39
Speaker 2: The mother's eye, I asked you this last time we
18:42
Speaker 2: talked about your energy, because you know, at a lot
18:45
Speaker 2: of hospitalization last.
18:46
Speaker 1: Year in May twenty twenty four.
18:49
Speaker 2: Don't want to really go down memory later on that,
18:51
Speaker 2: but I just noticed my body was telling me, Hey,
18:54
Speaker 2: you've done enough for today. And you both seemed like
18:56
Speaker 2: we're both very active people. So does your body also
18:58
Speaker 2: tell you, Okay, we're dumbing it. Let's relax a little bit,
19:02
Speaker 2: for sure.
19:03
Speaker 3: I think it's so important to listen to your bout
19:06
Speaker 3: it and to know when it's not to take a
19:07
Speaker 3: break and when it's not to follurday. It's also important
19:11
Speaker 3: to be active and to do what you want to
19:15
Speaker 3: do and to not let their disabilities stop field. But
19:17
Speaker 3: it's also very important to know when it's not to rest.
19:21
Speaker 3: And I've come to realize that if you don't listen,
19:24
Speaker 3: be valuable to shove it to you in other ways,
19:26
Speaker 3: and we're going to do force to rest, you know.
19:30
Speaker 2: So talk about your independent lifestyle in your workplace then,
19:34
Speaker 2: because obviously another goal is to get people to work
19:39
Speaker 2: with the disability they can work. I think that's a
19:41
Speaker 2: Massachuse to talk about your work style and how you
19:43
Speaker 2: adapt to that.
19:45
Speaker 1: On a daily basis.
19:46
Speaker 3: Yeah, for sure, I wanted to wind some then that
19:51
Speaker 3: was meaningful to me, and I realized that I have
19:55
Speaker 3: been helping other people go through their challenges on my own,
19:59
Speaker 3: and I I seem to realize that, hey, am I not?
20:02
Speaker 3: You know, I use this as a tool to help outthers.
20:06
Speaker 3: So I did get my master's and social work and
20:10
Speaker 3: I decided to try it out and so going to
20:13
Speaker 3: work and like I said, yeah, I made it my track.
20:16
Speaker 3: It made its my walker, and it's okay. And there
20:19
Speaker 3: are people there that are willing into help if it's needed.
20:22
Speaker 3: And even so, there's always a way to adapt into
20:26
Speaker 3: sonoday and to made it happen. And it's more about
20:29
Speaker 3: like the will to want it. How bad do you
20:32
Speaker 3: want to get you mad to find in some extra work,
20:35
Speaker 3: But it's just a test of how bad do you
20:37
Speaker 3: want it? And if you want to do it, it
20:40
Speaker 3: can definitely happen.
20:42
Speaker 1: All right.
20:42
Speaker 2: I love that you say you were friends with John Stamos.
20:45
Speaker 2: How did that connection build up? And did Full House
20:49
Speaker 2: actually help get you through all that? Like what did
20:52
Speaker 2: you lean on that while you were trying to get
20:54
Speaker 2: into this rehabbing process.
20:57
Speaker 3: I grew up watching Full House. I always had a
21:00
Speaker 3: crush on John Stamos, I decision is a very comond person.
21:06
Speaker 3: I went to see one of his Broadway shows and
21:09
Speaker 3: I got to meet him after the show, and ever
21:13
Speaker 3: since that show, we've met it to each other and
21:15
Speaker 3: they kept up with each other and we've befriended each
21:19
Speaker 3: other throughout the years, and anytime he's in town, he'll
21:23
Speaker 3: send me a chat with a message saying like, Oh,
21:25
Speaker 3: I'm going to be here here if you don't want
21:26
Speaker 3: to come and see me. And he just kept up
21:29
Speaker 3: to wrap the years, and he's such a kind person.
