Mobility Aids - Tumblr Posts

Ok so at this point I've had two people roll up to me in manual wheelchairs, well, one of them was somebody pushing somebody who was nonverbal at the time, but it still counts. They asked me why I had zip ties around my tires.

It's winter where I'm living and we have really bad snow. And the snow plow people are really bad at their jobs probably because there aren't snow plow people who clean sidewalks. As a solution I got to thinking about how I could increase the traction on my wheels. And the most redneck thing I could think of was taking a bunch of zip ties and tying them around my wheels. They last surprisingly long, and work surprisingly well. It's basically the same premise as chains for your tires during the winter.

I chose to space them out pretty evenly so there's about one for every spoke. You could probably do more or less depending on how many you want and how much traction you get but I wouldn't go more than three per spoke. I realize that it's a bit later in the winter, and I probably should have made a post about this sooner, but I came up with it about a week ago. So please share this, even if you're not disabled, because there are tons of people I know who are stuck in their houses because they can't get around in the snow. A pack of zip ties costs about $5, which compared to $200 knobby snow tires is a big save, and if you want to invest you could get colored zip ties.

If you can't stand up- Stand out (Izzy Wheels) by Ailbhe Keane

Image ID: Six GIF's of the the same wheelchair with a different cover on the sides- All designed by Izzy Wheels.

GIF one: The same person spins their wheelchair around, one wheel in pink with a cute animal pattern and the other has the same pattern but in yellow

GIF two: A person does a small dance on their wheelchair, but drops their arm to the side. Their wheelchair has a green, blue, yellow and purple leaf pattern on it

GIF three: The person tils their wheelchair which now has a blue cover on it.

GIF four: The person is dancing, their wheelchair cover is now a redish pink flower with multimple other colors behind it

GIF five: The person moves their wheelchair across the screen, a blue dog now as their wheel cover

GIF six: The person is dancing, their wheel cover now abstract rainbow art

Simplifying the process of drawing a rigid frame wheelchair

I always see people asking about how to simplify the process of drawing a wheelchair so I created this

please ignore that the line art is a little shaky I have a hand tremor

Since I’ve started using a cane, I’ve noticed a lot of actors & cartoonists aren’t sure how to depict characters with them! Here’s a simple cheat sheet to help.

Ok so at this point I've had two people roll up to me in manual wheelchairs, well, one of them was somebody pushing somebody who was nonverbal at the time, but it still counts. They asked me why I had zip ties around my tires.

It's winter where I'm living and we have really bad snow. And the snow plow people are really bad at their jobs probably because there aren't snow plow people who clean sidewalks. As a solution I got to thinking about how I could increase the traction on my wheels. And the most redneck thing I could think of was taking a bunch of zip ties and tying them around my wheels. They last surprisingly long, and work surprisingly well. It's basically the same premise as chains for your tires during the winter.

I chose to space them out pretty evenly so there's about one for every spoke. You could probably do more or less depending on how many you want and how much traction you get but I wouldn't go more than three per spoke. I realize that it's a bit later in the winter, and I probably should have made a post about this sooner, but I came up with it about a week ago. So please share this, even if you're not disabled, because there are tons of people I know who are stuck in their houses because they can't get around in the snow. A pack of zip ties costs about $5, which compared to $200 knobby snow tires is a big save, and if you want to invest you could get colored zip ties.

I don't understand why pedestrians are so eager to replace wheelchairs in fantasy worlds. no, in Pokemon wheelchair users wouldn't be riding Pokemon everywhere they would be using wheelchairs. wheelchairs are just fine. they don't need magical fantasy replacements

If you don't mind me asking, what ARE the right codewords to use on doctors and such?

I’ve thought, many times, about writing a book or something that was basically How To Negotiate Your Disability Without Curling Into A Ball And Weeping More Than Once Or Twice A Week *Or* Murdering The Entire Universe (More Than Once Or Twice A Week).

Here are some highlights:

1) On acquiring adequate pain medication.

Never actually say “I really need strong drugs here doctor, because the drugs you and every other doctor gave me for this injury/illness didn’t work, and also I’ve been in pain for years and I’d like that to stop.”

While there are some doctors who speak human languages and will understand what you’re saying, most, when you say that, will hear:

“I am a ravening junkie werekaiju, and I will come to your house and EAT YOUR BABIES IF YOU DON’T GIVE ME HEROIN.”

