Welcome to my blog, where I share my experiences of living life with a disability. In this post I will talk about my transition to a wheelchair.
Life Before The Wheelchair
By the time I was six years old, the muscles in my legs began to weaken at a quicker rate than they already had. Because of this, I was only able to walk short distances before becoming extremely exhausted. I started to use a stroller to get around without getting tired. I would use it when taking trips with my family that involved a lot of walking and long distance traveling. I would also use it at school when taking field trips that required walking long distances and standing for long periods of time. By the time I was ten, my muscles had become so weak that I began to feel tired even after walking very short distances. The stroller was not enough at this time, I needed a wheelchair.
Getting A Wheelchair
At the end of my fifth grade year, I got my first wheelchair. Getting an electric wheelchair is just like buying a brand-new car. When getting a wheelchair, they specialize it to fit you and your needs. They decide what seat cushion, backrest, and armrests you need in order to make sure you will be comfortable. They also take measurements of your body to make sure that it fits you. You even get to customize the looks to your specifications. You get to look through a catalog to choose the color and any personalizations. With my first wheelchair, I chose viper blue for the color and personalized it with my name embroidered on the backrest. Because of all the measurements and specializations, it takes a few months before the wheelchair is delivered. It has to be sent through insurance and approved, which takes forever, before getting assembled in the factory. I was extremely excited to get my wheelchair and I couldn’t wait for it to be delivered. I was also kind of sad because I knew what it meant. It meant that my condition was worsening and my muscles were becoming even weaker.
Life After The Wheelchair
Getting a wheelchair made my life so much easier. It made my life easier because it gave me more freedom. It allowed me to get around and travel long distances without fatigue. Unlike having to be pushed around in the stroller, the wheelchair allowed me to get around without having to rely on someone else. The wheelchair also went a lot faster than the stroller, which is a good thing because I love speed. Getting a wheelchair also made my life more difficult at times. It made my life more difficult because it also took away some of my freedom. Because of the wheelchair, I was unable to go to certain places. I was unable to go anywhere with stairs. I was also unable to go anywhere outside of town until we could get an accessible van. Because we didn’t have an accessible van right away, we were unable to transfer my wheelchair to and from school. In this case, we had to leave my wheelchair at school during the week and drive it home for the weekend. Thankfully this only happened for a few weeks until my parents could find and purchase an accessible van.
Getting Into Trouble
Because of the increased freedom and speed of my wheelchair, I caused quite a bit of commotion. After a few weeks of having my wheelchair, I ended up tipping it over. This happened because my brother decided to jump on the back as I was driving as fast as I could down the neighbor’s steep driveway. Don’t worry, I didn’t get hurt. In fact, I laid on the grass laughing until my parents came to put my wheelchair back up. I also ended up getting stuck in a neighbor’s yard. My brother and I decided to cut through their yard on our way home from somewhere I don’t remember and I ended up sinking. It had rained the night before, which had turned the yard into a swamp. We didn’t find this out until it was too late and I had already sunk into the lawn. I tried to drive out of the sinkhole, which only made it worse. I had to sit there until my mom came to help push me out. After being freed from the mud, my chair was a mess and my mom had to spend a lot of time cleaning it. I also put many holes in the walls and doors at home and broke many parts on my wheelchair during the first few months of having it.
How Can You Get Involved?
If you would like to help spread some positivity to people in need, please don’t hesitate to share this post. You can also share your stories about your experience with getting your first wheelchair in the comments below. If you are new to these experiences and are looking for help, feel free to ask any questions in the comments and I will help you as best as I can. You can also send any questions to me at zach@zjmotivation.com. If you would like to reach out to me on social media, feel free to connect with me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. I would love to hear from you!
Thank you for reading this post and learning about my adventures with transitioning to a wheelchair! I hope you enjoyed and I hope to see you again soon!
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Keep Rollin!