|
Mona Toner: Ms. Wheelchair South Dakota 2004
|
Larger image
|
Hi! My name is Mona Toner and I am proud to say that I am Ms.
Wheelchair South Dakota 2004. I am honored to be able to represent the great state
of South Dakota and go to the national pageant in July in Richmond, Virginia.
I am 35 years old. At birth I was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular
Atrophy, which is a form of Muscular Dystrophy where the muscles slowly
deteriorate. I use a power wheelchair for mobility and independence. I have a
sister (my one and only sibling) who is 6 years older and she also has Spinal
Muscular Atrophy. From age 5 to age 17 I lived and went to school at an
institution/hospital school, 3 hours away from home. At the time I started High
School I was mainstreamed half day to a Private, Catholic High School. After I
graduated High School I attended a community college and received a diploma for
Medical Secretary. Years later I attended a vo-tech school and received a diploma
for Medical Billing.
|
|
In 1996 I followed my sister and her husband to Tucson, Arizona
where I lived for 6 years. In 2002 I moved back to South Dakota to be with a man I
had known for 14 years. Currently we are engaged but have not set a date yet. |
|
I am all girl, I am quiet natured, I have a panda
collection, I love to be independent, I am determined, I enjoy challenging myself.
I love to prove people wrong when they say “you can’t do that”. I have a
close relationship with God and with my family. I try to make the most out of
every day and I try to enjoy life and appreciate every day. |
|
I entered the Ms. Wheelchair SD pageant because of
3 persistent transit drivers who insisted, coaxed and encouraged me to enter. It
was never something that I thought I wanted to do, much less something I thought I
could do. You see I am a very quiet person and shy, so just the thought of giving
speeches and being judged, made my stomach do flip-flops. Not to mention the
thought of winning and having to do numerous speaking engagements, public
appearances and fundraising, yikes. I had always avoided things like this up until
this point in my life. This time turned out to be different; I decided to not be
so quick to run from this, but to really think long and hard about this
opportunity. I thought to myself: this could be a really good thing for me in so
many ways. Not only could I finally face my speaking fears, but also, it would
give me a chance to meet other women with disabilities who are out there, living
their lives and doing great things. |
Larger image
|
|
Larger image |
I thought as long as the
employees of Sioux Falls Transit were serious about sponsoring me, then I
should go for it. At the time I was employed at Prairie
Freedom Center for Independent Living, which is an Independent Living Center for
people with disabilities, I was the Advocacy Coordinator. I was doing advocacy
work by helping people with disabilities, networking with other disability
agencies and educating the community on disability issues. So why not take being
an advocate to the next level and that’s exactly what I did. I have to say that I am so thankful that I did, because this
whole experience thus far has been so wonderful for me. I met some remarkable
people, that have now become a part of my life. I learned more about myself. I was
voted Ms. Congeniality by my peers and also voted First Runner-Up by the judges. I
was so proud of myself and very happy with my accomplishments.
|
|
But this is not the end of the story. I went home happy with how things turned out
and kinda relieved about not having the responsibility of the titleholder. After
all, I had a full-time job and didn’t really have time for anything else and so
life went on as usual, for the time being. Then 4 months later, it was January and
things started to change, to where I was feeling I could no longer continue at my
place of employment and by the middle of February I had resigned. Well here I sat
with no job and contemplating what would be my next endeavor. Lo and behold, my
phone rang: it was notification that the current titleholder had resigned and the
position of Ms. Wheelchair SD was now available to me. So here I am today.
I truly believe God had this planned for me and it was meant to
be. I couldn’t have planned things this way even if I had tried. It is meant to
be at this time in my life for me to take this journey.
Mona Toner
Ms. Wheelchair South Dakota 2004
|
| |
|