You think I’m kidding? Watch a healthcare professional’s eyes when someone else says something like the following. Watch them shut down and back away and tighten up and generally stop treating the person like a human. So what do you say?

Try this:

“Well, I hate these drugs that make me *stupid*, you know? One of these so-called doctors — they gave me some pill that made me feel like I was on a whole separate planet for *years*, but I was still in pain! I have things to *do*, doctor. I have a job/family/projects. I wouldn’t be here if I could get my work done the way I am now, but if I can’t do them with the drugs you give me, then what’s the point?”

Make sure to translate this into the appropriate dialect for your area, but note the important points:

a) Reassures the doctor that you’re not one of those ~*eeevil*~ junkies.b) Reassures the doctor that you’re not one of those ~*eeevil*~ non-productive members of society.

c) Reassures the doctor that you’re not one of those ~*eeevil*~ weak-willed disabled people.

Remember not to use too *much* *correct* medical jargon — they get suspicious about that.

Yes, all of this is necessary a *lot* of the time.

With the above code, 95% of the time the doctors begin *cooing* at me and treating me like *royalty* — and *100%* of the time I have gotten the effective medication.

Pro-tip: If you can add a true (or true-sounding) story about how much you *hate* one *particular* opiate (“Percocet is useless! All it does is make me stupid!”), then you’re probably in the bag.

2) Acquiring mobility devices.

Never actually say “I need a walker/wheelchair/scooter, because I have trouble getting around, and also I have a great deal of fatigue and pain when I try to do so.”

While some healthcare professionals speak human languages and have souls… well. A lot of them? Will hear this:

“I am a fat, lazy, Fatty McFatFat, and I will continue to expand, much like the universe, until I am a drain on the resources of this great nation and a proof that you, doctor, are a failure. I will never use the mobility devices, ever, and they will gather dust in my home — a mockery of everything you, Morally Healthy Person, holds dear.”

Yes, I know this makes even less sense than the former, but I’ve interrogated these people — the ones who have still have partially-functional souls and minds — and this really is how it works in their adorable little pinheads.

They really do think we’re asking for these devices for… no reason at all.

Or, as my otherwise sane GP put it, she has an honest fear that people like us will  take one look at our new mobility devices and throw all caution — and sense — to the winds. That we’ll stop stretching and exercising. That those of us who *can* walk for short distances will — somehow! — decide to *never walk again*. That we’ll decide to — gleefully! cheerfully! blithely! — let every last one of the muscles we’ve been clinging to with our *fingernails* *atrophy* to *nothing*, because…

Because they think we’re idiots, that’s why. So, try this instead:

“I have a lot of pain and fatigue when I try to walk for any kind of distance, at all, and that’s getting in the way of my ability to have anything resembling an active life. It’s even hard to get to my doctor’s appointments sometimes! I want to do at least some of my own shopping and other errands, and go out with my friends, and at least try to hold down a job, but unless the weather is really good and I’m having a good day in other ways, it’s just not going to happen. I don’t want to stop using my cane/walker/whatever completely — and I *won’t* unless I *have* to, just like I won’t stop doing my PT and OT exercises — but I need something that will let me actually have a life.” Note the similarities to the pain management code — and yes, do make sure you put this in your own words.

But also make sure you keep everything that makes you sound like the Virtuous Handicapable Person you totally are.

Because that’s necessary.Yes, it is.Yes. It. Is. Just as it will be necessary, in many states — make sure you check — to add in this little number:

“It’s just… well, you know that I don’t really have any bladder or GI issues, doctor, but I still… sometimes… on bad mobility days… you know.”

Here’s where you look down.

“Sometimes I don’t make it… you know. In time.”

Understand that you’ll have to repeat this to, like, four different people. At least.Understand that some of them will make you get specific.

If it helps, pretend you’re Steph Brown, doing her level best to gross the everloving bejeezus out of her P.E. teacher with graphic stories about her period so she can get out of class and fight crime.

*I* certainly found that helpful.

"disability only exists because the world isnt accessible" idk how to tell you this but chronic pain still hurts

Quickly approaching that time of the year where the ❄️✨ cold weather ✨❄️ is going to make my joints useless. I do have a cane. I don't really use the cane.

But I am seriously considering inviting my bff over for a ✨ craft night ✨ so we can, idk, paint and bedazzle my cane.

