Mobility and independence

Of course, having limited mobility has its drawbacks. Just as with any electronics, for example, you can never be sure when an electric wheelchair might stop working.  Once, I had to go a month without my electric wheelchair.  I had to use my manual wheelchair and ask people to push me. I hate asking for help from others and I hate having to rely on them. 

In another instance, my facilitator and I went for a walk down by the river, and on the way up the hill, my wheelchair died.  She phoned the office and asked people to come help.  Three people arrived to help her push the chair up the hill.  An electric wheelchair is extremely heavy and tough to push on a flat surface, so you can just imagine how difficult it is to push up a hill.  We got there eventually but it was embarrassing to need that many people to push it. It was very frustrating for everyone but at the end we all laughed about it because it was so ridiculous.  Sometimes my wheelchair malfunctions too and refuses to move, leaving me stuck. 

In fact, everybody has a disability and we all need help sometime. I get that, but for me, I want to show my family and friends and people out there that I am independent. I hate asking for help. I hate to rely on my family, since my parents have to help me a little more than my sisters.

It was hard to watch my sisters grow up because I couldn't do the same activities with the same amount of ease.  I was sad and it hurt when they would go out with their friends and I had to stay home because I wasn’t as mobile.  When they got their cars, I wanted that level of freedom too and felt like I was stuck at home in a chair.