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Blog > Stories > Personal Histories > Other's Stories > New Stomping Ground, New Ways Of Getting About

New Stomping Ground, New Ways Of Getting About

Written by Peter on Monday, June 1, 2009

It’s very hard to describe how I feel in my new country. It’s exciting and worrying finding and applying for jobs. Half the time it’s boring in this in-between time. The installation has finished and work hasn’t yet started so it’s a bit like being on a long holiday with limited finances. But there is plenty of time for thinking about the future and, of course, BIID raises its ugly head on many occasions – like every five minutes at the moment.

I have a choice. I can take the disabled road or, not withstanding a dystonic arm, I can take the able-bodied road. Well (yes, I heard you!) there is no choice. I have BIID. If I am going to be whole in spirit, I must become disabled.

So by way of confirming my decision, and to relieve my nagging BIID, I took myself off on a pretending trip. I have never really enjoyed pretending but I have always found it helps relieve the pain of BIID. But this time was different. It was very different. I had loads of time to plan the trip, I had loads of time on the trip and, above all, I had absolutely no worries about bumping into someone I knew.

I chose a town that had more than 100k inhabitants to be sure of having a good choice of shops and tourist attractions to visit. The town was 185 Km (about 100 miles) from where I live but that didn’t matter as there would be more fun / experience dealing with public transport.

I’d already had one little pretending trip but it was plagued with technical problems. Rocking and rolling on the Atlantic Ocean for two weeks had worked screws loose on the braces, boots had lost their heel raisers etc. The motto is "Always do a routine check before you take off"! I didn’t. The loose screw on the knee joint got looser; it didn’t fall out, as it got jammed against the knee-lock ring. I boarded a bus – couldn’t bend the leg – bus started off – I fell onto the seat. Has anyone ever fallen hard on a seat with a locked KAFO knee joint? I coincidentally fell onto a seat reserved for the elderly and the disabled. They’re the seats where one rides sideways and sits facing people opposite. The lady sitting opposite me was in the "elderly" category and I believe had already lost her teeth so no real harm done.

So this time, I did a full service on the gear and checked everything. The screws were tightened and the boots had the raisers the right way round this time. I wore a KAFO on the left and a matching AFO on the right. I took elbow crutches and pretended a bilateral KAFO swinging both legs through together. This is a lot faster but is hell on the hands.

I drove half the way, changed in a small town train station car park and took the train the rest of the way. Everything went like clockwork. Boarding the train was an experience. I’d forgotten they don’t have platforms in North America.

Unfortunately it was pouring rain when I arrived at my destination so my tourist visit around the place was out of the question. But the town did have a mall and I had a list of things to buy so off I went to the mall by bus. This was a nice bus driver who did not drive off before I was seated and stopped well before the bus stop so as to drop me off right in front of the main entrance.

I lumbered in and made a mental note of the numbers of the stores I wanted to visit. But I forgot to look for one – the record store. Then I noticed the customer service counter so I went over to ask the lady. While she was talking, my gaze went to a line of parked wheelchairs. She noticed me looking at them and said "Will you be wheeling yourself today, sir?" I thought she’d mistaken me for someone else but everyone here tends to talk to you as if they’ve known you all their life. Nice. So I found myself replying "Yes". In no time she’d wheeled my new means of locomotion around to me and kindly offered to look after my sticks.

Now, I had absolutely no interest in wheelchairs. I hated them as much as I hate my braces. Braces are just something I need to wear. But I had never even tried a wheelchair but I had thought it was something I should do one day. Well, today turned out to be the day. I sat down and started off. I was terrified of having a crash. Was I insured? Were the owners of the mall insured for this? Will I meet the lady with no teeth again? Will I kill her this time with my new "death-on-wheels" machine? – No, to all.

It went very, very well. I got the hang of things almost immediately. I only once lightly touched a counter with my left boot. I of course didn’t feel a thing – they’re enormously heavy kip leather boots with triple leather soles. I skidded a couple of times – the tyres where the hard solid, non-inflatable type that didn’t seem as home on a polished stone floor. I did 5-point turns in tight corners and got used to negotiating the various display stands in shops. By the way, if anyone from Sears department stores is reading this, please note your clothes rails are too close together – I came out wearing half your display. But I compliment you on your washroom cubicles – plenty of room – but could you please lower the soap dispenser?

So there you are. I was proved wrong. I do need a wheelchair sometimes. Had I done the tour of that mall entirely on my elbow crutches I would have expired long before I’d finished my shopping. Not only that but I actually enjoyed the sensation of wheeling. In short, it was a lovely trip.

Giving back the chair was as bad a feeling as removing my braces. Of course I was still wearing my braces and the CS lady returned my sticks and I lumbered off – I still had the bus, the train and a short walk to the car. It was a wonderful day out, being me.

I now need advice on buying or hiring a chair. There seem to be so many options and dimensions.

Peter

Tags: BIID, Braces, Wheelchair

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