My name is Rosie Silver. As many people know in BBYO, I recently had reconstructive foot surgery causing me to leave BBYO for a month. I needed this surgery because I was born with clubfoot, but I have it in both feet. It’s when you're born with feet facing inwards. I had surgery to fix it when I was little, but last year, I started experiencing more pain in my feet to the point where I would cry if I walked. It was becoming hard for me because I am chapter Sh’licha and I would be steering two Shabbats at IC 2023. I went to my regional leadership training in a wheelchair, I was embarrassed and didn’t want to show up. I was in pain and stayed the whole time. I was in a wheelchair until a week before IC, then a knee scooter while there. Before IC I sent an email asking if stuff would be accessible and they said yes, but when I got to IC I found it wasn’t as accessible as I thought it would be. I was told to go to many places to solve my problems, and they helped me get what I needed. One thing I remember is on LEADs day, I was trying to get on the bus with one foot, and I almost fell. When I was getting off the bus, even though I wouldn’t admit it, I was scared I was gonna fall. Someone lent a hand, and we went down the bus stairs together. This got me thinking, what can we do to further accessibility in BBYO. Accessibility is a hard thing to accomplish because not all our programs we host are accessible for people in wheelchairs or on crutches. After the past few months of my foot surgery I was thinking there should be more wheelchair-accessible events so they can have a wonderful experience
Rosie Silver is a BBG from MHR, who is the sh'licha of her chapter!
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