My wheelchair and I have been together for 18 months or so. It's the only piece of medical equipment I rent, I have never learned to steer or turn properly and I routinely get stuck in doorjambs and narrow hallways. I really believe the chair is a very temporary necessity and I don't wish longingly for a power chair with a cupholder. Being in any sort of wheelchair demands a whole new set of challenges be anticipated and overcome in any situation. For me, it's easier to lose the chair. I'm almost there, too, People look at you differently too, or look right through you, as though you're not there. People look over your head at your caregiver and talk about you like you're deaf. When I return this "thing" to whatever medical supply place it came from, if there is a form to fill out about it's returned condition (like rental cars) I hope there is a box to check for"Beat to Shit", there really isn't any other way to aptly describe it! What else can I say about the "Conveyance-from-Hell"? That it encourages bad posture? That it makes the user shorter and lower than most countertops and tables? That it requires almost daily cleaning? All that could be said and lots more. I won't say it. What I will say is that learning to use the wheelchair properly and not pulverizing doorways, would be tantamount to giving up. So, I haven't, I bash with abandon and I'll never quit. Can you tell I don't hold these chairs in particularly high regard?
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