Hear Ms. Junior Wheelchair Florida's story at expo

Katie Mathews just spent her first night alone in her own apartment.

A desire for independence is something Mathews shares with many 20-year-olds, except for one thing: She's partially paralyzed from the chest down.

Mathews is the current Ms. Junior Wheelchair Florida.

It's been four years since a car crash on Interstate 75 tragically altered the Venice teen's life. Days shooting hoops on the school basketball court turned to countless hours re-learning how to dress and feed herself.

"Everything in life, whether good or bad, is for a reason," she says.

Mathews finished high school - was even honored as homecoming queen - and continues to work toward her ultimate goal of attending college. She wants to study psychology in the Orlando area, where she lives in an apartment complex designed for persons who have suffered brain and spine injuries.

Mathews' goals, however, reach far past college and getting her own place. She's passionate about warning teens about distracted driving, especially from cell phone calls and text messages.

"I want to keep everybody, if possible, out of my situation," she says.

She's been sharing her story with students in the Sarasota area for a while, but she's using her reign as Ms. Junior Wheelchair Florida 2010 to take the message to a wider audience. That includes being the keynote speaker at Hillsborough County's annual Disability Awareness Expo in Tampa on July 24.

The expo is an opportunity for the community to see the tools and technology that help people with disabilities live fuller lives. Mathews says it also is a chance for people to better understand those who use wheelchairs or have other disabilities.

"If they don't know somebody in a wheelchair, it may make them uncomfortable, and the person in the wheelchair gets uncomfortable, too," she says. "I want people to know (disabled persons) are people too. This doesn't make us mutants or anything."

AWARENESS EXPO

The Hillsborough County Alliance for Citizens with Disabilities awareness expo will be held at the Museum of Science and Industry, 4801 E Fowler Ave. The free event is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 24; attendees with an event flier can get MOSI tickets for $8. Fliers can be downloaded at www.hillsboroughcounty.org/liaisons (click on ADA Liaison).