Bomer Blog #5 Disabilities

The day was typical, many trips in and out by way of car.  What challenges did I incur with my wheelchair?

            The first challenge was just trying to get out of my water bed.  Somehow I managed, but I will need to remember to put in some type of a pull bar for leverage, maybe I should get a standard bed.  Next a shower, impossible getting up and over the tub wall and then no seat in the shower, okay now, let’s overlook the high cupboards and shelves for breakfast food and leave for my sons Student Recognition Breakfast at his public high school.

            Out my back door, one step down to the back porch landing, then another step down into the garage where there is not clearly enough room to maneuver a wheel chair to me into the car.

            Once at the high school, things started to get better, I have a nice wide handicap  parking spot to park and there are curb cuts (for lack of better term) to access the side walks, and the high school is a single story building.  Once inside I get to the library and the seating area is cramped and the line for the food is too narrow to maneuver the wheel chair through as also felt by one of the students present who is wheelchair bound.  His mother was gracious to grab some food for him.  What really grabbed my attention was the part of the presentation for his award.  Prior to him all the students walked to the front of the room, where the principal was, he spoke about their award, and then shook their hand.  When they got to the student in the wheel chair, the principal did walk over, as close as he could to the student, spoke about his award and stretched across a couple of people to hand the award to him.  Wait, where is the hand shake??  Just because this student does not have the use of one arm/hand, does not mean that you can’t shake his other hand, yes it was cramped and awkward, but that principal owes this kid a handshake…I was disappointed enough for the student, I can’t imagine how the student felt.  The program is now over, and onto work.

            Once at work I do locate the handicap parking space, on an upper floor but because it is late, those with temporary handicaps or inconveniences (have a handicap spot reserved because they don’t WANT to have surgery on their leg yet, have a handicap parking tag issued and they take up the good spots from us that really need a close spot.  Keep in mind that if this surgery was performed, their leg would be back to normal and they could park in a regular spot….that they pay extra for because it too is reserved, but not as close as a handicap spot).  Once I am out of my car I have to find the elevator, take it to the second floor, to the overhead walkway over the street and down an elevator to enter the building I work in.  Fortunately it is late and I don’t have to deal with the pedestrian traffic trying to enter the building at the same time.  Once in my workstation, other than being a little cramp, the day went well with much accessibility. 

            Back home was a struggle up the steps into the house, I am glad I live in a single story house, hopefully getting back into the waterbed will be easier!

            Overall, the worst part was my home; work and the high school were both pretty accessible.  Getting in and out of the car and bed, I think I counted nine times…I must be exhausted or have great biceps!

            I feel this was too easy of a day, I have been in many places where there are not curb cuts to the street, the entrance that many employees use has stairs, and I used the handicap entrance which has honked me off for years as it is not one of the main entrances.  Older buildings and houses are simply not accessible for wheelchairs, walkers or people who can not walk up/down steps.  I was so busy concentrating on getting in and out, I was oblivious to what was going on around me, to know if the other people walking were staring, or inconvenienced, not that I care, but in their unhand caped world, I am sure they were.

           

Brandon McFarland-Blog #5

As far as being non-disabled, I believe people take it for advantage. Throughout my life I have experienced many different disabled people, and every time I meet a disabled person, I seem to always think my life over again and really appreciate what I have. When I took my log, I really noticed that I use the stairs a lot. If I was disabled, I wouldn’t even be able to use the stairs like I usually do! I suppose after writing down everything that I do during the day, I really would love to take advantage of everything I do during the day. Some of the things that I would struggle to do during my regular day are preparing food for myself, going to the bathroom by myself, using the stairs, driving my car, going for walks, and most of all, playing baseball. I cannot imagine not doing these things on a daily basis.

