At 51, Mary Eves has too much to do and not nearly enough time in which to do it.
The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
By David Grimes, Quill Correspondent
At 51, Mary Eves has too much to do and not nearly enough time in which to do it.
A quadriplegic since the age of 22, Eves possesses opinions on a wide range of topics that don't necessarily contradict each other as much as they define who she is as an individual.
She prefers the term "disability" over "physical challenge" when talking about her neurological disease - spinal muscular atrophy.
"My disability has only made me navigate through life in a different way than other people do," Eves said. "It's a matter of learning to do tricks with mirrors."
That approach may be what Mary Eves wishes for every person with a handicap of any type.
"The best way for a family to help a handicapped member is to acknowledge the handicap is there and help the individual get along in life the best way possible," she said.
The condition that has plagued Eves since early childhood is one in which nerve endings branching out to various parts of the body from the spinal cord randomly die out according to their own individual genetic timetable and spurred by an enzyme deficiency.
Genetics had not made the advances it has today, and Eves' parents, John and Geneva Siekert, had no way of knowing that their baby daughter would eventually show symptoms of SMA.
Without tipping her hand as to personal pro-life or pro-choice leanings, Eves plainly - and perhaps painfully - states the obvious.
"Today, because the gene that carries the disease has been identified, people have the option of aborting the fetus if they know there is a predisposition for the disease," she said.
Eves takes no medication for the disease, and said the condition is not fatal.
"People don't die of my disease, they die of secondary conditions like pneumonia," she said.
Initially disinterested in pursuing a college career after graduating from BHS, Eves eventually did opt to do just that.
"I was a child of the "60s," she said. "I'd come to believe that rich kids went off to college to avoid the draft and I didn't want to be a part of that."
Mary's decision has opened doors for her in life and taken her on a globetrotting journey that is truly remarkable.
Her journey, however, began a bit earlier than that.
Eves recalls being unable to participate in gym as a student at Burlington High School, when the campus was still located downtown.
She continued to walk at the time, even though she was unable to participate in physical education classes, and in retrospect, said she probably should have stopped trying before her early twenties.
Still, she exercised good stewardship in managing those vacant hours in the halls of education. "I immersed myself in taking every other class I could," she said.
That mindset, and her first attempt at "tricks with mirrors" in navigating through life, eventually resulted in Mary Eves studying several languages including Spanish, Italian, Latin and French.
If she had once balked at enrolling in college, Mary Eves came to rethink her stand.
In addition to exploring a future career in education, there was a bonus.
Mary met her husband, Philip, while both were attending the University of Illinois at Champaign.
After the couple completed their educational pursuits, they moved to Philip's native Australia, a land that Mary Eves said she misses desperately.
She cites a number of reasons for missing her former life in Melbourne, Victoria.
National health care, more teaching opportunities, better public transportation and enduring friendships forged during her time as a citizen of Australia are but a few of those reasons.
"There was better mobility, lots of schools and teaching opportunities and it never snowed. The climate was good and there was always plenty of fresh food available," Eves said.
And the Eves daughters, Jane, 15, and Catherine, 12, were born in the land down under.
"I wanted to have kids," Mary Eves said. "And I wanted to parent on my own terms."
Time again for "tricks with mirrors."
"I designed and built a mechanical crane that was powered by my wheelchair battery," she said. "It would pick up my daughter and put her in my arms."
The apparatus worked well for Eves' purposes and when she left Australia, she gave the crane to a friend who is also physically challenged.
Mary Eves' invention was considered by corporations, but never took off - a situation that leaves her a bit curious even today.
"I think they couldn't get past liability concerns," she said.
While Eves would rather be busy than spending time on hobbies, she does confess to finding satisfaction in cooking, sewing, reading and writing.
Homesickness for her second home continues to plague her yet.
"But Philip never really enjoyed his work (in education)," she said. "He liked the idea of living in a small town and he wanted to open a small business."
The Eves have done that in opening Diggers Rest coffeehouse in downtown Burlington shortly after they relocated to Iowa in 1998.
Mary Eves' career in education has spanned both continents and has seen her work in teaching English as a second language to migrant workers, teaching college composition courses and substitute teaching in the public school systems.
Eves also worked for a time as an interpreter with the Melbourne police.
Government views on how to deal with the handicapped persons, the inaccessibility of health care and insurance for handicapped persons who choose to work despite their physical challenges and her own personal struggles resulting from SMA continue to frustrate Eves.
"This country is being held hostage to health issues," she said.
While in Australia, for example, Eves said former first lady Hillary Clinton visited the country and observed its national healthcare system.
"But she didn't have the courage to communicate what she had observed and learned after returning to the U.S.," Eves said.
Eves seems to be determined to face whatever challenge life throws her way, yet continues to languish with the state of disabled citizens in America.
She wonders at the wisdom of government programs that discourage handicapped persons from living full and productive lives.
And she expresses frustration with a society that rewards individuals for remaining nonproductive by keeping medical care and insurance so financially out of reach for persons who choose to work and secure self-supporting status.
Eves currently teaches Spanish on a shared-time schedule, spending mornings at La Harpe High School and her afternoons at Roseville High School.
She travels a 100-mile route each school day, driving herself in a specially designed Dodge minivan that has been custom fitted to accommodate her physical capabilities.
And Mary Eves even expresses some degree of concern about her being worth the taxpayers' dollars used to supply her with the vehicle.
It would seem, though, anyone whose life has crossed paths with Mary Eves would be reticent to gauge her achievements against any measuring stick as mundane as dollars and cents.
The remarkable woman who underestimates her own accomplishments, dismisses the notion that she is anything more than ordinary.
And her only regrets, she said, are that she would like to have more time to spend in nurturing her family.
"If I had a magic wand, I suppose I'd like to go back and do everything over and do it better this time," she muses.
"I have no goals. I'm not ambitious. All I ever wanted was to be mediocre.
"My life is good."