{"id":37695,"date":"2022-10-23T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-23T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/for-durango-woman-paralyzed-in-crash-ada-laws-and-new-wheels-could-make-all-the-difference\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:39:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:39:14","slug":"for-durango-woman-paralyzed-in-crash-ada-laws-and-new-wheels-could-make-all-the-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/for-durango-woman-paralyzed-in-crash-ada-laws-and-new-wheels-could-make-all-the-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"For Durango woman paralyzed in crash, ADA laws and new wheels could make all the difference"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Jessica
Jessica Vought has a smile on her face, even though the repairs for her 14-year-old handicap-accessible van cost more than the vehicle itself. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Jessica Vought has a smile on her face.<\/p>\n

Many people would wonder why, considering everything she has endured and continues to endure. Many would wonder why she is not angrier at her circumstances, angrier at the world for what has happened to her.<\/p>\n

People who wonder such things do not know Vought.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will never find this woman in a bad mood,\u201d said one of Vought\u2019s closest friends, Lynn Dearey. \u201cShe\u2019s always upbeat. Always looking at the positive side of things.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the positive things Vought is focusing on is the purchase of a wheelchair-accessible van modified for disable drivers. The only obstacle is the lack of money. Vought needs about $60,000 to buy a used, modified van, and that\u2019s $60,000 she does not have.<\/p>\n

Twenty-three years ago, at 16 years old, Vought was in a car crash near Ignacio caused by a drunken driver. Not only did she spend three months in a coma, suffer a brain injury and lose the use of her legs, she also lost her best friend, who was in the car with her. When the settlement money came, around $265,000, her family took it and spent it elsewhere. Not one penny went toward the many surgeries she would endure later in life, including the amputation of her right leg, nor the medication she takes on a daily basis, nor the medical equipment she needs just to survive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish I didn\u2019t need these things, but I do,\u201d said Vought with a lighthearted shrug. \u201cJust three months of my blood thinners alone is $600.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finding the money for the last 23 years has been a colossal trial-and-error effort of using Medicaid and Medicare, sometimes losing Medicaid and Medicare, reaching out to local nonprofits, and relying on the those in her church to aid her, many whom have become a surrogate family of sorts, especially since the death of her husband, who died five years ago.<\/p>\n

And then there is Vought\u2019s most recent obstacle: the breakdown of her 14-year-old handicapped-accessible van.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe repairs would cost more than the vehicle itself, and I\u2019ve been told not to drive it anyway,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Though the city of Durango provides many options for people with disabilities, such as Southwest Rides and Durango Transit\u2019s Opportunity Bus, Vought prefers the freedom and independence to drive herself around town. The last few weeks, however, she has been at the mercy of others to take her places.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re wonderful for helping me, but I don\u2019t like having to rely on other people every time I need to go somewhere,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

To find the money, Vought with the help of Dearey has begun a GoFundMe<\/a> account (Jess Joy Needs a New Handicapped Accessible Van) to raise the money for a new van, as well as turning to Durango\u2019s nonprofit organizations such as Manna soup kitchen and Women\u2019s Resource Center for the rest of the funds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve all been so wonderful,\u201d Vought said. \u201cWe\u2019ll see how it goes with how much they can help me.\u201d<\/p>\n

One thing she would like to see is more attention to wheelchair accessibility around the Durango area.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome businesses don\u2019t have any ramps and there is no way for me to get in and out,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve learned where I can and can\u2019t go, and one business told me that it was the building owner\u2019s fault for not installing any wheelchair-accessible ramps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vought does not want a particular business singled out because there are many around town that are not Americans with Disabilities Act compliant.<\/p>\n

According to the ADA website, under the Disability Rights Laws, the Architectural Barriers Act specifies that buildings and facilities must be designed, constructed or altered to comply with physical accessibility for all citizens. Old, historical buildings often don\u2019t have to adopt ADA requirements until they undergo major renovations.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I just want some coffee, and there\u2019s no way for me to get into the building,\u201d Vought said.<\/p>\n

She also believes a lack of accommodations in Durango may be because disabled people are often a forgotten subset of the population.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf people spent a month being me, they\u2019d see things differently,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019d understand why it\u2019s so important to have access to everything that everyone else does and to have the independence to be mobile.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Vought gets her new set of wheels, she plans on getting a part-time job, extend her volunteering duties and maybe even travel for a while. Her philosophy is one of perpetual optimism, always looking ahead. Through every setback, every disappointment and loss, she has kept that smile on her face and appreciated what she has gained in life during every hardship, which includes her unwavering Christian faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I woke up from my coma, I felt God in my heart, and I knew I was going to be OK,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

molsen@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jessica Vought wants city of Durango to improve accommodations for disabled residents<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37696,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[2045,950,28,1142],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-37695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-disabled","tag-durango","tag-headlines","tag-profile"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37695"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37695\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83751,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37695\/revisions\/83751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37695"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=37695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}