Imagine if getting new shoes cost you $7,700. That every time your Yeezys, Nikes, or — if you're my father — Champion boat shoes wore out, you were on the hook for the equivalent of a 2008 Ford Edge. Being physically disabled, particularly on the Prairies, is a bit like living in the worst version of those popular Mastercard commercials. Cost of massage for one month: $200. Cost of a titanium wheelchair that you can't move without: $7,700. Cost of a van conversion: $40,000. Having Cerebral Palsy? Priceless. In my community, this is known as the crip tax. Yes, crip as in cripple, and tax as in that shared social responsibility that many don't think folks like me pay.