By: ANGELA MARSHALL
New ramp allows handicapped access at Sacred Heart
It was a moment of embarrassment Maggie O'Brien will never forget. But, instead of trying to erase from memory that painful night of more than two years ago, she made it her mission to make sure it would never happen again.
It was a night meant for celebration. The Oceanside girl and teammates from Sacred Heart Academy's cross-country team were hosting a talent show in honor of a team visiting from Drohedga, Ireland. Spirits were high and everyone was looking forward to the show.
Included on the guest list was Steven McDonald of Malverne, a New York City police officer injured and paralyzed in the line of duty years before. But when McDonald and wife Patti Ann, a Sacred Heart alum, arrived, he could not enter the building. There was no ramp for his wheelchair.
People offered to carry him up the steps, but between the wheelchair and his respirator, they would have had to lift 300 to 400 pounds.
McDonald ended up sitting in his family's van.
"Since he was a man of such honor, we were all so honored to meet him," Maggie recalled. "It felt like we let him down."
Members of the two teams, many with tears in their eyes, filed out into the cold December air and converged on McDonald's van.
"It was sad to me," Maggie said during an interview last week. "It was embarrassing also."
She decided it must never happen again. As sophomore class treasurer, she first approached the student council about having a ramp built. And while many thought it a good idea, that's how it remained: all talk and no action.
Taking to heart the motto "if you want something done, do it yourself," Maggie started looking into the project herself. She enlisted the support of her coach, Ed Kilkelly, and her uncle, Ken Lucas, of Contractor Express in Oceanside. Enthused by her dedication, Lucas agreed to throw in the labor and do the project for cost.
In the summer of 2000, the ramp was built and McDonald was brought back to test it.
That was an exciting moment for Maggie. "I would never have thought in my wildest dreams that it could have happened," she said.
Patti McDonald, who is currently a Malverne Village trustee, said her family was both shocked and pleased to learn about the change. "The ramp is beautiful," she said last week.
To make the school truly handicapped-accessible, several additional renovations are planned, such as changes in restrooms, hallways and other public areas.
To pay for the renovations, Kilkelly helped organize a one-time-only fund-raising event. A Gaelic fest, honoring Malverne's McDonald family, will take place at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 25 in the Hempstead school's auditorium.
The concert will feature Cherish the Ladies, an all-female group of musicians, as well as step-dancing, fiddling, singing and bagpiping.
Organizers hope to fill the 800-seat auditorium and are asking for donations of $25 per adult ticket. To purchase tickets, make checks out to SHA/Gaelic Fest and send to Sacred Heart Academy, 47 Cathedral Ave., Hempstead, NY 11550, c/o Ed Kilkelly.
Maggie, now a senior, said she has learned much since that fateful December night. And whenever she looks at the new ramp, she said, "It makes me feel that I'll be leaving this school having had an impact on it."
Next school year, Maggie plans to attend The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on a four-year scholarship from the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps. She plans to study politics.
