Amigo Mobility International - Healthcare: eLibrary

Working Mother of the Year Linda Mona
Friendly Wheels, Issue 16

Linda with her husband Harold and kids

Living with a disability has never stopped Amigo owner Linda Mona, Ph.D. from getting what she wants. In fact, it has only inspired her to chase her goals all the more.

As a clinical psychologist, an advocate for the disabled community, and a guest speaker and presenter at American Psychological Association conferences, Linda has made it her mission to teach people about the power of optimism.

Out of 1,000 women, Working Mother magazine recently chose Linda as one of 30 role model moms to feature. She was also interviewed on the Today Show on April 27, 2009. In her interview on the show Linda said "I learned from the female mentors in my life, it is important to make people feel special, no matter what, no matter how busy or complicated your life is."

Mother of two sons, Kyle (5) and Ryan (3), wife to Harold Hunter and Clinical Psychologist at Veterans Affairs Long Beach Healthcare System in Long Beach, Calif., Linda has been an Amigo owner since 1981.

Linda says, "I am a full time Amigo user. I use it in the house, at work in the VA hospital, traveling monthly around the country. I am a regular public speaker and trainer and my Amigo has taken me on many stages in front of hundreds of people. And yes, even on the Today Show."

As a Working Mother of the Year, Linda says she can't remember a time in her life when motherhood was not one of her goals.

"I have ALWAYS wanted to be a mom and promised myself that if I was ever blessed to have this opportunity, I would celebrate it every day.

"Similarly, I have always felt the need to change the world through my work as a disabled woman. So, my over arching goal has been to blend the passion from these two goals aiming to reach a good personal quality of life and raise my children with love, compassion, and the desire to change the world in some way that is meaningful to them.

Linda dancing with her son

"I want my kids to know that there are all different types of mommies in the world and that their mom was put on this earth to do many things."

Linda's best tip for keeping your home life run smoothly is to begin to love the notion of interdependence. She says "As a working disabled mom, I realized that I needed many people in our lives to assist us. I have developed and arranged a well-orchestrated team of people who assist me with family management. This level of assistance from others improves our quality of life in various ways. It allows me more play, talk and reading time with my kids."

Part of her family management team is her Amigo -- Linda says the Amigo helps her throughout her day with user-friendly controls, especially when you are holding a kid in one arm! She also likes the compact features, and the great swivel seat that is easy to use while caring for kids or eating out at restaurants.

"I am never in favor of being described as wheelchair bound - our wheelchairs facilitate our independence. I like to be referred to as a full time Amigo user."

Linda's two sons say their mom deserves to be a Working Mother of the Year.

Kyle says, "Mommy is so smart. She really is the best at finding things in our house. She should be in the Olympics for finding things because she would win. She reads 60 hundred books with me every night!"

Ryan says, "My mommy is a good mommy because... because... because she sings to me and let's me ride on her Amigo."

Portions of this article were reprinted with permission from Working Mother magazine.