Honestly, I feel that people really feel differently about people with disabilities. Not that they are negative things, but they do think differently. For some people, I believe that they are very uncomfortable with being in the presence of someone different. This is a shame, but our society is sometimes like that. I love the fact that I am able to do the things I do on a daily basis. I know a few people with disabilities, and its sad, but they seem to do great with what they have. They have never known anything different, and there is no need to feel sorry for them because they do great with the things their body offers. I feel our society needs to be educated on all the things that are offered to people with disabilities.(special Olympics, schools). I currently have a disabled person in a class of mine, and he might be the most intelligent person that I have ever met. He takes all the same tests that we do, and takes part in all the discussions. They might not be able to do all the same physical things that we take part in, but they sure do try hard at the things they can take part in.

able bodied/Kelli Edwards

I thought this assignment would be a breeze.  I live in a fairly small town where sidewalks are plentiful.  People walk everywhere when the weather is nice.  I picked a morning when I could go from my house, walk a block to the town hall to drop off my water bill, go another block to the post office to check the mail and then cross the street to the bank.  After that it was home again.  The notes that I have taken make me realize how thankful I am that I have 2 very able legs and arms and it makes me more aware of these “difficulties” that are everywhere!

My home is a two story historical home that has been gutted and remodeled with a very large addition added to the second story over a new garage.  My new doorways are wide enough to accomodate a wheelchair, but my stairs are so narrow that there would be no room for a chair lift.  When my parents remodeled they put in an elevator just in case they ever need it!

Once I was on the main level, I realized that no matter what door I would go ou through, I had the quandry of 3 steps.  If I pretended that there was a ramp, this would get me to the street level.  It was pretty smooth sailing all the way up the sidewalk, a little bumpy though.  Once to the town hall, it was accomodated by a ramp.  There is a drop slot for the water bill, but if I wanted to go inside, I would have to pull a very heavy door that opens to the outside.  This would be very hard from a wheelchair.  I decided to use the slot for argument’s sake.

I leave using the ramp and continue to the post office.  The sidewalk is newer and very accomodating.  The post office is fitted with a ramp also, bu another swinging door.  This one swings both ways!  Once inside, I realize that my box would be to high to reach from a wheelchair.  If I were handicapped, I am sure they would allow me to move my box to a lower level.  I leave and go back down the ramp.

As I cross the street to the bank, I have a hard time seeing the coming traffic because of the parked cars.  The cross walk ends at a driveway of a local house.  I wonder who would win if they were backing out as I was crossing in a wheel chair?  There is a small step up to get back on the sidewalk and it is flat to get into the bank.  The bank has swinging doors that are heavy and glass, and they swing outward.  I suppose that if I couldn’t get in, the tellers would see me and help, but that would not allow for much independance.  I also notice that the back entrance to the bank has a set of three steps that would not allow wheel chair access. 

As I leave the bank to return home, I realize that it would be very difficult for any handicapped person to live in an older town that did not update to regulation codes.  I am fortunate that my hometown is fairly flat and somewhat progressive in their thinking.  I am very thankful that I am able to walk back to my home and climb my three steps to my old house.  I am also thankful that my eyes have been opened to the many obstacles that any not so able bodied person might encounter.  I hope that in the future, civil engineers will realize this need.

Blog 5

     In my day of noticing where things would be hard for me if I were disabled, I took a day of errands and found many things that would make it very hard to complete my errands if I were in a wheel chair.

     On my first stop I went into Krogers to do some shopping and what a mess I found. Isles were so ful of displays it was even hard for me to get my shopping cart down the isle let alone trying to maneuver a wheelchair through the Kroger maze. I also noticed that where there wasn’t a display amny of the stockers would leave broken down boxes lay in the isle as well as leave huge carts full of merchandise in the middle of shopping rows. There was one isle couldn’t even go down with or with out a wheelchair. There were displays stacked so high and in shapes that it would be impossible for some one in a wheelchair to purchase from it. There is also no way a person in a wheelchair can use the U-Scan lanes in check out due to the fact that a person in a wheelchair could not reach the touch screen. As I was leaving I noticed that Kroger remodeled the drive thru pharmacy and it is walk up now. This was completely backwards to me because if I, as a non disabled person, had to get out of my car to drop off a prescription I might as well walk in as walk over to the other side of the stote to drop off my prescription. But my thought being disabled was that now many people who would not have to normally get out of their cars to drop off or pick up prescriptions, they now have to park get out set up their wheelchair then go inside and do their business and turn around and come out.