21:31
Speaker 3: And the first time that I actually met him, obviously
21:34
Speaker 3: he didn't know my story. I did know what happened
21:36
Speaker 3: to me, and I was actually in a much worse
21:39
Speaker 3: state than I am today, and he left me this
21:43
Speaker 3: message and I'll never forget and he's like, I don't
21:46
Speaker 3: know what happened to you. I obviously don't know what
21:48
Speaker 3: you're going through, but whatever, they you're longer than I'll
21:53
Speaker 3: ever try to kill you. So the fact that they're
21:55
Speaker 3: here is systemling and shows your strength and don't ever
21:58
Speaker 3: let that strength go. And I always tell them that
22:01
Speaker 3: I've never forgot to saying that because it has definitely
22:05
Speaker 3: pushed me along the way, especially in moments where I
22:08
Speaker 3: needed an autivation.
22:10
Speaker 1: I love it.
22:11
Speaker 2: I love it, and your family, obviously through all of this,
22:14
Speaker 2: has been supporting you day by day. I'm sure since
22:18
Speaker 2: it's star starting, were they in shock as much as
22:20
Speaker 2: you were out? Did they react when at first all
22:23
Speaker 2: did diagnose its happened, Yeah.
22:25
Speaker 3: For sure. I'm very, very blessed to have an amazing
22:29
Speaker 3: support this gime. I have an incredible family, immediate family,
22:34
Speaker 3: extended family, friends that have become my family, and the
22:38
Speaker 3: community that's amazing and supported and has been to me,
22:43
Speaker 3: been with me the entire way. When I was first diagnosed,
22:48
Speaker 3: I don't think that I or anyone else understood the
22:51
Speaker 3: magnitude of it, and it just happened so quickly, and
22:57
Speaker 3: once we realized and that was been much worse. They
23:02
Speaker 3: never let my side. My friends never left my side,
23:05
Speaker 3: even when I was in the eyes to you and
23:07
Speaker 3: I physically asked when I want to come and see
23:10
Speaker 3: me because I did not feel well physically, mentally, emotionally.
23:15
Speaker 3: I just don't want to be there anyone. And my
23:17
Speaker 3: friends did not let them stop them. They just they
23:21
Speaker 3: just stuff and scrubs and came in and marching around
23:24
Speaker 3: and dancing around, and they knew I needed it, even
23:27
Speaker 3: if I didn't realize I needed it, And they had
23:31
Speaker 3: never left my side, continued to never meet my side,
23:33
Speaker 3: and I'm very blessed, and I know that I've blessed,
23:36
Speaker 3: and I always tried to remind myself how luckily I am,
23:40
Speaker 3: and truthfully do not think I would be where I
23:43
Speaker 3: am today without their continue my so forth.
23:47
Speaker 2: I love it, and I love your optimism and positivity,
23:49
Speaker 2: and we need something like that as we ad ad
23:52
Speaker 2: eight thirty five, because I do feel like some people
23:55
Speaker 2: I don't want to say sit in.
23:56
Speaker 1: The disability, but they don't.
23:58
Speaker 2: They don't expand beyond that, they sort of living it
24:01
Speaker 2: and they let define them. And you're not letting defind it.
24:04
Speaker 2: You are out there kicking ass every day. And I
24:06
Speaker 2: know it took a long way to get to that point.
24:09
Speaker 2: But for those that may be upset they're disabled or whatever,
24:13
Speaker 2: But how do they find that road to not not
24:17
Speaker 2: be upset but just drive them to go further?
24:20
Speaker 3: Mhmm. I mean, yeah, listen, I don't disability to define me,
24:25
Speaker 3: but it definitely has Shafe tigh On today. And yeah,
24:30
Speaker 3: if you're feeling well and you're feeling sad and you're
24:33
Speaker 3: stuck in that's okay. It's important to feel and you
24:37
Speaker 3: should definitely not you know, I did it, and if
24:41
Speaker 3: you don't address it, it's just gonna sit and then
24:45
Speaker 3: build up and then and manifest in other ways. So
24:48
Speaker 3: definitely feel it. I just you know, and don't sit
24:51
Speaker 3: there too long because the longer just sit there, you're
24:54
Speaker 3: missing out all the things that you can experience. So
24:58
Speaker 3: that's pretty much also why I started, because I can page.
