A man with Lou Gehrig?s disease who was confined to a walker was struggling to catch the bus one day. He moved as quickly as he could, however the bus driver did not have the courtesy or the decency to wait ? instead, he peeled out of the bus stop, leaving the man behind.

A doctor has told a 60-year-old grandfather that both his legs must be amputated. The grandfather has applied for ?at least 50? jobs, and been turned down for all of them. He survives on $223 per month, and believes he would not be here were it not for the Church of Christ, who assists him every day. When he attempted to reach Financial Assistance, they told him he was healthy and advised him to get a job. He is the only guardian of his six-year-old grandson, who is handicapped.

A man who has been working for 50 years was forced to retire when he turned 65. At that time, his insurance was cut off ? a fact he accepted, despite his wife being handicapped for 12 years. However when his wife got a letter from Government saying her Social Assistance was being cut off, he said: ?My whole world completely tumbled upside down.?

A man in a wheelchair was to attend Supreme Court for a case. The Supreme Court has no wheelchair access. When he could not get up the steps he was deemed to be late, and the case was ruled in his absence.

These were only a few of the emotional stories shared by people with disabilities and their family members at a town hall meeting at the Anglican Cathedral Hall yesterday.

The meeting, put on by the Ministry of Health and Family Services, attracted a crowd of more than 50 who were there to ask questions and voice their opinions on what must be done for seniors and the disabled of Bermuda.

Among the often-tearful stories were calls for things as simple as sidewalks which slope to the road, allowing safer wheelchair access, to issues as complex as a Physical Disabilities Act.

Island-wide access to restaurants and office buildings was repeatedly called for, with president of the Handicapped Association Willard Fox saying the ?cockroach? entrance through the kitchen was not enough.

Many said small details, such as relief from Customs duty for goods like wheelchairs or medication, would increase the quality of life for Bermuda?s disabled immeasurably.

Among the many ideas and suggestions, one thing emerged. Those who have not experienced life in Bermuda with a disability can not understand what it is like.

The mindset of the ?temporarily-abled? was expressed perfectly when the crowd, the majority of whom were in wheelchairs or were otherwise disabled, were told that to speak at the forum they would have to come up to the mike.

?People are disabled,? one man said. ?Where?s the cordless mike??

No one expressed that more eloquently than Hott 107.5 DJ Bootsie, who acted as MC for the event.

?When it?s not in your life, you don?t worry about it,? he told the audience after listening to their stories for nearly two hours. ?There are a lot of people like me who have no idea, but who would love to help.?

Permanent Secretary for Health Kevin Monkman took Bootsie?s sentiments one step further.

At one point during the proceedings, a woman challenged Mr. Monkman to spend one day in Hamilton in a wheelchair.

At the time he remained quiet, however Mr. Monkman later told that he has accepted the woman?s challenge.

?I?ve asked (the National Office for Seniors and the Physically Challenged) to set it up for January,? he said.

The office will not tell Mr. Monkman what day it will be, he said ? instead, they will simply show up at his office with a wheelchair. ?It?s difficult because you know you can always get out of the chair at the end of the day.

?But, for one day, I will be transformed from a temporarily-abled person to a temporarily-disabled one.?

Through the meeting, one thing remained clear: despite being ?constantly beaten?, as one man put it, Bermuda?s disabled are anything but out.

Heidi DeSilva of the Multiple Sclerosis Society expressed it perfectly. ?I have MS,? she told the crowd.

?But I have two good hands at the moment. And I?m willing to use them.?