     Next I was off to Blockbuster what a mess, first there was no way to enter with a wheelchair unless two people came to open both  sets of doors. Once inside there was no way a person in a wheelchair could read or reach the titles on the upper shelves. If you as a disabled person did finally get inside and select a movie the rows to check out were way to small to get a wheelchair into them.

    Finally a quick trip to Lowes, and again there is no way you can read or reach any produts on the upper shelves. Also I noticed that the end caps of dsiplays would block up to half the isle. They also had an accessory section that there was no way a person could enetr the section and shop it. I did however like the fact that Lowes had double wide automatic doors for entrance and exit. This could definitely be more because of the size of some of the purchases than to help the disabled.

    All in all after that day most of my feelings that I would have, if I were disabled, would be that of helplessness and  depression. I would hate going out to do anything not knowing what I was going to run into and how I would have to react towards what I ran into. It would be a terrible and traumatic experience for any one to ahve to put so much consideration in something that should be able to be taken for granted.

Beil Blog 5

10:00 Class on the third floor.  Climb 3 flights of stairs.  There is only one elevator in the building and it is in the back of the building.  With a handicap, I would be able to get into the building and get to an elevator, but it would take a lot more time and effort to get to the back of the building and then back to where my room was.

12:00 Go to the library to tutor.  Go back down to the first floor and get to the LR building by walking outside.  Find a suitable table to tutor and be able to maneuver around other students without disturbing the other sessions.  The tables in the tutoring center would not easily fit a wheelchair.  Trying to maneuver a wheelchair around the close tables would cause a lot of bumping and noise, I could imagine students staring at the person trying to get around.

4:00 Go to the gym.  Walk to the PE building and get to the locker room to change.  Walk on the treadmill and use the rowing machine.  Navigate the weight machines.  The locker room had no suitable lockers for a person in a wheelchair.  I guess they assume people with disabilities wouldn’t be working out.  Almost all the machines in the gym are made for non-disabled people and they are packed so closely together that a person in a wheelchair couldn’t get around.

5:00 Go to a Chinese restaurant.  No handicap assistance with door, no appropriate tables for people in wheelchairs.  The counter was very high to pick food and pay.

Overall my day would take a lot longer to get through; possibly double the normal amount of time would be spent just in mobility around the campus and inside the buildings.  In addition to the extra time, it would be a lot more challenging to reach certain desks and countertops.  People at the college/ out in public would probably try to avoid making eye contact with me like I had a contagious virus that they would get by acknowledging me.  I have witnessed occasions when I was walking with friends and they would turn the other cheek to disabled people to avoid “dealing with them”.  I think that people should be required by law to use a wheelchair for a week.  They should have to be locked into the wheelchair so they can’t get up and walk around.  It should be a “right of passage” similar to getting a driver’s license.  If a person doesn’t experience the inability to do certain things, they will never truly understand what it is like to be in those circumstances. 

Blog #5 – Disabilities – Thomas Babb

            I chose, for this assignment, to assume that I was forced to spend my days in a wheel chair without the use of my legs. The following is an accounting of my observations on the structural barriers that I would be forced to deal with:

 

·        Wake up around 6:30, the first thing I notice is that my home (halls, bathroom, kitchen counters and doors) are either to narrow for a wheelchair or placed at some inconvenient height or angle for me to follow my normal morning routine. If I owned this house it would not trouble me, but as it is a rental this would preclude my landlord from renting to a disabled person.

·        Leaving the house I realize that there is no way for a disabled individual to enter my home as there are steps and narrow doors at both entrances.

·        I stop by the post office to get my mail (they have no delivery service in my town) and realize that I would likely have to have the world’s most flexible wheelchair to turn the corner from the ramp into the door which opens out making it nearly impossible to get into.

·        Stop at a carry out for a pack of cigarettes and a newspaper around 8:00 and find that the sidewalk that the store is located on has only one handicap entrance and it is about 100 feet from the storefront. The door opens inward, however and the aisles are roomy which would allow for freedom of movement.

