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woman.
Evelyn was born with cerebral palsy in 1933, a time when parents were encouraged to not keep their children with disabilities at home. However, that was not an option Evelyn’s parents would consider. They took her home from the well-meaning doctors to the farm in the rural North Platte area to manage the best they could. It was a challenge, but when she was five years old she was finally able to walk on her own.
Evelyn’s mother tried to enroll her in a nearby school when she was seven years old, but that teacher would not allow Evelyn to participate in her classroom. Undaunted, her mother tried the school in Sutherland, where Evelyn was accepted and took regular classes with the other children. She loved her classmates, an outgoing and friendly characteristic that is still evident now. When the family moved to town, she went to school in North Platte. Her brother and two sisters were a great support to Evelyn, but it was not always easy. She shared with us that she never was invited to the other girls’ homes for sleep-overs. Disappointment also came when Evelyn was ready to graduate. Although she had completed the school work, she was not allowed to have a diploma because she could not talk.
Evelyn’s work ethic and determination to be self-sufficient drove her until she finally got a job at the hospital. There she had a number of jobs, helping in the kitchen, helping the elderly to the dining room, and finally working in the lab; washing and waxing the floor and cleaning. Today, Evelyn is extremely proud of the fact that she is now living on the money that she herself earned and saved.

Evelyn worked at the hospital for twenty-two years, leaving only when she needed to help her mother. She cared for her mother for twenty-five years, until a fall sent Evelyn’s mother to a nursing home. Shortly afterward, Evelyn moved to an assisted living complex nearby, where she was able to visit her mother daily.
Evelyn recognizes that until people get used to listening to her speak, it is difficult to understand all of what she has to say. As I interviewed her for this story, she typed words into her device to have it “speak” to support what she said, helping me understand. She and Cristi had also programmed some of the highlights of her life so the LightWriter could speak them with a touch of a button. Evelyn is now 74 years of age and finally has the opportunity to be understood by acquaintances and to clarify herself if her friends misunderstand what she says. When asked what she would have done if she had been able to use a communication device when she was younger, she replied without hesitation, “Help people that are handicapped.”