Interview with Monica Gartner

“I’m not a superhero, I am just a woman with disability that has a great deal of perseverance”. This is what Monica Gartner from Canada says about herself. Affected by OI Type III, she won the ‘Courage to Come Back Award’ for the combined experiences of her getting hit by a car twice and her lungs collapsing, working full-time, writing a book and creating a non-profit organization – a good reason to conduct an interview with Monica.

Where and how do you live today, and how was your upbringing?

I live on the coast in British Columbia, Canada in a two bedroom apartment. I work full-time and when I’m not working I write articles, do public speaking events, and I love going out with my friends and family. I grew up with my parents, and my sister in a one level house. In the beginning my mother took me to school, came by to help me to the washroom at recess, again at lunch, and finally picked me up.

Eventually the government finally had a bus to pick up kids with disabilities and take them to school. Life wasn’t easy, as there was some bullying, but my parents always encouraged me not to give up, and not to listen to the negativity in the school. After I graduated from high school, I tried college but I didn’t enjoy the courses. Eventually found an office job, and then I decided to go back to school part time and continued working full time. I broke some bones along the way, but eventually I graduated with a degree of science in business management.

What are you doing today?

Currently, I work for the Government of Canada as an Human Resources Assistant for the RCMP full time. I have an assistant that helps me get ready for work in the morning. She also prepares my breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

I now work from home because in December of 2019, I got hit by a car for the second time in my life. My back is not the same. It gets sore with long commutes and during cold weather. Working from home has its pluses and drawbacks.

There are no lineups for the washroom! I can play music in the background while I work, but I do miss the interaction with colleagues. I sometimes forget to take a break. Another drawback is that it’s impossible to climb up the corporate ladder.

How is your relationship with the OI community, and (how) have you benefited from it in your life?

When I was younger, I met a couple other girls around my age and we became friends and talked about our challenges. Unfortunately, we lost contact with each other. I also recall going to a community group that was set up for kids with disabilities, but by then I was mentally independent and didn’t feel like going.

However my parents encouraged me to go to encourage the children. So I did go and was happy that I was a positive influence for them. That community group didn’t last very long. Nowadays I am part of an OI group on Facebook, and that group has been helpful for me.

What inspired you to start the Canadian Assisted Travel Society, and how did it come about?

My parents introduced me to the world of traveling as well as my grandmother. My grandmother in particular talked to me about all the trips she went on all over the world. I also wanted to see the world and while my parents could help me I would travel with them.

As my parents were getting older, I realized I would need to learn to travel without them. In the beginning, I traveled with a relative and friends, but as time passed they got married and started having families of their own.

I realized there was no organization to help people with disabilities pay for an attendant’s travel expenses. A group of friends and I decided to create a non-profit organization called the Canadian Assisted Travel Society. We raise money through fundraising events and then put out an application form for people with disabilites that require an attendant while traveling. I’m happy that we have helped several people realize their dreams of traveling.

What challenges and prejudices do you meet and how do you handle these?

Unfortunately, prejudices still exist in our community and in our hospitals. While I was in the hospital a few years ago I experienced gas lighting from nurses and a ICU doctor who has an ableistic view.

Thankfully, my family supported me and advocated for me during this difficult time. It’s also been challenging working in an office. Sometimes an employer doesn’t want to promote you because of their own prejudices, but some forms of discrimination are suttle. I fight prejudices by continually doing activities that people don’t think I can do such as writing a book.

Which was one of the happiest moments in your life?

The happiest moment in my life so far was being in a comedy show called The Now directed by an Oscar winning director Peter Farrelly. It was a dream come true for me. I have always loved the arts, and I would love nothing more than to be in front of a camera making a comedy move or online show like Netflix.

In high school, I was in drama and after high school I joined a theatre group. Then during Covid one of my attendants was an actor, and she had assisted another woman in a wheelchair in the past. She came to work for me during this challenging time as just before Covid I got hit by a car crossing the street coming home from work.

She introduced me to on line acting class which was brilliant because it helped me create a demo reel.  While I managed to get that job without an agent the demo reel helped me get an agent. Now in my spare time I audition for various acting gigs.

You’ve already won two awards. Congratulations! What did you get them for?

My first award was the Shakti Society Resilience in 2019 because I survived getting hit by a car with Osteogenesis Imperfecta. I have type III OI, and my Orthopedic surgeon said “getting hit by a car and having OI, one doesn’t put the two in the same sentence.” It was a miracle that I survived, but I did have several fractures.

The second award was as I mentioned the Courage to Come Back Award in the Medical category. Unfortunately, On December 19, 2019 I was hit by a car for the second time in my life just before the pandemic. In June the same year my leg was bumped and it broke again.

Thankfully, I did not require surgery, but I continue to have back problems as I was sitting slanted for almost a year as my leg healed. Then in the Spring of 2023, I had the Shingles vaccine. I was told this would be good for me. But what I didn’t know is that there is a rare side effect.

My immune system was compromised and I contracted pneumonia. I went to the hospital. My oxygen level was only 82%. I received oxygen and was advised I needed to stay in the hospital for a few days. One night, I felt myself losing oxygen and as I was fainting a nurse gave me a hydromorphone injection and I stopped breathing.

I was rushed to the Intensive Care Unit, where I was put on a high powered Bipap machine. After a few weeks a doctor came to talk to me and my sister. He told me if I got worse I would need a tracheostomy, but I might die during surgery, or I might be in a coma. How far do you want us to go he asked me. He was the most negative doctor I have ever encountered. I told him I wanted to live and then he told me I would need to live in an institution for the rest of my life if I had a tracheostomy.

I know people in the community that have a tracheostomy and they have caregiver’s that take care of them. I am a woman of faith and I informed the doctor I would make two plans, one in case I die, and the other in case I live. I prayed and slowly I began to work out. I did research on Facebook with our community and discovered one woman who survived lungs collapsing.

I reached out to her and she told me I just needed time. My lungs did take time and they slowly began to get better. After almost three months in the hospital I went home. The combined experiences of me getting hit by a car twice and my lungs collapsing, working full-time, writing my book, creating a non-profit organization is why I was nominated and subsequently won the medical category.

You also have written a book. What is it about and what was your incentive to become an author?

My book is called Overcoming the Impossible a Life of Trials and Triumphs, it’s the story of my life. It explains what my life was like growing up in an able bodied world. What it was like moving out for the first time.

How I managed to life in an apartment with my sister, but having attendants come and assist me because my sister was going to university. I also fought very hard to get my driver’s lisence, and of course traveling to various European countries, US, Australia and Mexico. I also write about dating and my belief in God.

Monica Gartner
Overcoming the Impossible – A Life of Trials and Triumphs
Website address: https://monicagartner.ca/