·        Arrive at school around 9:00 and find that the only handicap spots I find require the individual to cross a heavily trafficked street.

·        In the bio-sciences building I find that there is a gently sloping ramp on the north side and an elevator, however it is fairly narrow and I would probably have to ride alone. Access to the student union an hour later is a little better (except that the doors open outward) and it seems that other than avoiding people not paying attention I would be able to access food services and tables. Later I go to my Latin class next to Campus Corners and find that it would take careful maneuvering to get through the series of doors in a wheelchair. Next, its over to Shatzel Hall to work in the GIS lab and I still cannot figure out how a disabled person would access this building as the only handicap entrance opens to a small foyer that only has steps going up, maybe I missed something but this seems completely unfair. There is an elevator in the building but I’ll be damned if I know how to get to it without going up steps. Then its over to Olscamp, a more modern building with wide corridors and elevators, also the automatic doors appear to be on a hair trigger. I stop at the bathroom before I go to class only to find the disabled stall full.

·        After leaving campus – which in and of itself would be a challenge as I’m now across campus from where I parked and decide to take a path that I think would be more accessible – I go to a local store to participate in a wine tasting. While the curbs are low and the door is on automatic the aisles inside are extremely narrow and lined with breakables so that a person in a wheelchair could not access the back of the store where the event was taking place. I mention this to one of the employees on my way out and they acted genuinely sorry about it (although I stopped in a few days later and nothing had been changed).

·        Later that evening my wife and I go downtown to get a bite to eat and I realize that the restaurant we have chosen has doors that open towards each other making it a two person job to get a wheelchair through. Once inside I realize that the only tables a wheelchair could be placed at are small, crowded and located in the aisles. Now that I think about it I’ve never seen a handicapped individual in the place and this may be why.

·        Finally its back home to my inaccessible home only to realize that my bed is too high to get into from a sitting position.

 

For the most part I don’t think that it was with malicious intent that many of these places would be hard to access. I think it is just apathy towards the trials of others that causes this (although that is almost as bad as malicious intent). I did find the wine store and the restaurant to be confusing as I would think it more profitable to increase access to a business – once again apathy. While this points to a need for education about the abilities and feelings of the disabled, I unfortunately don’t think things will ever change to allow people complete equal opportunity. However, if everyone were to do this one day experiment it might go a long way towards closing the accessibility divide between abled and disabled.

 

 

Stacey Stratton- Blog #5

On one particular day, last friday to be exact,  I had a very busy day.  It started with work which is 3rd shift at a nursing home and ended at the race track where my sons race go karts.  It would be very hard to do the job that I do which is assist people with their daily activities of living which include bathing, dressing, bed mobility, eating and everyday getting around.  Now if I would be disabled it would be very difficult to accomplish these activiites for someone else especially if I need the same assistance.  I am not saying that some with Fybromyalgia could not be consisdered disabled because in fact they can.  I have Fybromyalgia.  I find my job very difficult because the consistant lifting, bending and etc. is very painful and at the end of the shift, I have trouble walking to the car and getting into the car.  Next, I had to fly home so that my husband could leave for work.   Here I have the privilege of being able to drive myself.  I get home only to shower and get the kids up, ready for school, breakfast and than off to school.  The kids are yelling I have nothing to wear or I can not find this.  If I could not bend down, I would have trouble even reaching the bottom drawers.  I may have difficulty getting down and up and it may be painful but I can do it, where I can only imagine.  My mother has severe rheumatoid arthritis and I can remember her getting down on the floor to reach a jar of spaghetti sauce that was way back in the cupboard.  She could not get back up.  She had to wait for us to come back in from playing to help her off the floor.  Just think of how many times you reach down or get down on the floor to do something but imagine it where you can not stand up, scary.  Now back to my stressful day.  I had to get some sleep so about 10 am went to sleep and woke up at 1 pm.  I got in the shower, make my lunch and than I had school work to do.  Just being able to shower and make lunch can be a privilege.  Around 3pm, my husband and children arrive home.  It is a nice day the kids what to play outside and my husband needs to get everything around for racing.  Meanwhile, I am still working on homework that needs to be in by 5pm and 11:59 pm but we need to eat and leave for the race track by 5:30pm.  My husband can not load the go karts himself because they are heavy and he has to hook up the trailer.  I have to stop my homework and assist him.  I am in pain from stress, lack of sleep and now lifting this heavy carts on and off of thier movable carts and onto the trailer.  It is a problem because are garage is so jam backed that an able bodied person such as my husband had difficulty getting in and out.  I had to run in between places such as getting dinner, kids needing something outside, assisting my husband and working on my assigments.  It just makes me tired thinking about it again.  Now homeworks in, everyone is fed and we still have to get to the race track.  The track is mainly dirt and gravel with big ruts.  The restrooms are portapotty’s.  An nonabled person would have difficulty moving and walking in this conditions and the restrooms.  lets just say my mothers options when she went racing last was hold it or I had to drive her to the next easy access restroom.  The only place to sit is bleachers and they are up a set of steps so clearly this is not a place highly equiped for someone nonabled.  At the end of the night we still had to load everything up and still unload when we got home at 1am.  My kids race on a dirt track so they needed to bathe (my sons are 5 and 10).  Now my able-bodied husband and I are tired at the end of the day.  I could not fully even begin to feel the oppression of someone less abled then we are to have accomplished what we did in one day and usually every weekend.

