Olivia Babis was born without arms, but she has a firm grip on life.
With the help of a specially-equipped van, Olivia commutes from Lutz to St. Petersburg every day, gripping a joy stick between two talented toes.
"Every once in a while I get a double take from a truck driver who'll notice there are no hands on the wheel and the steering wheel is moving," Babis said.
Babis, a college-educated 38-year-old, works at Florida Consumer Action Network. She needs no help pushing elevator buttons, opening doors, checking email or even texting – all with her feet.
"People say, ‘Oh you're so impressive or so inspirational.’ I get that a lot, but I don't necessarily consider my life very impressive,” she said. “I get up in the morning and go to work for the same reason everybody else does."
The only difference is that Babis requires expensive modifications to her car to get to work, some $60,000 worth. The equipment is paid for in part by a state vocational rehabilitation program that Babis fears could be scaled back by lawmakers this spring.
"If I didn't have a mode of transportation, I couldn't work especially in the field that I'm in,” she said. “I travel a lot, so I'd be back on programs like SSI and Medicaid, subsidized housing and food stamps."
At FCAN, Babis also tackles issues of health care, consumer complaints and discrimination of all kinds, her disability making her sensitive to the struggles of others.
“I think equity is important in society,” she said. “We need to look out for each other."
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