Freedom and Wheel chair adventures

15th June 2008

My brother moved out just before Christmas (he is 24)
My parents are now retired
I live away from home and just visit usually (about every 4 – 6 weeks).
Therefore me breaking myself is slightly inconvenient as I can’t work at all (I can’t take kiddies for a walk in the woods let alone take them caving, gorge walking or climbing).

My parents being retired also means that after 40 years of working, 20 something years of which they were bringing up me and my brother so they are now enjoying their freedom and often go away for short breaks. Plus retiring mid fifties makes sense when my grandpa retired at 65 and died at 68. Not really much freedom.

The problem is that mum and dad booked a week on holiday just before I got broken. I can’t go with them because they are going on a walking/exploring/cultural holiday and they have possibly chosen the least accessible location for anyone with a mobility disability.

My mum wanted to cancel but I told her to go. I’ve lived away from home for 4 years now including Uni. A week alone without the ability to walk is just another challenge. I also have the cat to keep me company.

In a spark of independence I went to the village in the wheelchair. This is a general up hill for about a mile maybe a bit more. I don’t know how people do it, maybe because they have to.

Anyway I had a few moments like;

• Going down kerbs and faceplanting into the road.
• Dropping all the stuff on my lap on the floor in a supermarket and being watched my increasingly impatient members of the public whilst I tried to pick everything up…nobody offered to help.

Of course people can be helpful and open doors for you, and pick things off shelves for you. But I also felt like I got talked to like I was special in some way, or maybe that's just me. Plus, EVERYBODY stares at you, it's creepy!!!

• I nearly broke the door on the pharmacy because the ramp was so steep going up it forwards nearly backflipped me and going up it backwards meant I couldn’t reach the door handle.

What is the point in having a wheelchair ramp, if when you get to the door you can’t open it any way?

• I also found that where I usually cross the road, where they’ve put the sloping kerb, because they’ve made the roadside pretty with hedges you can’t see the cars coming until you are mid way across the road. I never noticed this when I was walking. This must be a problem for kiddies too. Maybe town planners should spend a day in a wheelchair…