Blog > Thoughts > Sean's Thoughts > Bang for the buck, or cost/benefit analysis.
Bang for the buck, or cost/benefit analysis.
Written by Sean on Friday, September 21, 2007
I was coresponding with a woman with a disability the other week, and she was asking about my use of the chair. She wanted to know how much I used the chair, and why I didn’t use it 100% of the time, all the time, at home and in public. After all, I say I don’t really have a choice in whether I use the wheelchair or not, don’t I? So how can I elect not to use it in some situations? My correspondent further asked if I realised that this "cheating" could antagonise many people with disability.
I recognise that on the surface, it may appear rather arrogant to sometimes use a wheelchair and sometimes not, when one claims they don’t have a choice about how they feel about using a wheelchair.
And it dawned on me. What it comes down to has been, for me, a somewhat unconscious cost/benefit analysis. Not financial cost, but cost in terms of emotional and physical energy. Sure, I *can* (and have) use(d) the wheelchair for extended periods without getting up to stand or walk. But let’s face it, it takes a lot more physical energy to do so than to stand up and walk to do chores. So the question is, which one has greater impact: the emotional toll of walking at home, or the physical energy spent doing chores while wheeling?
And most of the time, the answer is, for me, that using the chair at home, for a multitudes of reasons, is not the best option.
I am not very different than someone who would have CP, and who can walk unsteadily for short distances, but prefers to use a wheelchair for distances. The benefit of using a wheelchair is greater in some situations, whereas standing up and walking, as difficult as it is, may be better for them in other situations.
That said, I would much prefer not to actually have a choice in the matter. The "bang for the buck" would be greater if I was paralysed and could not switch back and forth. If that were to happen, the above equation would be changed, and the emotional advantage of being paralysed would outweight the physical toll of having no choice but to use a wheelchair (and I realise some of you will be tempted to tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about, that it’s bloody hard work to be paralysed, etc. But I know that bit, as well as anyone possibly could that isn’t actually paralysed).
[tags]Wheelchair, Paralysed, Energy, Emotional, Physical, Disability, Cheating[/tags]This entry appears in Sean's Thoughts, Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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4 Comments
I am surprised you would be questioning your needs in such a way. I remember you responded to one of my previous comments about accepting the negative aspects of being a paraplegic as a small cost for the benefit. I assume in your mind this is a done deal.
3 On 22 September, 2007, Sean said:
Ronald, I’m not questioning at all, and in my mind, it’s a done deal, yet, as long as my body actually *can* move, I’ll likely keep doing what I’m doing. Just wish it couldn’t, you know?
I find myself having similar experiences. I find myself questioning whether my use of my arms is somehow ‘cheating’, but it comes down, as you say, to weighing emotional cost/benefit against physical cost/benefit. I’ve rationalised it to myself by pointing out that since they are there, and I have to endure the discomfort caused by having them, at least I should reap the benefits of their presence occasionally – until the discomfort caused by using them becomes too overwhelming, at which time I go back to ignoring their presence as much as possible. Of course, if they were to be removed as I feel that they should be, this conflict would cease to exist, and the benefit of a body more suited to my self-image would far outweigh the inconvenience of limited physical functionality.
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1 On 22 September, 2007, Jen said:
I work in the same building with a young woman who uses a scooter. I have seen her use the scooter to go longer distances, such as across the parking lot to another building. I have also come across her when she’s using a walker, but most of the time when I see her, she is (unsteadily) on her feet, holding on to someone or two someones. There’s usually a car waiting about 25 feet away. I figure this is the drill when her group goes to work.
I think she has CP or MS, but whatever it is, she gets to choose her means of mobility.