Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/307188
Up-close and personal 10 10 Patricia Lay-Dorsey documents life with a disability By Dan Digmann Midway through her sentence Patricia Lay-Dorsey interrupts herself. "I need to get a picture of this," Lay-Dorsey says as she grabs the camera strategically situated in the basket on the front of her black and silver Amigo scooter. The seasoned photographer and retired social worker explains she doesn't have many pictures of people viewing her self- portraits. But tonight there are several visitors perusing her exhibit, "Falling Into Place: Self-Portraits," as it formally opens in Park Library's Third Floor Exhibit Area. The opening precedes her evening presentation that is part of Clarke Historical Library's speaker series this semester. People use words like "powerful" and "empowering" to describe the 22 displayed prints documenting her experiences as a disabled person living with Multiple Sclerosis. Such words work better for her than descriptions such as "heroic" and "brave," which have troubled her ever since she began using a motorized scooter for mobility. "I am living my life the best I can with what I've been given," she says. "To me, that's not being brave, that's just making the best of it, whatever 'it' is." "It" for Lay-Dorsey is MS. MS is a chronic, progressive disease of the central nervous system that affects more than 400,000 Americans, including over 19,000 people in Michigan. 10