25:01
Speaker 3: I've just you know, showing the world that, yeah, I
25:02
Speaker 3: have disability and I may have some challenges. What everyone does.
25:07
Speaker 3: Everyone has their own you know, own craft to deal
25:09
Speaker 3: with and that's okay. And just to know that they're
25:14
Speaker 3: all here, we're all ready to help, and we're all
25:16
Speaker 3: you know, trying to live this in theful life. And
25:20
Speaker 3: as long as you find a way to do it,
25:24
Speaker 3: you can definitely achieve it.
25:26
Speaker 1: All right.
25:26
Speaker 2: I gotta ask you this, As a social worker, do
25:28
Speaker 2: you do you both able bodied and disabled clients?
25:31
Speaker 1: Like, what's the clientele range?
25:34
Speaker 3: Yeah? I actually did. I actually specialize in trauma and
25:38
Speaker 3: work with children. I think I subconsciously chose that because
25:45
Speaker 3: I can relate to it very well. I was a
25:48
Speaker 3: child that to travel, and I think that especially for children.
25:55
Speaker 3: I mean, people are always saying, oh, children are so resilient,
25:59
Speaker 3: and then you find out ten years there that this
26:01
Speaker 3: person who's in therapy for trying to dress what happened
26:04
Speaker 3: in their childhood. So I don't know how it done
26:06
Speaker 3: as they really are, but they definitely had a special
26:10
Speaker 3: spark in them. And if they're going through something or
26:14
Speaker 3: I need some assistance, I'm so happy to be ill
26:17
Speaker 3: the one to show them and remind them of the.
26:22
Speaker 1: I love it.
26:22
Speaker 2: I love it, Sherry, this has been awesome. One last
26:26
Speaker 2: couple of things here. Why did you start that? Because
26:29
Speaker 2: I can campaign because that's sort of my pitch to
26:32
Speaker 2: me was from Steve Cohen. Thanks for him for introducing us,
26:35
Speaker 2: by the way, But why because I can't. Was that
26:37
Speaker 2: something you woke up in today I'm going to start
26:39
Speaker 2: using this? What was the motivation for using that specific constuct?
26:43
Speaker 3: So I love as that which I mentioned earlier. And
26:46
Speaker 3: I had noticed that I was bumping into old classmates
26:50
Speaker 3: from high school or really just said anyone, and and
26:54
Speaker 3: I saw a little morse in their eyes, and they
26:58
Speaker 3: felt so good to me, and and I was just
27:00
Speaker 3: good to myself, Like, why do you feel like I'm
27:04
Speaker 3: not just happy? I'm the happiest I've ever been. So
27:08
Speaker 3: I kind of use that I feel too, sort of
27:12
Speaker 3: start this because I can't page, which happened in by accident,
27:16
Speaker 3: and I wanted to show the world that, yeah, I
27:19
Speaker 3: may have challenges that I ris up to nick, and
27:22
Speaker 3: I didn't mean that I can't live my life or
27:25
Speaker 3: be happy. So I started this model. I may not
27:30
Speaker 3: be able to do the things you do, but what
27:32
Speaker 3: I can do will surprise you. And I just exploded
27:36
Speaker 3: into this campaign that showed the bell that yeah, I
27:40
Speaker 3: may have some challenges. We all do, but it's okay
27:43
Speaker 3: and you're not alone. And whatever you do get from
27:47
Speaker 3: this page, I just hope that you see it and
27:49
Speaker 3: decide not to give up.
27:52
Speaker 2: Sure as an athlete, like doing the running myself for
27:55
Speaker 2: thirty years or so, I have to ask you this,
27:57
Speaker 2: Were you playing sports before all of this onto mean disease?
28:00
Speaker 2: Were you active like that in the sports world and
28:03
Speaker 2: the running world, and then you know, refinding yourself after
28:07
Speaker 2: the diagnosis must have felt like even a bigger accomplishment,
28:10
Speaker 2: not just growing to the visuline, but getting back to
28:12
Speaker 2: that state of athletic A.
