1st gear is trash on my 96 taurus.

So like the header said, first gear on my 96 taurus is completely shot. But all the other gears work fine. Is there anyway I can make it so that it doesn't use 1st gear at all? There is no way to start from 2nd manually (the shifter can only go in overdrive, drive, or first.) It's an automatic. Is there any other options (other then rebuilding/getting a new trans) or is this car basically junk?