Ableist oppression is something that society needs to learn more about through proper education.  Everyone just goes through life without even acknowledging what if would be like from someone with a disablity.  Evern with is so close to home with my mother and me I tend to forget the difficulties that one with a disablity must face in our society.   I think that we can lessen ableism by promoting awareness.  Until like Nancy Mairs’ book “Waist High in the World” , It was a reminder.  Most of have had something in our life that may have left us nonable at one point but we got better and continued on as able bodies but others do not have the luxury to do this.  So, it is important to educate people on ableism and ableism oppression.  because I hadsprained my ankle in basketball in high shcool, I was not able to get around like I was use to, I could not drive and I had trouble going up and down stairs, getting in and out of cars but for me I was able to resume these things without difficulty but it is important to realize that others are not as fortunate I as I was.  It is this way of thinking that will help our society strive for complete equality.

Brittney Thomas– Blog #5

As a non-disabled person, it is easy to take many things I do in my daily life for granted. The apartment I am living in right now, for example, allows me to see just how inaccessible things can be for disabled people. I live on the fourth floor of my building and if I were disabled, chances are I would not be able to live in the apartment I do, because I would have to go up four flights of stairs just to get to my apartment. Some may say that I could just live on the first floor, which would be okay if there was actually a ground level to my apartment building.

Now if I were actually able to get into my apartment with my disability, I would find that it is far too small. A person in a wheelchair would definitely have trouble entering the kitchen and bathroom since they are both so small. Seeing this makes me realize the importance of having housing available for people with disabilities. Some may say that people with disabilities should just buy a house and fix it up so that it is able to serve their needs. This is not an option for a lot of people, though, since houses are expensive. Therefore, it is important that there are apartments and condos available to rent for people with disabilities that are built to serve their needs.

When looking at my place of employment in the eyes of a disabled person, I can see that access to this place would be difficult for a person with a disability. I work in one of the dining halls on campus, and there isn’t really an entrance where those with disabilities can enter. In order to enter the facility, a person with a disability would have to go through the dorms and have someone allow them to use one of the elevators, which seems like a hassle just to go get something to eat. Also, if someone with a disability would want to work at my place of employment, I don’t think there would be many jobs for them to do at it, just because most of the stations there are not handicap accessible.

All of my classes are in Olscamp Hall, which is accessible for those with disabilities. Both main entrances have an automatic door and there is an elevator should one need to go to the second floor. One main concern, though, is the size of the classrooms. Most of the classrooms are overcrowded with desks, which would make it difficult for someone in a wheelchair to maneuver around in.

