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Sheril's Essay - February 13, 2007

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WALKING WITH WHEELS 
  
  Let  me take you for a  ride in a manual wheelchair When I was a child. Electric wheelchairs were rare.  I wasn't rich enough to have one. Wheelchairs were a confining, constrictive space that no man woman or child enjoyed.

The wheelchair of the 1970's  was made in three standard child sizes and three adult sizes. Before the Americans with Disabilities act,  buildings and homes had doors and hallways that were not accessible to wheelchairs. Therefore, those who lived in such  building s were unable to utilize their chairs; they  to crawl through the house, or find other means of getting around. Having a job or social life outside the home was a rare thing. Grocery shopping by yourself was near impossible. Visiting places like an old antique store was out of the question.

           The early chairs  were very  basic and  not  appealing at all. The seat and backrest were made of vinyl which was stiff and cold during the winter  and hot and sticky during the summer, leaving you feeling drenched. The vinyl was noisy especially in cold weather. Any movement you made in the chair made a ripping sound, similar to bare skin on vinyl no matter what type of clothes you wore.  During the rainy season the chair gave off a stale dirty odor like a wet dog. The chrome was very cold and uncomfortable to the touch. The design made it difficult to be pushed or to wheel yourself. There was a constant annoying squeak caused by the motion of the chair. And girls’ skirts had to be tucked up under their thighs to prevent  getting caught in the spokes. This was an unspoken rule learned the hard way by many including myself.

           We ordered my first chair was  to ease my mom’s worries. The chair was nothing special
  to me just a piece of equipment used to push me around.  She chose the color of my first chair without asking me. Of course I was only four years old back then. Early chairs came in three basic colors, dark green,  red and  black.  Which always seemed to be faded no matter what color you chose. She picked red, her favorite color, not mine!  The wheelchairs of the past were made for the convenience of the care giver, not for the people in them.     
 
  The chair I have today is very different from the ones of the nineteen seventies. This one I chose!  To me she is freedom, independence and fun. My Torque SP is custom fitted for my shape, size, lifestyle and medical needs. It is 21 inches tall and 22.5 and  inches  wide. It comes equipped with a power tilt seat, two SD 300 shock absorbers and has a weight capacity of up to two-hundred-fifty pounds. I call her Midnight Blue.  She rides like a Cadillac Coupe De’ville, far better than boring, squeaky, smelly, uncomfortable chairs of the past.  She is not just a machine, she is as important to me as your legs are to you.

            Midnight Blue requires maintenance and upkeep like a vehicle.   For me running my battery down is like you running out of gas. The two 12 volt batteries need to be charged every night to insure full power for the next day.  I have to make sure her wheels are free from debris that might cause damage to me and /or my chair. If she’s dirty then I am more likely to get dirty my self so I must keep her clean as possible. Window   washing is  not necessary, and  weather  watching is definitely a must. These are just a few ways our” wheels” are different yet the same.

  Does anyone want to  take a walk with my wheels?

            Imagine  walking with wheels.  It is a school day, rain is predicted, you are  bundled in  layers of clothing,  ready to go. The chair is disconnected from the charger. You make sure the Book Bag is hung securely.  Out of habit you brush your seat off. Take a deep breath, check for any strong offensive  odors. If so quickly grab febreeze or perfume whichever you find first spray generously,and make a mental note to wash seat covers. Have a seat, flip on the power, look for the green light to flicker, indicating full power. 

Putting your left hand on the joystick you adjust the power dial somewhere between the turtle and the hare. Barely pressing the joystick forward, you hear the click of the brake disengaging.

Simultaneously,  you  hear the buzzing of the motor with the whir of the wheels. The threshold feels like a speed bump.  You get  excited to fly down the ramp.  This is always fun. A rainy day can be a bother, but you pay no attention because this allows you to move fast to get out of the rain. Your driving hand and your face are cold and wet forcing you to keep moving  faster. Loading onto the ramp of the public bus, it is hard to control. The wet ramp causes the wheels to spin and screech out of control. Using  more power you regain control and reverse to your spot. The bus driver buckles your chair in and away you go to Sierra College.

            You have fun riding through the campus. It is like an obstacle course, full of activity, students hurrying to class. Diverse  terrains test your ability to maneuver. This offers  a challenge but  the college meets the requirements of the “Americans with disabilities act. Now it’s  possible for you to get around  campus, although your chair is much bigger than it was in the seventies. You arrive in class and find a spot to simply sit in your chair. You move only when necessary. After school you are able to get all the things you need done on your own including shopping and socializing.
  Would you like to take midnight blue for a ride? 

Sheril Snider / 2007