The first thought I had when I was retrieving the wheelchair, for my turn, was that it was heavy and extremely awkward to carry. The pedals were carried separate and it didn’t collapse very well. It took a lot of work to get it into the back seat of my car. My friend pulling from one side of the car and I shoving it in from the other side.
I had played around in a wheelchair before. My grandma uses one and they always have a stock pile at churches. But, in those cases I hadn’t tried to steer outside and actually try to get somewhere. The other added challenge is I only had time to use this wheelchair in the dark. I didn’t think about how vulnerable I would feel rolling down streets in the dark. I had my backpack in my lap and was using all …show more content…
It’s a nice neighborhood and everything is in good condition. However, I never realized you can feel even the slightest imperfections in the sidewalk. Most of the sidewalks were slightly sloped to one side and hard to keep straight on. My right arm is stronger and I kept veering towards that side of the sidewalk. Thankfully there weren’t any giant chunks of concrete missing or else it would have been very easy to get stuck. However, there were occasional sticks and tree matter on the pathway that I would have to bend over and move out of the way.
I attempted to wheel up and down this hill. On the way down it felt like a rollercoaster. It was fun, but slightly nerve-racking without having control. I probably should have tried to use more control, but no one was watching so I figured I’d just let go of the wheels. I felt like I could flip over in a second if one of the wheels hit a crack wrong or something. Trying to get back up the hill was impossible. The slope was way more than a regulated 1:12 sloped ramp. I got five feet before giving up and rolling back …show more content…
However, it seems unlikely they would have the resources to fix all the chunks missing from sidewalks. There’s also not much that can be done about the hills. They are there to stay and it’s not feasible to flatten them. As for my home, I would have to move to an accessible house if I ever needed to use a wheelchair for an extended amount of time. Such a small percentage of the population uses wheelchairs that it isn’t cost effective to have every place of living accessible. There isn’t room, without completely destroying my house, to have a ramp to go up and entire floor or to put in an elevator. I would have to live in an apartment complex or a dorm that has to have access by ADA code. Finding a wheelchair accessible home would be extremely difficult or expensive to modify
I had played around in a wheelchair before. My grandma uses one and they always have a stock pile at churches. But, in those cases I hadn’t tried to steer outside and actually try to get somewhere. The other added challenge is I only had time to use this wheelchair in the dark. I didn’t think about how vulnerable I would feel rolling down streets in the dark. I had my backpack in my lap and was using all …show more content…
It’s a nice neighborhood and everything is in good condition. However, I never realized you can feel even the slightest imperfections in the sidewalk. Most of the sidewalks were slightly sloped to one side and hard to keep straight on. My right arm is stronger and I kept veering towards that side of the sidewalk. Thankfully there weren’t any giant chunks of concrete missing or else it would have been very easy to get stuck. However, there were occasional sticks and tree matter on the pathway that I would have to bend over and move out of the way.
I attempted to wheel up and down this hill. On the way down it felt like a rollercoaster. It was fun, but slightly nerve-racking without having control. I probably should have tried to use more control, but no one was watching so I figured I’d just let go of the wheels. I felt like I could flip over in a second if one of the wheels hit a crack wrong or something. Trying to get back up the hill was impossible. The slope was way more than a regulated 1:12 sloped ramp. I got five feet before giving up and rolling back …show more content…
However, it seems unlikely they would have the resources to fix all the chunks missing from sidewalks. There’s also not much that can be done about the hills. They are there to stay and it’s not feasible to flatten them. As for my home, I would have to move to an accessible house if I ever needed to use a wheelchair for an extended amount of time. Such a small percentage of the population uses wheelchairs that it isn’t cost effective to have every place of living accessible. There isn’t room, without completely destroying my house, to have a ramp to go up and entire floor or to put in an elevator. I would have to live in an apartment complex or a dorm that has to have access by ADA code. Finding a wheelchair accessible home would be extremely difficult or expensive to modify