I would hope that I would be accepted for the disability I have. I would hope that I would be treated with kindness by people and that people would not judge me based on my disability. I would hope that people would see that my disability does not define the person I am and that I am a person who has many different interests. I know, though, that not everyone would view me this way. I know that some people would think that I was a burden, and some may even think that I should have just stayed home. However, I would hope that I would encounter people like that few and far between.

Overall, it is important to educate people about disabilities. I think making people aware of the daily things they take for granted through assignments such as this could be beneficial. For example, I never really thought about how restrictive a place such as Olscamp Hall could be for a person with a disability until writing this assignment. Offering programs in which people could learn about disabilities could be beneficial, too, however, I think in order for people to fully realize what the lives of people with disabilities are like is through actually interacting with someone with a disability and accepting that person for who they are. It is important that we as a society treat people with disabilities like real people. Although we shouldn’t let their disability define who they are, we do need to take measures and make sure that public places are accessible to them so that they can enjoy them, too. In the end, it is important to remember that people with disabilities are just like you and I, and that they should be treated with respect.

Blog Entry #5- Disability -Chelsea Mac Adams

American Culture Studies 250

Blog Entry # 5: Disabilities

Chelsea Mac Adams

 

 

I have a disability. I have a few chronic conditions that make me considered disabled. I have severe asthma and an immune disorder among other various complications that have stemmed from these two main illness. I wake up every morning and take a variety of medications and sometimes need to be hooked up to a breathing apparatus. I am chronically tired and have problems with my mobility because of osteoporosis and arthritis. The arthritis creates problems with typing and exercising as well, which is tremendously important to help reverse some of the damages done by medications I have taken in the past that have eaten away my muscle tissue. My medications often leave me naseaus and weak. They create problems in my liver and kidneys as well. I am constantly tired and need to take naps everyday in order to function. I I have a handicapped sticker on my car because I have a hard time walking long distances, especially outside. I usually get negative looks or worse because I don’t “look” handicapped. Sometimes I get screamed at by people who, I know are trying to do the right thing and make sure the spots are for the people who are handicapped, these type of incidents happen at least once a month and although I have had it for over 4 years now, I still get very upset everyday I get harassed. It’s bad enough I have to use one without having to explain myself. I meet a lot of criticism because I am not someone who looks ill, even though I am. Most people don’t believe that I am sick and I have to fight in order to get the special accommodations I need in order to function. I usually can’t be far away from home and have to carry various medications with me at all times. I have highly allergic to a lot of food and if I eat out I have to go back to the kitchen and ask the chef directly how the food is prepared because I have gone into anaphylactic shock because waiters didn’t understand my condition and the severity. I spend about 2 days a week at the doctors office. I  also spent a month at National Jewish Hospital in Denver in order to help improve my conditions. I  have it pretty good as far as disabilities go, I can walk most of the time and can be relatively independent. I am lucky that my family is upper-middle class because being disabled is expensive between the extraordinary amount of medications and doctor visits.

I really wish I didn’t have to explain myself and explain about my disability. Being disabled doesn’t mean being in a wheel chair, you cant tell if someone is disabled by just looking at them, I think people need to learn that and the only way to learn that is through education about all disabilities most likely through school or public announcements. It is hard to break through stereotypes about what disabled people look like and what is considered disabled. It is hard to say how to promote a culture where people with disabilities have complete equality and lessen ablism. Ablism is still the norm, the majority and the majority rules. I think by just making sure that all public have the necessary accommodation in order to lessen the diversity people with disabilities have to face. By making the accommodation automatic and having laws ensuring their safety and giving them as many opportunities as the abled.

Rob LaCrosse, Blog #5, Disabilities, ACS250

Robert LaCrosse

April 20, 2008

Instructor Joelle Ruby Ryan

ACS 250 #26449

Blog Entry #5: Disabilities

 

I took a different approach with this entry.  Instead of imagining the barriers faced by disabled people I took a disabled friend out for the day and made note of the numerous obstacles that were faced throughout the day.  We started at her house and ran several errands.  This included going to both lunch and dinner at different restaurants.  This approach allowed me to learn a lot about my friend and she was really impressed that we would actually study something that has such an impact in her life.

