White Cane and Wheels 2004
Distributed by Fanlight Productions, 32 Court St., 21st Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201; 800-876-1710
Produced by Betsy Comstock and Kari Stringham
Directed by Paul Apelgren
DVD, color, 26 min.
College - Adult
Health Sciences, Rehabilitation
Date Entered: 03/23/2007
Reviewed by Lori Widzinski, Health Sciences Library, University at Buffalo, State University of New YorkShe uses a white cane and he has wheels. Carmen Apelgren is blind from retinitis pigmentosa and husband Steven Mendelson is in a wheelchair suffering from muscular dystrophy. They are both in mid-life, and they have created a home and a life together just like any other happily married couple—they just happen to have disabilities.
Paul Apelgren captures the everyday lives of Carmen and Steven with their hardships, humor, frustrations, challenges and most evident of all, their love for one another. As Carmen says, they are soul mates. Their life is physically different, yet their interactions are like those of any other married couple. Particularly touching is how they enjoy movies together. A self-professed film buff, Steven describes everything happening on the screen to Carmen. Their enjoyment is obvious and is an example of just how deep and how sweet their love is for each other.
Highly recommended for college and university library collections supporting programs in the health sciences, particularly physical and occupational therapy and nursing. Students will see a side to the disabled they don’t normally see, giving them an important and different depth of awareness.