My Wheelchair......

Imagine if you can a world where every man, woman and child was confined to a wheelchair. Where every building, all means of transport and all occupations were adapted for ease of living. What would the average lifespan be of a human in that sort of environment. Where a person who was able to walk on two good legs was considered to have a serious medical condition and the ability to walk was unnatural.


The implications and ramifications of such a world are in the realms of SiFi and would be in the extreme to say the least. When you consider how hard it is in today's world to even negotiate a simple footpath and to cross a road, to get into a public toilet or restaurant or to be able to drive a car. When the reality is that to have a wheelchair you are considered to be self reliant and to be able to look after yourself.
That sort of thinking is OK if you have the self confidence and the ability to be able to do just that, look after yourself. Because if you don't, who will. How many city councils around the world get repeated requests from wheelchair bound persons to do road and footpath modifications, make buildings easier to access or to even have a house suitable for wet areas.


How many people in our situation have to dive into what little savings they have to be able to have the quality of life they require, to have the support of local councils to make wheelchair living a reality and to know that any requests for modifications will be heard and acted on. To use a chair, manual or power on a public footpath would be the biggest headache that faces most people. How do you go from path to road and back again with out damaging not only the chair but yourself in the process and at the same time not be a menace to road traffic and other people using the footpaths...I think you learn, like me, that it is a case of self preservation. And maybe a little humility.
Where I live there are large numbers of people with Power chairs and Mobility scouters and many different makes and models. If you are lucky enough you have a team of people who will help set the chair up for you. Once that is done you are on your own.....


I now have a 'Power Chair"...a Pronto M71 Sure Step and love it. It was alright having a manual wheelchair but when you upgrade to having a motor under your legs, wow, what a feeling. This has now given me, like anybody else in my situation, a whole new outlook on life. I am fully independent ( as long as the battery lasts) and now able to participate in anything I choose to do. I just have to make sure that I am prepared for when I do go out that I have a means for calling for help, protection from the weather and that I don't act like the footpath is all mind. ( I mean to say that I could but where would it get me ).
Alto I have had the chair for only a few days I can see already that it will be the means to an end. To live in a society where you are accepted as a person in your own rights and to be treated as such is really great.
I intend to enjoy my new freedom from restriction of movement ......WHEELCHAIR POWER...YEAH

Footnote.... Earliest found image of a wheelchair was found incised in stone on a Chinese Sarcophagus in the 16th Century.