Readers React: Stephen Hawking showed that disabled people, far from being ‘confined,’ are whole people

To the editor: Jessica Roy’s article on viewing Stephen Hawking’s disability as a positive aspect of his life is to be commended. (“Erasing Stephen Hawking’s disability erases an important part of who he was,” March 16)

My mother had a stroke at the age of 39 that left her paralyzed along the left side of her body, making it necessary for her to use a cane the rest of her life. Prior to the stroke she had been working a mind-numbing assembly line job at a factory, but after the stroke she decided to pursue a college degree.

After graduating, she taught Spanish to high school students for 25 years, taking groups of her students and their families on European tours. She and my father took road trips around the country, and for their 50th anniversary they traveled to Ireland.

My mother never saw herself as “chained” by her disability, and I often wondered if she would have remained at the factory job until retirement if she hadn’t had a stroke. Thank you, Ms. Roy, for informing your readers that a person with a disability is still a whole person.

Rosa Cesaretti, South Pasadena

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To the editor: My contracting polio in 1952 caused me to walk with crutches for 50 years; later, I transitioned to wheelchairs.

I benefited from a number of rehabilitation programs early on that enabled me to adapt to my physical constraints. This ultimately led to a rewarding career in our local aerospace engineering sector. I grew from entry-level assignments to take the lead of teams of ever-increasing size and moved onward to manage substantial projects. I traveled extensively.

When I retired, one person memorably told me, “I never ever thought of you on crutches.” It was gratifying to be recognized for what I was and not what I looked like. Today, as I move around in my wheelchair, I experience the same.

Disability is in the eye of the beholder.

John McElrath, Whittier

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