Wheelchairs are shit.
No, wait, let me rephrase that: Wheelchairs are absolutely fantastic and afford disabled people a world of independence and mobility they would otherwise be stripped of. But – you knew that already.
Still, as with most things in life … it’s not all spokey dokeys and rainbows. So, here are six crappy things I never knew until I found myself in a wheelchair for three years:
1. People actively avoid making eye contact with you, while happily saying ‘good morning’ to your able-bodied partner. Apparently, a wheelchair also doubles up as a cloak of invisibility.
… Unless you’re giving them the middle finger, that is. People notice that.
2. On occasions when you’re actually well enough to leave the house, you will often feel sad about the places you can’t go and experiences you can’t have due to wheelchair inaccessibility.
3. As an ambulatory wheelchair user, you may sometimes feel like a massive fraud in your chair. Especially if others see you stand up and walk a few steps.
(I used to worry people would compare me to Andy from the show Little Britain. 😆 Google ‘Lou and Andy Swimming Pool Little Britain’ if curious and fancy a giggle).
4. Due to a lack of physical movement (and subsequent inability to increase your circulation and body heat), you’ve never felt more frozen to your core and soaking wet in your life than when driving a powerchair on a cold winter’s day in the pissing rain. Umbrellas won’t keep your legs dry. Gloves won’t stop your hands feeling like ice blocks.
… Now I know why people in wheelchairs often have blankets over their legs in winter and an expression of pure ‘FFS’ in their eyes. Or was that just me?!
5. You gain a better understanding of what it must feel like to be a small child in a grown-ups world. Everything and everyone is SO much bigger than you, you often get ignored, and everyone’s crotch is at eye level.
And just for added fun …
6. You can’t even look wistfully out at a river in the countryside without a big fuck-off barrier hindering your view.
So, I guess my advice to able-bodied people is this: Make eye contact, smile and say hello to people in wheelchairs. Don’t judge them if they stand up and walk for a bit. And importantly … make sure your crotch looks good in that outfit.
