Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready has made an emotional post about a new story about a woman with Crohn’s disease filing a lawsuit against Amazon over a lack of access to a bathroom, despite her disease which makes use of a restroom a necessity.
“I’m sad that some companies & people in power can still be ignorant & intolerant of people with disabilities. Crohn’s & Colitis are extremely painful & debilitating diseases. Patients often have NO CHOICE when an attack comes and a bathroom is needed immediately.
I’m reminded of Ally’s story when a company refused her access to a restroom & she endured a painful and embarrassing experience. She channeled that experience and helped create positive change and a new law. http://www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org/…/pers…/allybain.html
Human beings should be helped & supported when having a damaging, humiliating, and debilitating diseases. I urge companies & all ‘bosses’ to be educated, aware & compassionate for people with Crohn’s/Colitis. Help your employees, don’t fire them. #IBDSucks #CompassionDoesnt
Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation – Northwest Chapter”
In the Ally Bain story McCready linked to, she wrote, “In 2001, after several months of misdiagnoses, a pediatric gastroenterologist diagnosed me with Crohn’s disease. At the time, I had no idea what that meant. And, for the next couple of years, my only reminder of having Crohn’s disease was a doctor appointment every so often, some pills I had to take in the morning and night, and an abdominal pain here and there. Several years after I was diagnosed, I had an experience that would forever change my life; it would forever change my perspective, my aspirations, and my purpose.
When I was 14 years old, I suddenly felt a sharp pain while my mother and I were shopping at a large retail store. I was in the midst of a flare and I knew I had a matter of minutes to find a restroom. After a store employee said that the store did not have any public restrooms, we asked that the employee page the store manager. I begged the store manager to let me use the employee-only restroom. Despite admitting that he knew about Crohn’s disease, he claimed he was making a “managerial decision” and repeatedly denied me restroom access, causing me to have an accident in the store. Being denied restroom access is something that no one should ever have to experience. Walking out of the store, my mother promised this would never happen to me or anyone else again.”
