It took being in a wheelchair to learn how to ask for help

I still don’t wish a lack of access on anybody

The street that leads to my university in Florence, Tuscany, obliterated with folks, just a sea of cobblestones and tiny sidewalks. The best things are free — of accessibility. (Source: Author)

It is a beautiful September morning, the year is 2021, and I’m crawling to the intercom in my florentine apartment to let the paramedics in. In my delirium I couldn’t remember my own name or where my IDs were when they asked. I speak six languages and couldn’t find words in any of them…