User:NickDupree
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I'm Nick Dupree, a 24 year-old disability rights and long-term care reform advocate, writer, and Wikipedian residing in Mobile, Alabama (the port city and former capital of French Louisiana). I began my studies at Spring Hill College at age 16 and was later inducted into the International English Honor Society.
I made a major impact with my two-year campaign to change Medicaid in Alabama, dubbed "Nick's Crusade."
Since spring 2005 I've been on somewhat of an involuntary break from college due to indescribable frustration with lack of help. I love contributing to Wikipedia. It gives my (currently) depressing and constantly-stymied life an important intellectual outlet. My academic interests are primarily Judaism, History, Literature and Art.
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[edit] Activism Successes
I successfully won a change in Alabama Medicaid policy through my two-year one-man national campaign labeled “Nick’s Crusade” which resulted in a special program for up to 25 ventilator-dependent Alabamians to continue home care after they turn 21. Under former Medicaid regulations, I was slated to lose at-home care the day I turned 21, a policy that still impacts most disabled people in most US states. For those two-years of campaigning, I spent 20-hour days writing letters, communicating with the media, policy-makers and updating my campaign web site, coordinating what the Mobile Register newspaper termed “a sophisticated media campaign,” that was also featured on National Public Radio and in an Associated Press article seen in newspapers in at least 19 states and the District of Columbia. After a year-long push to fix the age 21 cut-off through the Alabama legislature failed due to stiff opposition from Alabama Medicaid, I continued speaking out, eventually helping to draft the Dupree v. Alabama Medicaid lawsuit. The lawsuit, along with pressure from state and federal officials and the media, led to the creation of the waiver program to allow up to 25 Alabamians on ventilators to continue to receive in-home care after age 21. The case was settled out of court and all I received was the aforementioned waiver, which began the day before I was to turn 21.
In 2003, I received the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems (NAPAS) award for Advocate of the Year in Washington, DC. I've given keynote speeches at conferences all over the country, including in Chicago, Minneapolis, DC, and even in Dr. Martin Luther King's church in Montgomery. I continues to speak out on health care and disability policy.
[edit] Disability
The disability doesn't make the man. It isn't the essence of Nick. But I decided to put it in because a lot of people are interested.
I have an unknown muscular disorder believed to be related to the metabolic cycle and Carnitine. Although several concerete diagnoses have been suggested, nothing has been confirmed as of yet. It does fall under the loose category of muscular dystrophy.
Until a surgery that went terribly wrong in 1991, at age nine, I was able to go to school by myself, feed myself, and use a manual wheelchair. Sometimes I could even stand up on my own. I was very independent and would drive around the house on a self-propelled three-wheeled motorcycle. Some people didn't realize that I had any sort of disability. That all changed on September, Friday the 13th, 1991, when I had back surgery to put rods in and supposedly straighten my spine (unnecessarily it turns out). I developed a ranging psudomonas infection and all the abilities I had before I soon lost. I got down to 35 pounds. My muscles wasted away. I wasn't expected to live, but after many horrific episodes, hospitalizations and near death experiences, I was infection-free by 1993. From then on I've relied on a ventilator to breathe and have been relatively stable. I am very hard to kill. :) I try and become more active each year. I get along fine with the proper help and I am always doing a lot of things. I was admitted to Spring Hill College at age 16.
I can't use a keyboard, lift my hands at all. I type with my thumb on a trackball mouse and click out text by hitting letters on onscreen keyboard software. Sometimes it takes me hours to type out an article, but this also gives me time to consider my words and extract the best possible writing from myself.
