Ambulatory Wheelchair User - Tumblr Posts
people talk a lot about how annoying it is to have people unnecessarily open doors for you as a wheelchair user and that is absolutely a thing
but i’ve also had people pretend not to see me coming and just shut the door in my face. i’ve had to ram a door open with my feet to the point where my mum called the school and told them to remind classmates to give me a hand with double doors because she was so worried. abled people either do everything for you and infantilise you or ignore you and pretend you don’t exist and both are equally ableist.
Something that really sucks about being disabled is places say that they’re accessible but they aren’t.
I’ve been to places that claim to be accessible where
the ramp’s too steep
there are steps they didn’t mention because “it’s only two or three”
the doorways are too small
there aren’t any elevators to the top floor
the floor is too rough to easily push on
exhibits are displayed in ways that are impossible to see from a wheelchair
the doors don’t have a push button
tables/exhibits are put way too close together
the surrounding paths have no curbs
Without those things, it isn’t accessible. You can’t put a sloped piece of metal on your doorway and call that wheelchair friendly.
If I could talk to myself four years ago I’d say it’s okay. It’s okay that you’re disabled. It’s okay that you’re going to need mobility aids for the rest of your life. It’s okay that you can’t do things other people can. It’s okay to be angry. It’s okay to call out ableism. It’s okay that you’ll never be “acceptable” as a disabled person. It’s okay to be a cripple.
Accepting your disability takes time. It’s okay.
A lot of my seeing disabled people in the media used to be immediately followed with “yeah this is stereotypical but at least there’s a reminder that we exist”.
Fuck that. Disabled people are treated like shit in the media and you never see them (except amputees but they have fully functioning limbs that just look robotic rather than actual prosthetics). Just because they give us representation doesn’t mean we should be grateful for the overused tropes, the inaccuracy and the general ableism.
Be angry. We have the goddamn right.
I was at work today when I saw an old man in a wheelchair but he wasn’t of moving around in a traditional way, pushing himself forward with his hands or using a motor. Instead he was pulling himself along with his feet. My best attempt at explaining this was he would put his left ankle on the ground pull himself forward then put his right ankle on the ground and pull himself forward continuing with this until he got to wherever he was trying go. It almost looked like walking but whilst sitting down.
I saw this dude multiple times in a roughly five hour time span and every time he was moving he was using his feet to do so. I understand not all wheelchair users are paralyzed and that ambulatory wheelchair users also exist. However, I have never heard of someone using a wheelchair like this man and I’m honestly more confused than anything. If anyone knows why someone would move their legs to propel their wheelchair forward please let me know.
This post deserves to be shared, we need to get this message out there
Shoutout to ambulatory wheelchair users who can walk a long way, whether aided or unaided. To people who can hike up a mountain one day, but another day can’t even get out of bed; you still deserve to use a wheelchair, you are not faking your disability. When you have a fluctuating disability, it’s hard to feel like your needs are important, but they are.
(Yes this post is about me. Don’t clown on this post, if you don’t relate just scroll away)
You know what I think would be great for a modern retelling of The Little Mermaid? Having the mermaid be an ambulatory wheelchair user while on land, or at least have some form of mobility aid. Not only has she never had legs before, but gravity would feel totally different compared to in the water, realistically it would take a lot more than just a few minutes or hours for her to adjust, and she'd have a lot more difficulties beyond just being clumsy. Running, walking, even just standing would be a very real struggle for her.
Social experiment: at some point in their lives every single able-bodied person should be put in a wheelchair, challenged to do the groceries and travel on a bus to do so (including sloped footpaths, busy places, and throw some looks in etc)
It'd make everyone so much more sympathetic to disability and to those who have to use chairs on the daily.
Sincerely,
I've been in a chair in public for 20 minutes and I've already had several inappropriate comments and many uncomfortable and sympathetic stares, people grabbing my handlebars...and a "fucking cripples" from a 13 (ish) year old when the bus driver asked him to move from the disabled seating..
yeah, shoutout to wheelchair users, y'all are awesome and underappreciated...but seriously everyone should have to try this at least once.
ah, welcome, calluses on my hands from using a wheelchair
Fun fact: the word 'chronic' means it's lifelong! and the phrase 'chronic illness' means I'm stuck with it until it takes me out, or I take me out. So, to the woman bothering me at a close family friend's funeral today about 'whether it goes away' can shut the hell up. Chronic means I'm stuck with it. Telling me I can think my way out of it when I have things physically wrong with my body will not do anything. No, it's not going away, and praying and trying to force me out of my wheelchair won't do jack-shit (except make me want to break your nose). Trust me, I have tried almost everything under the sun by now.
