Being Disabled In An Able Bodied World
Posted on: June 2, 2011
My mom and a very dear friend of mine are left handed. Growing up, I use to wonder what it was like to be left handed in a world that seems to be made for right handed people. Yesterday, I was in desparate need to do laundry. Now for most folks, this is not much of a challenge. However, when you are dependent on a wheelchair to get around and must use a laundry room, this is more than challenging.
My mom and I set out for the laundry room. Mom had her basket of clothes in hand and I had my basket resting on my lap. Rolling through the hallway of the hotel to the elevator went smoothly. Outside, I rolled down on ramp with no trouble at all. Then, I went to roll up onto the sidewalk across the street when it happened. My wheelchair was unable to get up the ramp due to the ramp being damaged. My wheel hit the edge, sending my basket of, thankfully, dirty clothes crashing to the ground. To complicate the process, there is a row of shrubs right in front of the ramp making it difficult to even take the ramp at an angle. I struggled and struggled to get up the ramp on my own, but to no avail. My mom put her basket down and came back to get me. It was difficult for even her to pull me up the ramp due to the row of shrubs. We managed and was able to get the ultimate goal accomplished – laundry got done.
This experience got me to thinking how challenging it is to be a disabled person in an able bodied world. Yes, we have preferred parking spots and ramps to help us get up onto the sidewalk. There is the American With Disablities Act, which protects us from discrimination. However, many places, like the hotel we live in, not only put me in the second building, opposite of the lobby, do not have automatic doors, making it difficult for me to get in and out. The parking lot, as with most parking lots I find myself in, is slanted. I am either going downhill fast with no way to stop or struggling to get uphill. I have found more than one handicap ramp that has had some sort of damage done to it. If the ramp is not damaged, the curb where the ramp is located has a valley between where the sidewalk ends and you enter the street. Wheels tend to get stuck when that is the case. And don’t even get me started on how unfriendly carpet is to someone in a wheelchair. It’s a good day when I see a place that has a bare floor.
While I am grateful to have the assistance of a wheelchair, my goal is not to remain in it forever. I do want to walk again and am working hard to make that happen. Let us hope I reach that goal before I lose my sanity!
abratsfibrojourney 
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