Hello Fellow Travelers!
I was near Sacramento State the other day getting some physical therapy when I spied a young lady who had what I've always thought of as a tricked out wheelchair. She had lots of gears and electricity and "Hello Kitty" accessories. This "Cadillac of wheelchairs" also had a tiny turning radius, lights and a groovy horn, and was turned out perfectly in cream and fushia. The "captain" of this "vessel" also had a personal something (assistant? nurse? valet?) or someone handy to anticipate any other needs that might come up that required legs and feet.
So this gave me pause to evaluate my own chair, something I've avoided doing because I've only accepted it's annoying presence as a very temporary necessity in my life. Well, that "very temporary" is still here after three years! Looking much worse for wear, I'm going to have to make a decision about replacing this chair fairly soon! My preference, of course, is to walk and skip the chair altogether. If I am forced to possess a "chair", I want the least in-your-face model available. No bling, no power (except human), no fancy rims, in a word, temporary.
Maybe I am the Queen of Denial but if I start caring about the condition of my wheelchair people might get the misimpression that I plan on occupying that chair one moment longer than is absolutely necessary. I do not. Having a tricked out wheelchair just tells the world you're invested in your disability, you see your wheelchair hauling you into the future! I don't care how many "Hello Kitty!" do-dads are on that chair, it' still a wheelchair and the only objective of being in a wheelchair for me anyway, is getting to a position to get out of it.
Otherwise, it's a lifestyle and that's a whole other story I'm not prepared to consider.
When you invest in a motorized wheelchair with all the bells and whistles you're trying to compensate for the fact that you can't drive a miniwhatever. So I guess I'll keep working and juggling these chainsaws until neuroplasticity kicks in. No motor, no cupholder, ever, Temporary. Not comfortable. Not remotely.
As I mentioned a long time ago, when I turn my chair back in I really hope there is a box that you check off that is some acronym for beat-to-shit (BTS), because my chair will most certainly be BTS. I despise the wheelchair I now have. I have only come to hate this first chair recently with a hatred that grows daily! I don't want a new one! That would definitely be like giving up. Actually, that truly would be giving up. And I can't give up! I've been on this journey since 2011, I have to see how it turns out! Who's with me? Well, I'm going anyway, you coming? You know it will be interesting, you know you want to... Ah, come on! It's an adventure!
PS - In case you missed it The-Original-Gift-That-Keeps-Giving, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, showed up this week on Jimmy Kimmel, Live", and he was all I hoped he would be! Bizarre, surreal, humble, hilarious, he was all these things and more!
I was near Sacramento State the other day getting some physical therapy when I spied a young lady who had what I've always thought of as a tricked out wheelchair. She had lots of gears and electricity and "Hello Kitty" accessories. This "Cadillac of wheelchairs" also had a tiny turning radius, lights and a groovy horn, and was turned out perfectly in cream and fushia. The "captain" of this "vessel" also had a personal something (assistant? nurse? valet?) or someone handy to anticipate any other needs that might come up that required legs and feet.
So this gave me pause to evaluate my own chair, something I've avoided doing because I've only accepted it's annoying presence as a very temporary necessity in my life. Well, that "very temporary" is still here after three years! Looking much worse for wear, I'm going to have to make a decision about replacing this chair fairly soon! My preference, of course, is to walk and skip the chair altogether. If I am forced to possess a "chair", I want the least in-your-face model available. No bling, no power (except human), no fancy rims, in a word, temporary.
Maybe I am the Queen of Denial but if I start caring about the condition of my wheelchair people might get the misimpression that I plan on occupying that chair one moment longer than is absolutely necessary. I do not. Having a tricked out wheelchair just tells the world you're invested in your disability, you see your wheelchair hauling you into the future! I don't care how many "Hello Kitty!" do-dads are on that chair, it' still a wheelchair and the only objective of being in a wheelchair for me anyway, is getting to a position to get out of it.
Otherwise, it's a lifestyle and that's a whole other story I'm not prepared to consider.
When you invest in a motorized wheelchair with all the bells and whistles you're trying to compensate for the fact that you can't drive a miniwhatever. So I guess I'll keep working and juggling these chainsaws until neuroplasticity kicks in. No motor, no cupholder, ever, Temporary. Not comfortable. Not remotely.
As I mentioned a long time ago, when I turn my chair back in I really hope there is a box that you check off that is some acronym for beat-to-shit (BTS), because my chair will most certainly be BTS. I despise the wheelchair I now have. I have only come to hate this first chair recently with a hatred that grows daily! I don't want a new one! That would definitely be like giving up. Actually, that truly would be giving up. And I can't give up! I've been on this journey since 2011, I have to see how it turns out! Who's with me? Well, I'm going anyway, you coming? You know it will be interesting, you know you want to... Ah, come on! It's an adventure!
PS - In case you missed it The-Original-Gift-That-Keeps-Giving, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, showed up this week on Jimmy Kimmel, Live", and he was all I hoped he would be! Bizarre, surreal, humble, hilarious, he was all these things and more!
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