Friday, March 20, 2015
Wheelchair
April - When I was in the wheelchair it was interesting to see other people's reactions. Some were quick to help and others just sat a watched me struggle. Many people were sympathetic, telling me that they had to do the same thing for their class a previous semester. It was extremely hard to navigate the wheelchair outside on the uneven ground. I would need to increase my upper body strength if I were in a wheelchair all the time. While there are elevators and wheelchair access in most of the buildings on campus, it is still hard to navigate the wheelchairs around corners or in small hallways. It takes a lot longer to get from place to place than just being able to walk.
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Kylie - The wheelchair experience was interesting. Linzie and I did it on the same day so we basically did everything together. It was SO HARD to get down to the Clarke building all the way from the Hinckley. You don't realize how steep that hill is until you're rolling down it trying to slow down! I remember my hands burning because I was trying to slow down so that I didn't go into the grass or fall out somehow! Linzie mentioned we needed gloves. That burning on my hands made me realize why some people in wheelchairs do where those leather looking gloves. It was really hard to get into the downstairs bathroom of the Hinckley. After Linzie tried hoisting herself over the lip in the door way we realized that was not working and tried just rolling over it using the wheels themselves and our own arm strength. This was much more effective, but it was still hard to maneuver while in the bathroom. The edge of the wall that you have to wheel around had several scrape marks on it probably from other wheelchairs trying to get around that tight area. It was also really difficult to get through the door just opening it by ourselves. I really struggled with that. It was also hard getting in and out of the elevator mostly because it was awkward and we weren't fast enough so the door started closing on us! We also were not quick enough getting through the automatic doors into buildings because they started closing on us too! I had to print some things off before our class, and it was really hard to reach the keyboard to type in my log-in and swipe my card. It also took me a whole lot longer that it normally would. I thought that having my book bag hanging on the back of my wheelchair would be awesome because I wouldn't have to carry it, but it was actually more of a hassle to access it to get things out of it. Sitting down all the time is very limiting. Some people did ask if we needed help. A lady at the end of the hill Linzie lost control on looked very concerned about her as she rolled down through the grass and into the rain gutter. It was really hilarious at the time, but I can see how that would be hard for someone who was actually handicap. But I also thought of how much better people who are really handicap and use wheelchairs would be at maneuvering them than we are never really having done it before. But some people who use wheelchairs also had to learn at one point. Two girls asked if we needed help going down the hill from the Kimball to the Smith. This was such a blessing because that would have been a lot harder as it seemed the hill was more steep and there were bumps we would have had to go over. I also think it's embarrassing to ask the front desk of somewhere for help. If I had seen a person in a wheelchair who was really handicap I think I would have felt bad being in a wheelchair pretending.
ReplyDeleteI could not believe how difficult being in a wheel chair actually could be. As Kylie mentioned there were definitely some hard times! The first difficult part was when we were exiting the elevator. I was going out of the elevator backwards and I didn't realize it was closing on me because I wasn't going out fast enough. Thankfully someone came to open it back up with her hand and I tried to go out as quick as I could. Then when we went to the bathroom it felt impossible to get over the lip on the floor. It took us such a long time to finally get into the bathroom. Then, we had to conquer the hill down the Clarke! It was so scary! I crashed multiple times because I could not slow down without killing my hands. About halfway down to the Clarke, two girls came up and asked if we wanted help because they were going to the Smith. We gladly accepted and they were so kind! I was very grateful for them because it would have been difficult going all the way down. When we got to the Clarke, we had to go up the small ramp/hill. I literally have no arm strength. It was so difficult for me to get up there. I was grateful to finally make it to my class and to just be able to sit down for a while. Overall, I was able to learn a lot about people who have to be in wheel chairs. It made me see everything in a different way.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest thing that stuck out to me with this experience was just how tiring it was on my arms! I was only going for a few minutes before my arms were totally dead. As was mentioned before, if someone had been in a wheelchair their whole life they probably wouldn't have too hard a time, but they still have to have that arm strength to get around. I also found that many places that were supposed to be wheelchair accessible were very tight and hard to maneuver in. It made me wonder why more hasn't been done to make places accessible, and why those who are confined to wheelchairs are okay with such difficult spaces. It seemed to me like even where considerations have been made they weren't made very well. Like Kylie mentioned, a lot of stuff is hard to see, reach, or is just impossible to use (like a drinking fountain!!). The hills are difficult (at best) to navigate, and overall campus just does not seem really wheelchair friendly.
ReplyDeleteI didn't have anyone offer to help, but I don't think I was quite as in the open as others. I stuck by the Hinkley building and didn't go too far because my arms were already burning by the time I got outside. I also felt weird being in a wheelchair not handicap, so I am glad no one offered to help because I would have felt guilty. Overall, I feel like more needs to be done to make things handicap accessible, just all around.