Public Employee Press

Sign language saved my life

The elevator doors refused to open. The hot summer air inside quickly grew thick and choking. The intercom wouldn't work. Suffering from severe asthma, Migdalia Acevedo's life was in danger on that Aug. 8 morning.

Two police officers walked by, but they couldn't hear the frantic Local 375 member. Then she used the sign language she had learned by taking classes at DC 37 to grab their attention and express the deep risk she faced of not being able to breathe. One of the officers knew American Sign Language, and 10 minutes later, Acevedo and the other passengers were freed.

Learning sign language had saved her life.

"I owe it all to the DC 37 Education Fund," said Acevedo, a City Research Scientist for the Health Dept. and Local 375's legislative chair. She began ASL classes at the union three years ago after being diagnosed with Méniere's Disease, which causes permanent and fluctuating hearing loss.

"I feared ending up deaf and isolated, so I decided to learn sign language so if I lost my hearing completely, I could function in the deaf community," Acevedo said. Learning ASL "has made me aware of the challenges and invisibility the disabled are subjected to," she said.

Acevedo developed asthma after being exposed to toxic dust as a World Trade Center 9/11 responder. In the following months, she worked at Broadway and Vesey Street – only feet from Ground Zero – breathing the foul fumes daily. In addition to asthma, Acevedo developed Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome and Hyperactive Airway, forcing her to sleep with an Autopap machine to push air into her lungs at night.

Currently, Acevedo is enrolled in the ASL 4 class offered by the DC 37 Education Fund to become more fluent in sign language. "DC 37 has enriched my education and I have gained immeasurably from it," she said.

— Joseph Lopez