On Feb. 12, Sidney Kimmel Medical College’s division of internal medicine hosted a grand round and presentation for over 60 medical students, residents and faculty to discuss the importance of disability-specific care.
Along with a presentation from general internist Dr. Michael Stillman, Sidney Kimmel Medical College’s assistant dean of academic affairs, the grand round featured testimonies from people with various disabilities, including Emelia Perry. She won the wheelchair race at the 2022 Broad Street Run and competed in the paratriathlon in the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.
An avid runner before sustaining a spinal cord injury at age 24, Perry recounted the vast differences between how she approached her personal health care before and after becoming someone who uses a wheelchair.
“When someone with a mobility disability needs to see a doctor, the last thing they want to do is worry if the building or bathroom is accessible, but they have to,” she says. “If a person can’t feel their legs, like I can’t, they don’t have normal pain that would tell them or a doctor if something is wrong. They need physicians who understand that and can adapt their approach. They need doctors who will care about the problems they think they have.”