Mar 11 2009
What is Freedom?
When I was young I used to like to go to the amusement park with my parents. I liked any excitement. I was a daredevil and would do anything! I loved ferris wheels and rollercoasters. I loved the feeling of freedom I felt on the rollercoaster, and the thrill of it. As I grew older, I still have the memory of the feeling I had on the rollercoaster and anything that went fast. For most of my adult life, I have been in a wheelchair. Up untill I got married I was in a push wheelchair, which meant somebody would have to push me around, because I only had the use of one hand. A manual chair requires the use of both hands, otherwise yu go in circles. The bottom line is, you dont get very far very fast. I did not use the wheel chair in the house; I used a walker. When I went shopping I had to be pushed by somebody.
My life changed when I got my first motorized chair. Then I could go where I wanted whenever. It gave me a sense of freedom. My first experience in my motorized wheelchair was this: I decided to leave my apartment, which was close to downtown. In those days the curbs were not cut in the town we lived in, so you had to go up the alley or find a driveway. This took some timing. When we first moved there this was a bit confusing because I didnt know the town. When I learned my way downtown, I was very excited about being able to go there. One day I came home and had a phone call. It was my aid that had helped me in the morning. She was very upset because someone had called her saying they had seen me downtown, and were upset that the aid would allow me to leave the house. She only worked for me in the morning and had no control over what I did when she left. It was upseting to me because I was an adult, and just because I had a disability didnt mean I couldnt get around in my wheelchair. I geuss she thought she was a good samaritan and was saving me from some disaster. To me, I was enjoying my freedom and exploring different sites. I liked going fast in my wheelchair, which really wasnt fast at all compared to a car, but going 5 mph felt fast.
This whole experience got me going on a campaign to get accessibility to this small town. That way I and others in wheelchairs, wouldnt have to go up the curbs that they couldnt manage. I went to the city council and talked to them, after talking to the mayor. The city council wasnt interested. So, I thot “this will take some action”. So, I started getting out in my wheelchair, and riding past the mayors office every day. I kept calling the city council and the mayor. Still no response. One day I was downtown, and the new mayor had just taken office. I had talked to him, but, like the previous mayor, he showed no interest. He was on his bike that day. I turned around, crossed the street, and bumped into the curb on the otherside, trying to make my wheelchair go up the curb. I kept bumping this curb untill he came over, got off his bicycle, and asked if he could help me. I said to him: ‘”If you can lift this heavy wheelchair up the curb, I would appreciate it”. He tried to lift it up. He found it very difficult. He finaly struggled enough, and was able to get it up over the curb. He exclaimed “man, this is heavy!”. Awhile after that incident, while continuing my efforts, the mayor made the decision to cut the curbs. Sometimes it takes more than just talk, you have to show people by action what it really is that you are talking about. The mayor didnt realize how hard it was untill he tried to help me up the curb.