Besides, I've come to the conclusion if god/s exist, they decided I'm better used as a disability advocate than wasting their precious time on fixing the fact I'm in crippling pain constantly :DDD
Does anyone have any suggestions for flying with a wheelchair, disabilities and a severe disassociative disorder (possibly flying international).
Literally anything welcome, if we're going I'm planning on taking noise cancelling headphones and my hidden disabilities lanyard, and making sure it's all in my booking info, but man am I scareddd
I keep hearing hell stories of people's wheelchairs getting absolutely battered, and broken in transit and I'm a little worried about mine 🫠 it's a folding manual model if that changes anything :)
Thanks in advance!
do you think in the warframe universe they have wheelchairs you can summon like archwings or k-drives
I just saw a video of someone saying something along the lines of “being without ADHD medication is like being without a wheelchair! If people were waiting this long for wheelchairs and having to crawl around their homes then something would be done immediately, so why can’t I get ADHD meds??”
And just, can people stop assuming that wheelchair users get handed everything on a plate. Because we absolutely are not.
People wait months and years for wheelchairs – yes, even non ambulatory people. That’s months and years of suffering, of crawling or being confined to bed or stuck in unsuitable wheelchairs.
Yes, medication shortages are serious and need addressing… but making comparisons to wheelchair users when not knowing a single thing about the processes of accessing a chair in various countries is not the way to go about it.
Being a wheelchair user is relatively new to me but I don't think I'll ever understand the complete strangers that ask me "why are you in a wheelchair" or "what happened to me". One it's not your business, I DONT KNOW YOU, and two, imagine if I was in a horrible accident where like my entire family died besides me or something awful and I'm just trying to get some chips at the gas station and go about my day and now I'm suddenly reminded of this horrible thing. Unless you've known someone their whole life and suddenly see a drastic change in their health and are genuinely concerned please mind ya business.
Ngl just putting this online makes me feel like shit but I need the help:
Any donations help me so much it’s actually ridiculous, I also draw digital art and have commissions open in my DMs!
Again this suck ass that I have to turn to strangers for help but here I am because I’m desperate :)
[share around my page and gofundme if you want reposts are appreciated]
Something that’s always bothered me about being chronically ill is how my parents don’t try to listen
they pat my legs and ask me when I’m getting rid of my wheelchair, like never Zoe I can physically only cope for 15 minutes a day without pain walking
The researched my condition and told me I don’t have it really, that I don’t look the part, my body is falling apart and my family are waiting for me to get better
I’ll never get better that’s the thing that they don’t understand
[check out the gofundme in my pinned post to help me get a new wheelchair!]
Okay so for context I was told I don’t have pots right
But I’m hooked up to a heart rate monitor and my sitting bpm is around 75 (sometimes it dips to 44 but that’s a separate issue)
When I stand up it gradually goes up to sit in the 120-30 bpm but if I don’t stand up carefully it can go to 160 bpm
I don’t know what to do about this because either I’m in a cold sweat bc my heart rate is 45 or I’m shaking bc it’s 160
At this point I’m a little scared (I thought I was dying for a hot minute when my bpm stayed at 140-60 for a whole hour (I watched the entire x men movie in this time)
Any advice would be appreciated
Hi tumblr, I really need the help right now and I’m desperate
I’m a disabled, chronically ill university student in the uk
due to my various illnesses and disabilities I am unable to work and have no support from my family in regards to my disability
I cannot work and my mobility aids are broken and unfit for long term use
so I’m coming to tumblr once again to ask for help with finance, I’m really sorry to ask strangers for help but I’m desperate
Please share around, reblog or donate to help me, please any little helps
i got a wheelchair !!! it’s a helio a6. she’s a beauty
i went out in my wheelchair to a festival today :)
it’s my first time being out for that long while in my chair. luckily, i had my partner and friends to help me whenever i got stuck/my arms got tired.
i did, however, get two blisters on my hands. do any other wheelchair users have suggestions for how to minimize blisters? or any at-home remedies for blisters?