Rollling On Wheels
The moment I sat in the chair and rolled out of the GLO HR office, I entered into the wheelchair experience with good-natured enthusiasm. I am not sure why I was asked to do this four-hour assignment but I thought it was an opportunity to get a sense of what it’s like to be bound to a life without the use of legs. I sat down and rolled out.
I fully expected to be uncoordinated for the first few minutes of “driving” the machine. Once out the door of HR, the first place I needed to go was the elevator, and back to my desk on the first floor. I pushed the down button and made myself ready to scurry to whichever of the six elevator doors decided to open. Backing in seemed to be the logical thing to do when the doors opened. But what happened were arms trying to roll the wheels backward and fend off closing doors at the same time. Less than two minutes in the chair and I had my first wrestling match. But success came and soon I was on the first floor with doors opening to a passel of waiting elevator riders on their way to their respective work areas.
Opening the door to my area was another unexpected wrestling match. I tried to open the heavy swinging doors at first by trying not to use my torso or legs as leverage, but that was impossible to do. Even when I employed all my powers to open that door, it was an arduous struggle.
When it was time to use the restroom, getting through those same doors out of the office area and into the restroom became no easier, even though I was gaining experience. In fact I must confess at this point there is a missing wall tile in the men’s first floor restroom because of my tussle exiting.
My quest was to get around independently. But when people were around me, the offers for help were plentiful. From holding the door open with a simple “may I help you” question, to giving an unsolicited push to my chair through a doorway, a wide range of assistance was available. The willingness to help came as a pleasant surprise.
I have to admit that my overall impression of the experience is a mixed bag of feelings and thoughts from the positive to the negative and some points in between. I found that by the time my four hours were near an end, I was getting a bit moody. Typically, I am a cheery sort, but living in a world of stilted walkers for a tiny snapshot of time, revealed to me that there are enormous challenges for the non-walking, even in this day of ADA compliance.
If we as a society have come a long way with accommodating disabled people, it seems to me there is yet a long way to go. And my only experience is within the confines of this SFA Building.
I would like to mention here two of my heroes are wheelchair bound people. Roy Campanella (deceased) and John Hockenberry. Both became paraplegic because of car accidents, and both have accomplishments reaching well beyond what ninety-nine percent of us all will ever dream of accomplishing. Roy was perhaps one of the greatest major league catchers of all time, and John, an internationally known news correspondent. So here, I pitch to you to learn their stories, which can be read in their books.
In addition to improved moving around conditions in the building, I would like to see improved person-to-person dialog between the so-called non-disabled and disabled. Interactions, be they spontaneous passing in the hallways and elevators, or day-to-day working relationships, there lies a bridge that needs to be improved with a comprehensive development program.
Thanks for the experience.
I fully expected to be uncoordinated for the first few minutes of “driving” the machine. Once out the door of HR, the first place I needed to go was the elevator, and back to my desk on the first floor. I pushed the down button and made myself ready to scurry to whichever of the six elevator doors decided to open. Backing in seemed to be the logical thing to do when the doors opened. But what happened were arms trying to roll the wheels backward and fend off closing doors at the same time. Less than two minutes in the chair and I had my first wrestling match. But success came and soon I was on the first floor with doors opening to a passel of waiting elevator riders on their way to their respective work areas.
Opening the door to my area was another unexpected wrestling match. I tried to open the heavy swinging doors at first by trying not to use my torso or legs as leverage, but that was impossible to do. Even when I employed all my powers to open that door, it was an arduous struggle.
When it was time to use the restroom, getting through those same doors out of the office area and into the restroom became no easier, even though I was gaining experience. In fact I must confess at this point there is a missing wall tile in the men’s first floor restroom because of my tussle exiting.
My quest was to get around independently. But when people were around me, the offers for help were plentiful. From holding the door open with a simple “may I help you” question, to giving an unsolicited push to my chair through a doorway, a wide range of assistance was available. The willingness to help came as a pleasant surprise.
I have to admit that my overall impression of the experience is a mixed bag of feelings and thoughts from the positive to the negative and some points in between. I found that by the time my four hours were near an end, I was getting a bit moody. Typically, I am a cheery sort, but living in a world of stilted walkers for a tiny snapshot of time, revealed to me that there are enormous challenges for the non-walking, even in this day of ADA compliance.
If we as a society have come a long way with accommodating disabled people, it seems to me there is yet a long way to go. And my only experience is within the confines of this SFA Building.
I would like to mention here two of my heroes are wheelchair bound people. Roy Campanella (deceased) and John Hockenberry. Both became paraplegic because of car accidents, and both have accomplishments reaching well beyond what ninety-nine percent of us all will ever dream of accomplishing. Roy was perhaps one of the greatest major league catchers of all time, and John, an internationally known news correspondent. So here, I pitch to you to learn their stories, which can be read in their books.
In addition to improved moving around conditions in the building, I would like to see improved person-to-person dialog between the so-called non-disabled and disabled. Interactions, be they spontaneous passing in the hallways and elevators, or day-to-day working relationships, there lies a bridge that needs to be improved with a comprehensive development program.
Thanks for the experience.
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