What possesses someone to just grab someone else’s mobility aid? There is literally no other situation I’ve been in where someone just saw something of mine and grabbed it AFTER asking what it was and me saying it’s a cane. Not just that, but then they went “damn, how old are you?” I FUCKING FRESHMAN IN HIGH SCHOOL. YOU KNOW THAT. WE ARE THE SAME AGE. Stop fucking grabbing my shit.

Wheel-talk

I'm flaring, severely. Everything hurts, the world is spinning, nausea is overwhelming, and I'm dizzy from blood loss, along with a myriad of other things: it's not fun. But I went to a museum with mum today, and instead of being stubborn and walking it on a cane, asked if they had a wheelchair that I could borrow.

It was amazing.

As embarrassing as it is to be a teen in a wheelchair (I got some stares and commentary from strangers), it was so freeing. Instead of hobbling around, leaning on things and trying not to faint, I could explore. Look at things. Read. Do wheelies (much to my mother's horror). Spin around and move at a speed I hadn't in years, as my body usually wouldn't let me, and I wasn't tied to leaning against walls and feeling sick.

and I had energy left over to complete chores.

I wouldn't be able to visit a museum, or for that matter.. anywhere, during a flare. But today? Because I had wheels? It was amazing.

It was nice having that freedom. So much so I talked to my mother and asked if we could discuss getting a wheelchair for when the pain is bad…

That went less well.

// slight ableist talk //

She doesn't want me relying on it to get around. She doesn't want me to rely on wheels to get around because she doesn't want me being bed bound, to lose muscle or something like that.

I understand where she's coming from, but… it's so frustrating when that was the first time I felt good in weeks… and having that option might actually give me more time to do things I enjoy.

but she doesn't want me being “that disabled”

a cane is bad enough in her eyes

(and don't get me started on how my father would react if he knew I'd used a wheelchair)

and I don't know what to do...

help?

hey.. hey..

yeah, you <3

how are you doing?

you know, despite what some want you to believe, you're not a bad person if you don't interact with every post you see, or if you don't reply to DMs instantly.

you're not a bad person if you scroll past political posts because they're too much, or if you skip over discourse or graphic imagery

you're not doing anything wrong if you filter out certain tags because they're too much..

you're not a bad person for keeping yourself safe online

it may suck right now but i believe in you :) if you can, go have a drink of water, stretch, eat something... do something for yourself..

remember to take your meds, stay hydrated, warm, and if you need mobility aids, go forth and slay my friend! you look seriously cool with them

you've got this. promise. <3

Why do people think it's tragic when you use mobility aids? Can't you see that this is giving me freedom, that it's giving me my life back, that without it, I wouldn't be present? Let alone functional???

how can't you see this

it's giving me my life back.

Even when it's short term mobility aids like crutches for a broken bone, it's still giving freedom... it's allowing the bone to heal and for you to live as usual...

let alone people with chronic pain, paralysis, and long term injuries!

without them, I wouldn't be here!

how can't you see that is a good thing!?!? 😭😭

Phones are banned nation wide in schools in my country and it's been an absolute ASS. I have a phone exemption for medical reasons, I still get harassed by students and teachers when I use it.

Phone; tracking symptoms, photographing clots/blood amounts etc (yeah I know it's gross), tracking switches and talking with system members, along with music to control sensory input

Watch: similar things as phone + tracking POTS symptoms, heart rate, blood oxygen etc

We also use a TENS machine that has been threatened multiple times with confiscation, as it looks "like a music device"

Someone tried to cut the cables once, that wasn't great

Hey can we talk about the non-traditional ways digital devices can be disability aids? Like yes screen readers AACs digital health monitors all incredibly important, and I've heard far too many stories of how teachers and those in positions of authority over disabled people have confiscated, refused access to or damaged these devices, most famously that one person on reddit whose teacher cut the line for their insulin pump thinking it was earphone wires, but I also want to talk about the less traditional uses of digital devices like cellphones in aiding disability and how 'phone-free' areas like schools or exams or some crazy businesses and company offices, is terribly discriminatory.

Before fights break out in the comments people who use traditional digital devices and aids are allowed to still share their experiences, it is in fact encouraged, because while I do want to focus the discussion on how people use regular ol smartphones etc. to aid in managing their disabilities and why denying them access to said phones or shaming, harassing or assaulting them for using a phone in "inappropriate settings" to manage their disability, people who use things like AACs, smart watches and other monitors and digital insulin pumps etc. Are also affected by hard bans on the use of digital devices in certain settings because, as with the above example, insulin pumps can be mistaken for earphone cables and smart watches used for disabilities like pots can also be banned because they "make it easy to cheat on tests" etc.

