Our People: A revelation toward advocacy

Sep. 17—A little more than a year ago, Ben Salazar of Clovis had a major medical setback and a revelation.

Salazar — long a Clovis-based constituent advocate for U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-New Mexico, and currently for U.S Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez — joined a different constituency for which he now advocates with enthusiasm, the disabled.

He walks with the aid of a cane, sometimes with a walker, and a prosthetic rod replaces part of his left leg below the knee and his left foot after COVID-19 worsened a pre-diabetic condition and accelerated an infection in his foot, he said. The foot was amputated in July 2021.

He is concerned about what he has discovered about access to stores and buildings, inattention to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in eastern New Mexico and about attitudes toward the disabled in general. He is also concerned about neglect of health habits that could reduce disabilities, especially among older residents.

Salazar spoke with The News on Wednesday. Here are our questions and his responses.

Q: What have you learned since you became disabled?

A: I'll admit I thought people knew what it was like to be disabled, but society is naïve. For example, they don't see the difficulties with heavy doors that can turn away disabledcustomers and keep people from access to shopping.

I have also learned what it is to rely on other people for assistance in things that used to be simple, and found that people do come to help, but I'm not sure society as a whole is tolerant of disability.

When I was in physical therapy, I found that 50% of the patients were older people.

Our society is aging, and more disabilities are developing.

Many in our society are not living healthy lifestyles that could prevent the need for a lot of physical therapy. That doesn't mean a total withdrawal from what people like, but everything should be consumed in moderation.

Q: What kind of things are you advocating locally?

A: I would like to see the city of Clovis install playground equipment to meet the needs of disabled kids. Disabled kids watch other kids on playground equipment and want to do the same things.

It can be done. For example, there are swing platforms with ramps that allow wheelchair access and that you can secure a wheelchair to, that allow a kid to enjoy swinging.

I visited Rio Rancho and saw a park designed for kids with disabilities, the playground equipment and even the pathways were ADA-compliant. The look on the kids' faces when they saw they could use the equipment said it all. Usually these kids are detached from playgrounds.

Q: And for disabled adults?

A: There should be more ramps for use by the disabled. There should be more doors that open with a pushbutton or open automatically. There are a lot of older buildings in town that were grandfathered in before the Americans with Disabilities Act that are difficult or impossible to enter. Any remodeling projects are required to include ADA compliance.

Sometimes I will turn down an invitation to an event, because I'll have to park too far away or I'll have trouble with doors. These are things people need to keep in mind.

Q: Have you taken your advocacy further?

A: I have spoken to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who has established a Commission on Disability, on some points of advocacy, including increased funding for disability programs. The governor is a close friend of mine, and her staff has been helpful in assisting with advocacy efforts for the disabled.

Q: How do you keep up your spirits?

A: I faced a choice between keeping a foot, which could have resulted in death, or amputation, which saved my life.

It was life-changing but not life-ending.

This happened at about the time the apartment building collapsed in Florida. (The Surfside, Fla., condominium tower collapse of June 24, 2021, which killed 98 people). I was thinking, those people did not have a choice, but I do.

At physical therapy, one patient was a 15-year-old paraplegic. When I saw him, I told myself, "I can overcome this."

Q: As a drummer, how has this affected your ability to play music?

A: When the surgery was over, I told the doctor, "You saved my best drum foot," which he thought was as amusing as I thought it was. I have my right foot for the pedal on the big drum, and the other, I can still use for most of what I do on the high-hat (a pedal-operated cymbal), so I can still play.