Fun, fun, fun

There is nothing more fun than going to another doctor. I have seen five different doctors this year alone. Add surgery and three days in the hospital and you have a laugh riot! Every trip to one of these doctors is a production because I am using a power wheelchair. This means I have to ride the fold-out ramp into our custumized van and get my chair "locked in". Reverse the process when I get to the hospital where all my different specialty clinics are.

Sometimes I have an appointment at two different clinics in the same day, on opposite sides of the immense campus housing the hospital and clinics. It is probably close to a half mile from end to end, involving very long corriders with twists and turns and multiple elevator rides in order to get from building to building (attached to each other). I can zoom from place to place because my power chair has amazing speed. I do have to remember to wait for my husband when I get to one of the "forks in the road" because he will get lost no matter how many times we have done this.

At least when I am at the hospital people are considerate of someone in a wheelchair. They move aside when I need to get through a crowd and make room for me on the elevator. This cannot be said of the general public. Somehow, even though I am in a big power chair, I am invisible. People don't notice that I am trying to get through a crowd. Sometimes they may glance at me then return to talking with each other without moving an inch. My hubby tries to get their attention. When I am finally able to move forward most people don't move enough to let me through without my running over their feet. I am so grateful for those few people who try to help me. They are rare and precious. The rest of "them" are RUDE and INCONSIDERATE to say the least.

Life in a wheelchair is no picnic. There are far too many places I can't go to because they don't have a ramp and/or a wheelchair accessible bathrooms. Not all bathrooms labeled as handicapped can accomodate a wheelchair. Then there is the issue of doors, especially those in bathrooms. How do I push or pull a door open by myself when it is heavy and closes automatically? Unless someone else is coming in or out I struggle with this. It would be funny except it is so difficult.

Ironically my power chair allows me more freedom to go more places. Without my chair I couldn't go out to a restaurant or go shopping for example. Inside my home I can easily go from room to room, hopefully withour nicking the walls or doorways. I can maintain some independence this way.

Being able to maintain some independence is VERY important to me. I have always taken care of myself. ALS steals so much that anything that makes me feel even a little like my former self is precious. I have a hard time relinquishing tasks to someone else.