The Perks Of Being A Wheelchair-User

Since the age of ten I have used a power wheelchair, a mobility device seen by much of the walking world as rolling pity. A piece of equipment, often stigmatized by society, has allowed me to live my life how I choose. One of the most important lessons I have ever learned, is that my wheels are a positive part of my life, that they represent freedom.

Coming to this understanding however, was not always easy. Early on I fought the idea of needing a chair, in fact, I insisted on walking a year longer than could even be explained medically. Transitioning into a wheelchair seemed like giving up to me at first; in my mind it felt like losing a piece of myself. Looking back I realize that I was ignorant, prejudice even. I had to reject the internalized fear of disabled people that I had at the time.

One of the biggest factors that helped me get through this time was the acceptance of my friends. I remember when I first started using a manual wheelchair for longer distances at school, all of my classmates were so receptive and eager to help. After making them take a road course with plastic cones and passing out laminated "driver's licenses", I eventually allowed a few of my closest friends to push me around the halls. Often times, children are the most understanding people out there.

I truly started to feel more comfortable when I received my first power wheelchair. As I began to learn the controls of my brand-new blue Jazzy 1120, some of my insecurities started to fade. My world seemed so much brighter when I realized I could now get around fast, very fast. Being able to drive at breakneck speeds with the wind in my hair, made the end of my walking days feel like a relief. When walking became impossible I was not "confined" to a wheelchair, I was freed by it.

Another person who has truly supported on me on this wheeled journey, is my brother. Andrew, sharing my diagnosis, has always been there to relate to, he has also changed my perspective. I feel like in many ways, we have helped each other adapt to our lives. We have learned from one another how to accept and understand ourselves. Despite the popular myth, we do not, it fact, drag-race. 

For the first few years, I was a bit of a reckless driver to be honest though, crashing into more than a few walls. My father loves to tell to a particularly humorous story from when I was in middle school. One day he was picking me up from school for a doctor's appointment, as he was signing me out in the office he overheard the principle grumbling to the secretary how the janitor had put a hole in the wall with the floor cleaning machine. When my dad was hooking up my wheelchair in the van, he noticed a fine dusting of sheet-rock on one of my tires where I had accidentally hit a wall, not the janitor (oops).

Reckless driving aside, my wheelchair has given me so many opportunities: I raced around the playground in elementary school, I rolled myself to middle school, I sped through the halls in high-school and now I zip through the Make-A-Wish offices. I have visited new cities, gone to movies, malls, bars and concerts. The very fact that I can move myself around each day, makes me so grateful for this wonderful tool. I have been able to live my life because of those six wheels under me.

Despite all the great times I distanced my chair from my identity for many years, I did not want it to define me in any way. At first I saw my impairments as a solely negative aspect of my life, my wheelchair was an obstacle to be overlooked. These days though, my thoughts have shifted somewhat and I now realize that I do not want the fact that I use a wheelchair to be ignored, but rather have it embraced as part of my unique identity. It may be true that my chair may not define all of who am but it is a major part my life that I am not ashamed of.

I have learned so much over these past thirteen years and I continue to learn every single day. I have been taught to accept myself, to accept others and to speak out against the oppression of disabled people everywhere—my eyes have been opened. That is why I am so passionate about the accessibility of our society and the perception of all wheelchair users in our culture. I hope that with my words and with my life I have changed a few minds, enlightened a few people.