28:15
Speaker 3: Yeah, so I describe I was not as sports star
28:17
Speaker 3: tom a tomboy. I was very much incidanced. It was
28:21
Speaker 3: danced in my entire life. I was always in dance
28:24
Speaker 3: classes and dance competitions, So that definitely hip the toll
28:30
Speaker 3: on it. I actually don't really talk about it, I'm
28:32
Speaker 3: much because it's such a It hits such a personal
28:36
Speaker 3: stop and it's something as happy as I am today
28:40
Speaker 3: and how much I am grateful for I am today
28:43
Speaker 3: and how much I have, but she just continued to
28:45
Speaker 3: grow stronger. That's something that I hope none of these
28:50
Speaker 3: are not warning because as much as I can dance
28:55
Speaker 3: today with adaptations, it's not how I was before. And
29:00
Speaker 3: that's okay. It's just something that I will forever miss
29:03
Speaker 3: and hopefully when they I'll go back to it now.
29:07
Speaker 2: I know you want to think you have a lot
29:09
Speaker 2: of doctors that help you through this, but also you
29:12
Speaker 2: were you were maybe listening to your body's warning signs,
29:15
Speaker 2: and how many people do that?
29:16
Speaker 3: Right?
29:16
Speaker 2: I mean, what did were there warning signs before the
29:18
Speaker 2: diagnosis happened, or how did you listen to your body
29:20
Speaker 2: with all of that.
29:21
Speaker 3: When it first happened, Yeah, it's actually something I don't
29:24
Speaker 3: talk that much also, but it's okay. I did. It
29:28
Speaker 3: did not feel right one morning, and I did call
29:31
Speaker 3: the doctor and he said, oh, maybe it's just you know,
29:33
Speaker 3: it's coming down with that vigress or you getting the flow,
29:37
Speaker 3: or you know, just just brushed it off. And I said, okay,
29:42
Speaker 3: And it's right. And after if you did, it's kept
29:45
Speaker 3: you know, deteriorating. And it's the point that I needed
29:48
Speaker 3: to be hostialized. And I noticed that it's really, really
29:54
Speaker 3: really important to listen to your value and to advocate
29:57
Speaker 3: for yourself. And there's something that's gonna feel right, do
30:00
Speaker 3: not go with it and seek out of help. It's
30:03
Speaker 3: better to be hold you're fine, you're fine, you're fine,
30:07
Speaker 3: and take all the tests and to be seen that
30:09
Speaker 3: you're fine, versus just you know, listening to one doctor
30:12
Speaker 3: and just waiting for some reverse to happen.
30:16
Speaker 2: All right, you will the experience where the ada is necessary. Right,
30:21
Speaker 2: the accessibility is necessary. But we're thirty five years and
30:24
Speaker 2: what can be done to make it more accessible? As
30:28
Speaker 2: we said earlier, it's not all accessible but what do
30:30
Speaker 2: you think can be done? Not just in a I
30:33
Speaker 2: guess physical way with all the accessibility, but just in
30:36
Speaker 2: a lot of ways.
30:36
Speaker 1: There's a lot more to go, right for sure.
30:39
Speaker 3: I said that there's so many different communities out there
30:43
Speaker 3: that let's say that the VP or things like that,
30:48
Speaker 3: and I just think that there's so much more work
30:51
Speaker 3: to be done with the ADA and we're just I
30:55
Speaker 3: don't know if that's on the back runner, and I
31:00
Speaker 3: wish they don't do it. And I feel that we are
31:02
Speaker 3: as a community doing it, but as a nation or
31:06
Speaker 3: as the world, and that it does again reflected sometimes,
31:11
Speaker 3: which is why our community is so strong, because we
31:13
Speaker 3: advocate for each other and try to accommodate with each other.
31:16
Speaker 3: But it definitely can use I'm not sure.
31:22
Speaker 2: Do you feel like these kids, I'm the ones that
31:25
Speaker 2: you're wide, you're helping on your work, But do you
31:27
Speaker 2: feel like kids are.
