By Lisa Bakewell
Erica Ladenthin was one of the winners of ABMP’s Massage Is for EveryBody 2023 contest. As we get closer to celebrating Massage Is for EveryBody, July 14–20, 2024, we wanted to share more of Erica’s story, which exemplifies the inclusive values of this campaign. Please join us in celebrating Erica!
Inaccessibility is an obstacle Erica Ladenthin is determined to overcome—not only for herself but for others with disabilities.
In 2018, at age 32, Ladenthin was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer—small-cell carcinoma of the cervix. She beat it, but soon learned the radiation that helped save her life also robbed her of her ability to walk—in just seven months. “By this point in my journey,” Ladenthin recalled in her Massage Is for EveryBody winning essay, “I had stopped working, was no longer able to drive, and was struggling hard to adapt to the world that was now so inaccessible to me. It really took its toll physically, mentally, and emotionally.”
This was not the Ladenthin her friends and family knew. On her GoFundMe page, Ladenthin’s father expressed his support for his daughter and concern for the challenges she was facing: “If you know Erica, you know how resilient she has been through all of the challenges life has thrown at her. I’m proud and amazed to see what a positive, driven, and independent woman she has remained through all the hardships. It breaks my heart that she has to fight for the same accessibility that most of us take for granted, but I’m impressed by her determination to constantly find ways to adapt.”
Throughout her cancer treatment, Ladenthin says she leaned on her colleagues’ support. Her LMT friends provided weekly massage sessions to help with her pain, anxiety, and stress—which she is grateful for—but they made her miss her massage career even more. “I knew I had to find a way to continue practicing,” she says. So, in an effort to recreate her career and discover the resources available to her, Ladenthin researched “massage therapist in a wheelchair,” only to find “massage for people in wheelchairs.” Not the results she was looking for. “That pushed me even more,” she says.
“The world becomes smaller when you are a wheelchair user,” Ladenthin says. “My mission in life and career is to open it up as much as I can, where I can.” So, in 2021, Ladenthin turned to the Wisconsin Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) to help her restart her massage therapy business.
The mission of DVRs across the country is to help people with disabilities find a job, keep a job, or get a better job. But like most government programs, the cogs move slowly even at the DVR. Ladenthin’s experience has been no different. Three years and many hours later, her business plan accepted, and office found, construction is due to finally start in August 2024.
“I’m excited to create a space that is accessible to not only me, but everybody,” she says. “By creating an accessible spa, it also opens more opportunity for others to receive services that maybe they can’t at other businesses . . . I’ve recently been fortunate enough to receive massages paid for through a community waivers program, and I look forward to becoming a vendor to offer my services to others in need.”
Having the opportunity to restart her business will also open up Ladenthin’s world and bring back her financial stability and freedom. “Living off social security disability is not fun or easy, and it is impossible to get ahead in life with such a limited income,” she says.
Getting back to work also means having her own modified vehicle—not a small expense. “Having my own van will also greatly open up my world instead of relying on others for transportation,” she says. Without a vehicle of her own, Ladenthin’s work hours are dictated by van services, which don’t operate during times most requested by clients—weekend and evening hours.
Ladenthin says becoming mobile and having an accessible studio to continue the business she loves is close. “My van fund is two-thirds the way there. I’m so thankful to have raised that much. I was hoping to have my own van by the time I started this new business, but the funding coming in has kind of come to a standstill. I do have a GoFundMe as well as a tax-deductible charity called Help Hope Live collecting donations on my behalf.”
Although Ladenthin’s journey to get back to work has been a long one, she is determined to succeed. As she pushes through each new challenge, she is hopeful and much more prepared to offer a hand up. “I’ve been asked to speak to massage students at the school I attended about accessibility and other considerations when working with wheelchair users,” she says. “It gives me hope to see how receptive they were to learning things they wouldn’t otherwise have thought of.”
Related Content
• Massage Is for EveryBody is ABMP’s annual celebration of massage therapy and the philanthropic efforts of our members. Read more about the event and the guiding principles that drive it.
• Read the winning essays from 2023’s Massage Is for EveryBody celebration.
• Enter your essay or video submission for the 2024 Massage Is for EveryBody event.