Thinking Beyond the Disability

Name: Leigh FicklingPosition: Director, Duke Disability Management SystemYears at Duke: 6

What I do at Duke: I connect students and employees with disabilities at Duke University and Duke University Health System with disability-related information and services. Our office ensures that they are able to work and learn in an accessible, hospitable environment, which includes making sure Duke is in compliance with federal and state regulations. Some days, we may be fixing an automatic door opener in one of the hospital parking garages and the next day we might be talking about renovating a new residence hall room for an incoming freshman with a disability. We get to know the students and employees who require accommodations.

My first ever job: We had a family-owned lumber company in West Virginia and I answered the phones. I was probably 10. Another random job that I’ve had is I’ve worked at Our State Magazine. I worked their front desk area. I had so many interesting calls from subscribers who had ideas about stories.

What I love about Duke: I’m a lifer at Duke. Jimmy is here working, too, so Duke has really become the core of who the Ficklings are. (Her husband, James Fickling, is an investigator with the Duke University Police Department.) It’s an environment where we want to raise our kids, Ava and Davis, in this college setting. We love being in Durham. We love the town-and-gown relations. Access to good medical care is huge because Ava has diabetes. 

Something most people don’t know about me: Most people don’t know that I drive with hand controls. I have transverse myelitis and was diagnosed in 2001. It’s like a cousin to multiple sclerosis. When I get really fatigued, when I get really hot or if I’m worn down, it’s hard to keep it in check, and part of the problem of having a hidden disability is people can’t see it and so you don’t know. We all just take it for granted that I’m just like everybody else walking around, and then there are times that sometimes I’ll get tremors in my hand. My body will give me signs of, ‘Hey, you need to slow it down. You need to get some rest.’ It’s been years of learning when enough is enough and when I need to stop.

The best advice I ever received: Wait three days before making a big decision. If you feel so strongly after the three days, then move forward with it.

When I’m not at work, I like to: cook country foods. Jimmy loves West Virginia country cooking, like pork chops, fried chicken, cube steak and gravy, heavy, fried food. It’s like a diner at my house.

If I could have one superpower, it would be: I would be called Super Pancreas, and I would go out and cure diabetes, not just for Ava, but for everybody else. (Insulin is made in the pancreas, and diabetes develops when the body doesn’t make enough insulin or doesn’t use insulin effectively.)

An interesting/memorable day at work: Last year at the first football game, when we got the new elevator at Wallace Wade Stadium, which offered field-level ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) seating. That was definitely memorable, waiting on our first guest with a disability to be able to get on the elevator. They were able to get a great seat.