 

We started the day leaving her house.  I helped build a deck and ramp system in front of her house to help her get in and out of the house, without this modification to their house she would not be able to enter or exit her home.  We went to a mall to pick a few items up.  This required using their modified van, which is not only modified for loading and unloading a wheelchair, but it was also fitted with special hand controls to allow her to drive.  Even with this capability she is a nervous driver and always afraid that she may never get used to using the hand controls even though it appears from my perspective that she is a great driver. 

 

These modifications to the home and vehicle alone were very expensive and not something that this couple would have spent money for had they had the option of not spending this money.  Both are on fixed incomes and as retired people they do not have the ability to make additional money to cover these expenses.  What they did was a necessity and not an extravagance. 

 

Once we reached the mall we were able to park in a handicapped space.  While this was nice, I will keep my legs and use them to walk from further spaces.  The handicapped spaces are helpful to people in need of closer spaces at public places.  Even when most handicapped spaces are not used it is necessary to have more than enough just to be sure that there are enough spaces for the people in need of these spaces.  This was a bit of a revelation to me since I worked in many malls in many cities and never have all the handicapped spaces been full.  I always thought that was a waste of prime space, boy was I naïve. 

 

We did some shopping at the mall.  While this is not one of my favorite pastimes I made due and shopped along.  It was evident that many stores are not set up to allow a wheelchair to move around and shop.  In fact most stores had a limited space available for us to pass through.  Some stores were helpful with the shopping experience, we even had one where the sales clerk waited on us and made the experience very pleasurable.  The unfortunate side of this is that most of the people steered clear of the “old lady in the wheelchair”.  Apparently old ladies in wheelchairs do not have money or they are hard to wait on; whatever the case, this was closer to the norm than the few good visits we had. 

After shopping for a good portion of the day we decided to get some lunch.  We went to a fast food restaurant that had good handicapped parking and a special table that accommodated a wheelchair.  I never knew these tables existed, but I learned that many places have tables just for such an occasion.  We had a good lunch, not my choice of foods, but never-the-less a good lunch.

 

After lunch we went grocery shopping.  Again, we had a good experience.  The store supplied a motorized shopping cart that was really helpful.  The only issue was getting to it.  Once parked, I had to get the motorized cart and bring it to the van.  Without my help she would have used her wheelchair to get to the motorized cart.  Then she would transfer herself to the motorized cart and drag her wheelchair back to the van.  She would then struggle to get it in the van and go through this same process in reverse when she is ready to leave.  The only other issue was the height of some of the shelves, but with my help we were able to get passed that obstacle.  Other than these issues the grocery store was a great experience. 

 

Without my help trip to the grocery store is out of the question.  She only makes this trip on her own if she is picking up a couple specific items.  Stocking the pantry is not an option.  I asked how she gets past this on a daily basis and I was surprised to learn that she uses a company that shops for her and charges her a fee plus the cost of her goods.  

 

We ended the day with dinner at a nice restaurant.  This was difficult because we had problems finding a seat that would accommodate a wheelchair.  Because of this we waited longer for our table which was a problem for her husband who is diabetic.  Once situated at the table we had a great meal and a great end to an eye-opening day for me. 

 

I learned that many of the things I take for granted are difficult for my friend.  She makes modifications to almost everything she uses on a daily basis.  Not only is this inconvenient, but it is also quite a financial burden on their household finances.  Even simple issues such as using the restroom are huge tasks that can be extremely challenging. 

 

The solution to making this problem a non issue is an enormous task. This most common issue was ability to navigate public places.  If this could be addressed the mobility issue would change drastically.  Some of the other issues may not be as easily remedied such as the height of shelves in grocery stores.  It is not reasonable to keep everything as low as it would be necessary for a person in a wheelchair to have access to it.  In these cases it would make sense for the stores to have someone available to help.  Not only is this good customer service, but is only human to help others. 

 

This was a great learning experience and I am thankful that I have friends that are willing to let me be a part of their lives and use their everyday activities as a learning experience for myself.