Springfield resident and Ms. Wheelchair USA contestant is passionate about advocacy

A Springfield resident will be representing Oregon in the national Ms. Wheelchair USA pageant in Ohio on Sunday. Her goal? To change the stigma around disabilities.

In January 2021, Melinda Preciado's life changed. After a traumatic event, Preciado had her right leg amputated above the knee.

A former health care worker of 17 years, Preciado, 43, found herself in the position of a patient, with months of rehabilitation and endless surgeries. Since then, she has struggled with her mental health, but said she has found a new purpose in her life.

A mother of two, she was dubbed Ms. Wheelchair Oregon America in 2022 and is Ms. Wheelchair Oregon USA for 2023, which are two separate pageants.

The two pageants each have a long history across the country.

While in rehab after her amputation, Preciado heard about the competitions. She said she was shocked to find out how long they had been around — Ms. Wheelchair USA was established in 1997 and Ms. Wheelchair America in 1972.

When Preciado found out more about the volunteer and advocacy component of Ms. Wheelchair, a tradition for many pageants, Preciado knew it was her next calling.

"I thought 'Maybe one day. I mean, this (being disabled) is new to me, I don't really know what my future holds at the moment,'" Preciado said.

Friends and family pushed her to tryout. She won Ms. Wheelchair Oregon America in 2022. While this wasn't her first pageant, she was in the Miss Teen All American Pageant in 1993, this was her first as an adult.

Preciado's platform has been "adapting America for all," meaning people with mobility issues, "unseen" or "invisible" disabilities, mental disabilities and disorders and more. She said she wants to change the stigma around disabilities.

"Inside, you're a lot stronger than you think you are," Preciado often tells herself and others.

Community and discrimination

Being fairly new to the wheelchair-using community, Preciado said she is still finding her space. She has made several friends but says it can be hard to connect with other wheelchair users in person. Preciado cannot drive, since adaptive driving equipment is expensive. She often takes the bus, but even then, not all destinations are easily accessible, she said.

Preciado mentioned there are some wheelchair-user groups in Lane County, including the Wednesday Wheelers, who go on weekly hikes that are accessible for wheelchair users. She said before she lost her leg, she loved to hike.

Her work as Ms. Wheelchair Oregon has allowed Preciado to connect with people with all types of disabilities.

"That involvement really makes a huge difference," Preciado said. "It makes you still feel human, as weird as that can sound."

Preciado said they talk about everything from love life to phantom pains to everyday discrimination.

Preciado said many people don't acknowledge her or even see her as human, which is an experience many other disabled people have shared with her.

"It's been an eye opener for me with this — being in a wheelchair," Preciado said. "I've been struggling sometimes to get through doors and people just stare. It's embarrassing."

While there have been many good experiences where someone will help her get unstuck in a crack in the sidewalk, there are still negatives where people will address someone she's with instead of talking directly to her or make a disgusted face as they walk by.

Preciado said people should be more cognizant of how they talk to people with disabilities. Often, people talk to Preciado like she is a child or unintelligent, she said.

"These people are doctors, and they're authors, a lot of them are so successful in life and just the most beautiful souls," Preciado said. "People miss out on that because they assume. People miss out on getting to know me because they assume or judge me when, hey, I could have literally saved your family member's life a couple years ago."

Advocacy in Lane County

There has also been a lot of learning and new opportunities for Preciado.

"I'm not any different, maybe stronger inside," Preciado said. "There's little negative things, but a lot of positive. I feel like I've grown a lot, to me, in really good ways."

As a former certified registered nurse anesthetist in a Springfield emergency room, Preciado said she has long been familiar with people with disabilities and Americans with Disabilities Act standards. Her younger son, who's 19, has autism, and she has been an advocate for him and his needs. Since becoming a wheelchair user, Preciado has seen a whole new world.

Her life revolves around whether her wheelchair can fit through a door, if there are steps into a business that she cannot get up and if a place has accessible bathrooms.

"You have to plan out your whole day," Preciado said. Am I going to be able to find a bathroom I can use? Am I going to be able to? Or am I going to get stuck somewhere with my wheelchair?

"All your independence definitely goes out the window when you are in a wheelchair, or have a disability."

She said the two biggest problems in Lane County are sidewalks and bathrooms. Many bathrooms labeled for handicapped use are impractical for actual people with disabilities, she said. Preciado mentioned one bathroom where the door swung inward instead of outward.

Sometimes, Preciado will avoid eating or drinking so she doesn't have to use the bathroom while she's out.

"It's a human right to be able to use bathroom," she said.

She has spent time meeting with city, county and state leaders, talking about accessibility in Oregon. She even spoke with representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration about accessibility on planes. Preciado said she hasn't seen much concrete change since those discussions have started, but she said the consistency in showing up and advocating will make her presence known as a representative for wheelchair users.

Preciado said she understands finding funding for projects to make things accessible can be difficult to find.

She said making public and private spaces more accessible would be not only helping wheelchair users but also elderly people, those who have had joints replaced and pregnant people.

The road to nationals

Preciado is excited to participate in this year's Ms. Wheelchair USA. She's already been in contact with other contestants and said she's been feeling the love. She's not necessarily in it to win it. She's happy to be in a positive environment where she and other wheelchair users can share their sparkle.

"(Last year) I didn't win the title and that was okay, but I left so much more knowledge and sisterhood," Preciado said.

She said this year's contestants seem even more supportive of one another, and she's excited to meet everyone.

Ms. Wheelchair USA is open to any woman with mobility issues who is over the age of 18, according to the pageant's website.

The website states Ms. Wheelchair USA provides a national platform for women with disabilities to show "their own kind of glamour," while educating viewers.

Following the pageant, Preciado will also be speaking at the national Amputee Coalition conference in Florida, which she's also looking forward to and said she's a bit nervous for.

Her topics will include teaching about self-love and care as an amputee and "advocating with grace."

Disability Pride Month

July is Disability Pride Month. On July 26, 1990, former President George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law. Preciado said many people in the disabled community consider it Disability Independence Day.

Disability Pride Month celebrates all types of disabilities, both seen and unseen.

Preciado said she found there was a lack of Disability Pride events in Oregon, and decided to make her own.

Preciado helped organize a Disability Pride Festival on July 15 at the Hilyard Community Center, inviting vendors and speakers on the history of disability and accessibility in the U.S.

Preciado has other big goals too, including creating a detailed packet to give to disabled people with a list of resources and guides to navigating the world as a person with disabilities through transportation, housing, doctors, therapy, community groups and more. Even now, she's constantly discovering new events, groups and resources, and she wants to share that knowledge with others.

To help support the disabled community, Preciado asks that able-bodied people get educated, ask respectful questions and do outside research. She recommends watching documentaries on disabilities like "Crip Camp" or attending disability events and getting involved. She doesn't mind when children have questions about her wheelchair, and encourages parents to talk with their children about disabilities at a young age to help normalize the discussion.

Preciado said able-bodied people can help recognize accessibility problems and advocate to have them fixed. For example, parents who are pushing a stroller might notice some hard-to-navigate sidewalks.

"When you have situations where you have a family member or you just are able-bodied and you see a situation, by speaking up, that's how we're going to change things," she said. "You don't have to be disabled just to make a change."

In the future, Preciado would love to help organize a bigger event like a Disability Pride parade in Springfield.

Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on Twitter @mirandabcyr.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Ms. Wheelchair USA contestant Melinda Preciado to rep Oregon