Wheelchair - Tumblr Posts
i hope this reaches the right audience
Wait what's a buildings fire evacuation plan if you aren't supposed to use the elevator to get down
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?
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!?!? 😭😭
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
feeling particularly disabled today
the spoon drawer is empty
the forks are gone too
i have sporks.. kinda bad at being a fork, and kinda bad at being a spoon, but good for impaling ableism
disabled system asks: 1-4, 10!
1. Is your disability invisible, visible or both?
Both: invisible in the way that there appears to be nothing outwardly wrong with us (as doctors kindly keep reminding me) but visible in the way that we use mobility aids almost all the time. We wear a sunflower lanyard in public, and use a mixture of a cane, crutches and a wheelchair depending on the day.
I wish to add, as someone who has looked able bodied, and disabled in various fonts.. people don’t treat disabled people better if they’re in a wheelchair or visibly ill, and some are arguably worse to young wheelchair users.
2. Do you use mobility aids? If so, what for?
We do! As said above. We have a mixture of issues (ranging from endometriosis to POTS to hEDS to fibromyalgia) that create.. well, a mixture of issues XD. We’ll use the wheelchair on bad pain and fatigue days and carry the crutches.. or, on better days, just use the crutches to take some pressure off our knees, and aid as balance. As cool as our cane looks (photos later), we stopped using it as it was giving us pretty severe hip pain on one side from the way we had to lean to get support from it (still my fav visually though).
3. Is there a specific alter/part/headmate who fronts to deal with pain? How do they manage it?
Yes, that would be me. I split when we were very young to deal with injury, particularly blood. As our chronic pain increased, so did the amount of time I spent fronting, until I slowly became our most common fronter. Sucks though, cuz that was never meant to be my job, I was supposed to stay sitting on the sidelines only appearing to deal with first aid and other protector things. Instead, I’m here, and somehow I make it everyone else’s problem.
My appearance as most common fronter got us outed as a system because I’m so drastically different from the common fronters of the time. {its a little more complicated than that but you get the idea}
I manage it with a combo of pain killers (including medicinal CBD, THC, and flower, pregabalin, panadol, ibuprofen, codeine and morphine amongst other things… happy to answer questions about any of them if you’re curious), dissociation, weaponised tears and sheer fucking willpower… I wish I could say sheer fucking will was still working, but it is not very well anymore. There’s only so much one can deal with, and our pain has been getting steadily worse for the past few years with very little support (most of our illnesses have no cure, only management). We’ve reached the point where our doctors and specialists aren’t sure what to do with us and are wondering if there’s something they have missed…but uh, our tests, bloods and results are coming back clean. Looking into that at the moment lol.
4. Do you experience pain variety based on who’s fronting?
Oh hell, do we ever. Certain members of the system *cough* Kyle *cough* have dreadful pain tolerances - I always know when one of them is cocon because our pain skyrockets into impossible levels, even if I’m trying to keep it under control. Certain other members of our sys have average pain tolerances, some age regress to cope, others just curl up in a ball and sob.. depends on the alter - and the cyclical nature of parts of our pain make it difficult to manage, and to recognise how each alter is affected. Plus, it’s hard to compare pain tolerances when each of us have no other/barely any frame of reference.
10. Do you decorate your aids?
YES. We use a combination of spray paint, cheap nail polish, stickers and in the case of the wheelchair, holders designed for prams and bikes (water bottle holder, clips, bells, reflective stripes etc).. aids start out super boring and for us, decorating them and making them prettier is the only way to make them tolerable. And political - if the government is going to make our life into a political ‘issue’, we will turn right back around and make them aware of our existence ;)
the pic doesn’t grasp it very well, but we painted the chair’s spokes rainbow (and they look super cool when we’re driving it)
Thanks to @disabled-systems for the game <33
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!
guess who just passed out at a ren fair and had to go in a wheelchair ✌️ meeee
I’m so thankful for everyone that helped me and please if you have any problems with food or exercise tell someone
Adaptive / Para sports that aren't wheelchair basketball!
