By Heidi Johnson Wright
Now that I’m
over 50 and have had more than two dozen orthopedic surgeries, I use my chair
from dusk ‘til dawn. The only time I’m out of it is to walk short distances
several times a day. If I don’t, I get too achy, stiff and fatigued. This means
that my co-workers sometimes see me up on my feet.
People are
especially puzzled by someone who mostly uses a wheelchair yet sometimes walks.
They think it should be an all-or-nothing thing. When you’re not in the chair,
you’re bound to get smiles and comments like: “How nice, you’re getting
better!” My typical response is to smile and nod, while thinking: “Fuck off,
asshole! There ain’t no ‘getting better’ for me. New, healthy joints don’t just
magically appear like leprechaun gold.”
But I
refrain from such comments. I’m comfortable now with who I am: a virtually
full-time wheeler. When I can’t get into a restaurant or book an Uber ride, I
don’t find fault with myself. I place the blame squarely where it belongs: on a
society that continues to devalue disabled folks by designing only for the
temporarily non-disabled.
Temporarily,
did you ask? Yes, because karma is a bitch.
Serialized from New Mobility Magazine Digital
http://newmobility.unitedspinal.org/NM_Mar_18/#?page=34
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