So sound off in the notes. How do you use digital devices in a non-traditional way to help you manage your disability? And in what ways have being denied access to these devices impacted your health and well-being? The reason I want to have this discussion is because I want people reading the notes and reblogs to learn ways that they can use these devices to manage their own disabilities and conditions, work against internalized shame surrounding being dependent on devices and create conversation that will empower disabled and chronically ill people to advocate for the allowance of digital devices such as cellphones into spaces where they're explicitly banned because they are being used as disability aids. I mean allow devices because they're being used as aids not devices banned because they're used as aids.

Sending love to anyone whose disability has changed the way they look.. whether that be through surgery, medication, shifts in weight, using mobility aids, being limited in the ways you can exercise, having a colostomy bag added, glucose monitors, prosthetics, or anything else that's changed or added to your appearance

It's hard having your body change, especially if it's in a way you don't like at first — whether your disability has given you scars, stretch marks, spots, marks, or altered your appearance entirely: sending love, you've got this.

𝘾𝙊𝙈𝙈𝙄𝙎𝙎𝙄𝙊𝙉𝙎 𝘼𝙍𝙀 𝙊𝙋𝙀𝙉!!

Hi, I'm opening commissions to get mobility aids!!

Yeah, that's basically it. I need cash so I can get stuff to help me walk around and:

- Not be in pain all the time

- Not collapse at random

- Make it easier for me to get around in college

•─────✧─────•

WORKS AND PRICES:

•─────✧─────•

Small Works:

Jellyfish: $1

Horribly Drawn Memes: $1

Autism Doodles: $1 ($ 3 for color)

Character Ship Rings: $1 (per character, multiple characters welcomed )

Poorly Drawn Pokemon: $2 ($5 for color)

Edit/Aesthetic Pfps: $2 (per pfp)

Random Tattoo Designs: $5

Descriptions:

Jellyfish: You get a drawing of a jellyfish. That's it.

Horribly Drawn Memes: Send the meme, and I'll draw it so horribly it will be sad or funny

Autism Doodles: Trinket/Creature from your special interest/hyper fixation will bedrawn. Yes, I want to know about it (/srs)

Poorly Drawn Pokemon: I draw low quality Pokemon

Character Ship Rings: I draw matching rings based on the characters/ship(s) of your choice. Please keep it leģal. Poly is more than welcomed

Edit/Aesthetic Pfp: Give a character/base, I'll make a pfp

Random Tattoos: I send random a tattoo I designed. You don't have to credit me

•─────⚝─────•

Oc|Characters:

Head: $3

Upper Body: $6

Full Body: $9

Send a picture of your Oc/character, and I'l draw them.

•─────✦─────•

Clothing Designs:

Will be drawn on a blank model. Give a theme, and I will make a design

Dress: $5

Top: $2

Bottom: $3

No color (for speed in production)

•─────✦─────•

NSFW (18+!!!): $20- $50

For NSFW, both you and the character(s) need to be 18+

No: Inc3st, P3d0, R@p3, etc

Yes: Sexual, Kink, Gore (not sexual), etc

•─────✦─────•

•─────♥︎─────•

WORKS:

•─────♥︎─────•

My LinkTree with all my stuff:

Linktree

Venmo

Cashapp: $0tt3rPopp [zero, not a capital O]

My Discord to receive commissions + talk out prices:

♡°•𝐎𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫.𝐏𝐨𝐩°•♡#3058

[Copy it, it's a special font] [if not, message me here with your discord]

─────────────────────

PLEASE help me out with this.

Like, reblog, anything

do you think in the warframe universe they have wheelchairs you can summon like archwings or k-drives

Hot take but canes are not a limited resource. Most mobility aids aren’t but canes especially. Canes are $20 at a lot of stores like CVS, Walmart, etc. You aren’t taking that resource away from “real” disabled people (hint: you ARE a real disabled person) in fact buying more canes creates more demand and works to make more stores carry them for better prices. You aren’t faking being disabled or hurting disabled people, you’re working to make canes more accessible which is helping disabled people.

Get the cane.

there needs to be more characters with mobility aids!!