Wheelchair rugby: very physical, wheelchairs look like battel bots, very rough and very cool I don't know much about the rules of regular rugby either. Tried it once was not for me but very epic to watch
Adaptive curling: played with a stick that attaches to the curling rock so you can play from a seated or standing position, good for those who can't bend over or who require mobility aids
Wheelchair tenis: played just like normal tennis in a sports wheelchair rackets have shorter handles to be easier to push while holding, difference to the rules being that the ball can bounce twice
Adaptive archery: so many different adaptions from shooting in a wheelchair, using prosthetics, mouth release triggers for those without use or with lim differences in arms
Adaptive skiing/snowboarding: good for those with lower lim differences and mobility issues. Adaptions include using one leg with outriggers to balance and stear (both ski and snowboard) sit ski, where your entire lower body is basically in a ski boot, can be used for blind people as well or those with upper body limitations with an assistant controlling the sit ski. Independent sit ski use outriggers for stearing (think like ski poles with little skis on them)
Adaptive rowing: good for all ability levels as well as blind and visually impaired. So many different adaptions for loading into boats, seating supports, adaptive paddles and auditory cues
Adaptive swiming: this has so many different options, swimming is amazing for you it let's you use you body in different ways then weight bearing and there are a lot of options, different flotation devices that can attach to legs or arms, having someone move your lims for you, having a tap signal when you get close to the edge of the pool, visual cues for time, pool lifts just so many different options for everyone
Biking: standing bikes, two seated bikes so people with vision problems can have someone stearing, electric bikes, electric assist with pedaling, strap in pedals, anti tips, tricycles, hand cycles, different levels of seating support, walking bikes, you can ride behind someone in a bike, lots of university's will have indoor bike tracks so that you can ride on flat low resistance ground
Para hockey: this is my sport, I play competitively so I know a lot more about it. Para hockey (also know as sledge hockey) is played sitting down in something called a sledge. You have two sticks with spikes on the ends in order to propel yourself on the ice. There are a bunch of modifications possible for sleds with high back support with straps for those without core control, for those with upper body limitations there are pushers who attach a push handle to the back of your sled in order to move you around the ice, if you have no grip strength you can tape or otherwise secure you sticks to your arms/prosthetic. Rules for para hockey are the same as for stand up hockey with the exceptions being, periodes are 15 minutes and there is an additional type of penalty called Teeing for purposful front of sled contact to another persons sled without angling. Rules wise in grassroots (basic introductory sledge) anyone can play no matter their ability so abled family and friends can join you. Above the intermediate competitive level however, all players must have an impairment that affects their lower body in a way that means they do not have the capacity to play stand up hockey even at a lower level.
Blind hockey: Blind hockey is played pretty much the same as regular hockey, all players have a severe visual impairment/blindness and it is played with a large hollow puck that jingles so players know where it is
Anyone feel free to add more! There are so many different ways to have fun and be active as a disabled person the first step is just learning that they exist!
The funniest thing about possibly cosplaying Gale in a wheelchair is both the fact that I can be like
Ah, Arcane Hunger TM, it's so bad I need to be pushed around!
But also, if I need help or something similar, I can actually quote him.
"A hand? Anyone?"
And that may have convinced me to put more effort into actually cosplaying instead of doing a half-assed attempt at a genderbend with supplies I have on hand.
(I also convinced my friend who will be pushing me around to dress up Astarion)
I may or may not be experiencing giggles
Hey! Bit of an odd post but i wanted to ask for people's opinions on this electric wheelchair design/concept!
I know its not very realistic (like a real world design?) but i tried to go for something more stylized/cartoony and comfortable looking- but im unsure if i strayed too far into unrealism. The character is also still in very early developement- so i cant tell much about them yet. (apologies)
Any/all critique would be extremely welcome and very appreciated!! 😀🌷💖💕💖💕
Mobility assistance
Reblogging this so I remember it
Just for once I’d like to tell the gate agents and flight attendants that my folding wheelchair is going into the onboard closet and not have them tell me there’s “no room”. Bitch that’s a wheelchair closet, not a “your bags” closet. Move your damn bags where they belong.
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.
Lucario in a Wheelchair (23/02/2023). Pencil drawing on paper.
Unfriendly reminder that the disabled toilet is for disabled people, people that need extra room or people with kids with them. It is NOT somewhere for you to hide at work for 45 minutes while someone like me is about to piss in their wheelchair. I don't care if you wanna hide at work, just do it in one of the 3-7 other stalls.