[edit] Media Coverage of Nick Dupree
"One-Man Crusade: Nick Dupree Fights to Stay Home" National Public Radio, Intern Edition, Summer 2002
"Disabled college student's future depends on ruling" The Associated Press, February 08. 2003 11:42AM
"Fighting the Medicaid System" By Joseph Shapiro, National Public Radio, February, 2003
"One man's loss-of-freedom story can shine light on needed Medicaid reforms" By The Center for an Accessible Society, Disability Issues Information For Journalists, Feb. 11, 2003
"Nick's Crusade Pays Off; Advocate Vows To Continue Struggle For Others" By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express, February 19, 2003
"Alabama Medicaid Policy Blamed For Friend's Death" By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express, March 29, 2004
"Disabled Fans Shut Out of Star Wars Galaxies" By Chris Kohler, Game|Life Wired Magazine Blog, December 15, 2005
"Star Wars Galaxies Neue Steuerung schließt Körperbehinderte aus" By PC Games Online.de, coverage of this for our WikiGermans :D
"SOE applies hotfix for mouse-only Galaxies gaming" By Chris Kohler, Game|Life Wired Magazine Blog, December 19, 2005
I don't have a mouse with 3 buttons or scroll wheel so this patch doesn't help me, I can only use this antique logitech... But I hope this helps others. Lots - hundreds - of people on the SWG forums need this. Many disabled people -- me included -- use games as prostestic arms and legs. SOE knew about this problem since the 1st day NGE was on Test server but didn't do anything until I got the issue publicity. This is to help others....
[edit] Interests
I've studied and know a great deal about:
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- Medicaid law
- proposed Medicaid laws
- long term care
- waiver system (to do: write this article)
- state and federal Medicaid interaction / dysfunction
- institutionalization vs. inclusion debate and the Supreme Court's Olmstead v. LC decision (to do: write this article)
- Disability History (to do: write this article)
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- advocacy
- Independent Living movement
- self-determination movement (disability rights) (to do: write this article)
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- the positions of both parties on nearly everything and the philosophical differences that underpin them
- Ancient Carthaginian civilization (to do: improve this article to a Featured article-level of quality)
I am Jewish. The religion I practice is Judaism.
[edit] Entertainment
My favorites are:
Music:
Among many others. I enjoy almost everything except plastic prefabricated pop or mindless hip-hop.
Movies:
Return Of The Jedi (I'm a huge Star Wars fanatic, to an almost scary degree, and ROTJ is my favorite in the series.)
Books:
The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Games:
I've always used games as prostestic arms and legs. I helped lead our guild in Star Wars Galaxies until the NGE messed up mouse-only play.
Currently playing: Civilization IV (which also feeds my love of history)
Anticipating: Star Wars: Empire at War (due out February '06)
[edit] Contributions to Wikipedia
I was introduced to Wikipedia in 2004 by fellow Spring Hill College student Jay Champagne who believes Wiki to be the next frontier of human achievement, a collective of knowledge, a move toward a common human conciousness (I agree). I began contributing to Wikipedia in December 2005 and am loving it. I've taken particular interest in the ancient Carthaginian civilization.
I believe in single, comprehensive, complete articles on a topic, with daughter articles when applicable, NOT many, small, uncoordinated, duplicative articles. Whenever possible, these should be merged into a comprehensive, omnibus article. Thus, I am a Mergist. All articles must also adhere to an encyclopedic, high-level of quality.
I've made the following notable contributions to Wikipedia:
- 12:06, 31 December 2005 Culture of the Southern United States (I spent all day on Culture of the Southern United States, adding stuff. I redid the overview, added a big new "People" section and doubled the size of the language section. I like how I made one section flow into the next. I already see more I want to add. Will do that tomorrow.)
- 09:55, 28 December 2005 Portal:History (updated selected article to Italian Renaissance)
- 05:18, 18 December 2005 [[Mongol invasions of J</math>apan]] (got Kanjii pillar translated and added caption)
- 06:58, 28 December 2005 Justinian I (→Relations with Rome - major edit for clarity and to weed out confusion, but more is needed, esp. a source & more content re: letter of Pope Leo I to Flavian of Constantinople)
- 12:38, 16 December 2005 Baal (Huge merge of 2 other baals into this.Baal. Having a separate Ba'al article for those researching the Ba'al of Carthage / Phoenicians cuts these people off from the better source on this same topic,)
- 02:20, 16 December 2005 Alexander the Great (→Death - revised to remove inaccuracy (it's untrue that there was no poison in that era that could've killed over 12 days, could've been multiple doses) & improve flow, and add hellebore theory.)
- 12:18, 4 December 2005 Sea monster (Added Himilco the Navigator to sea monsters)
- 09:13, 4 December 2005 Himilco the Navigator (I've added more about the Iberian sea route Himilco found for Carthage and his tales of sea monsters, as well as fixing some grammar)
[edit] Contact
nickdupree (at) comcast.net