31:28
Speaker 1: Looking up to you? People are looking up to you?
31:30
Speaker 2: Now? I mean, you're such a grounded person for a
31:32
Speaker 2: big eelight on ESPN, and yet you're just you sound
31:35
Speaker 2: so grounded, so it doesn't sound like it. Let it
31:37
Speaker 2: get to your head a little bit, you know what
31:39
Speaker 2: I mean?
31:39
Speaker 1: Like you're very grounded.
31:40
Speaker 2: But do you notice people, hey, we look up to
31:44
Speaker 2: your shares that type of thing you're seeing.
31:46
Speaker 3: Yeah, I definitely gets stopped here and there and from
31:50
Speaker 3: adults to children and stay with you know, I think
31:54
Speaker 3: for a page, I really didn't spile me and I
31:58
Speaker 3: don't want to get to my head because the reason
32:00
Speaker 3: why I continue to, you know, share my story is
32:04
Speaker 3: because I want others to see it and know that
32:07
Speaker 3: they're not alone. And I know that there is like
32:09
Speaker 3: under the tunnel, I know that you can look at
32:14
Speaker 3: but use me, use my story to you know, to
32:18
Speaker 3: as draw instariation to do what ever you want to do.
32:20
Speaker 3: And if you have a feeling stuck, I hope that
32:22
Speaker 3: you see it and say okay, and she can do it,
32:25
Speaker 3: so can I. And that's that's really my only goal.
32:28
Speaker 3: I'm not here and I did. I'm not here for
32:30
Speaker 3: the fandom in the start, and I'm not I don't
32:33
Speaker 3: care for the spotlight.
32:35
Speaker 1: Well.
32:35
Speaker 2: Sherry Shore s r o u R Sherry c h
32:39
Speaker 2: e R I. You can find her on Instagram as well.
32:43
Speaker 2: I love the story that you said that someone was
32:46
Speaker 2: not really wanting to do the exercise, you know, go
32:48
Speaker 2: to the gym in the morning.
32:49
Speaker 1: But they saw your videos that Okay, I'm going I
32:51
Speaker 1: saw the video. It's a great story.
32:53
Speaker 3: Yeah, it happens somewhere a few times. I'm grateful for that.
32:58
Speaker 3: If someone's doing stuck, are unmotivated and we need the
33:02
Speaker 3: extra push, so I'll say like, oh, I stay your page.
33:05
Speaker 3: And you know if I if Sharry can do it,
33:08
Speaker 3: then what's my excuse? I have no reason, you know,
33:10
Speaker 3: I like working, my arms are working on healthy. I
33:13
Speaker 3: have no reason or excuse not to do anything. And
33:16
Speaker 3: there's having that momentum, you know, to fresh themselves and
33:20
Speaker 3: that's really my many message.
33:22
Speaker 2: Well, I love that I was able to feature you
33:24
Speaker 2: on the countdown the eighty eight thirty five. Are you
33:26
Speaker 2: celebrating the eighty eight tomorrow or are you going to
33:29
Speaker 2: be involved or what's your plans for the weekend?
33:33
Speaker 3: Just living whatever comes with it. I just I'm just
33:36
Speaker 3: trying to enjoy the summer and then enjoy my life
33:40
Speaker 3: whatever way that means, which trying to family, the beach,
33:45
Speaker 3: I left, go the ocean, So.
33:47
Speaker 1: Yeah, which is I think the best way to honor
33:49
Speaker 1: the day. Just keep living for sure, living the life,
33:52
Speaker 1: you know.
33:52
Speaker 3: Yeah, living my second life, Yeah.
33:55
Speaker 1: All right, Cherry.
33:56
Speaker 2: Love to having you and we're definitely going to have
33:58
Speaker 2: you back on as you're story continues to be out
34:01
Speaker 2: there and and developments that you want to talk about.
34:03
Speaker 1: You're welcome back on the One leg A Network.
34:06
Speaker 3: Thank yous so much for having me
34:09
Speaker 1: Hang on one second,