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Blog > Thoughts > Sean's Thoughts > Embarassment At The Store

Embarassment At The Store

Written by Sean on Wednesday, March 17, 2010

I had some "interesting" encounters when I went to the homeware store a few days ago. I interacted with a woman, a perfect stranger, but we both had fun. And I bumped into two guys I kinda know, which was not any fun for me.

This woman and I kept crossing path. I’d turn the corner at the end of an aisle, and she’d be there. She’d turn around and I’d be there. Kinda funny, really. Her trolley got in the way of my wheelchair. Or my chair got in the way of her trolley. At one time, she said "I swear, I’m not stalking you". I responded that "perhaps I’m stalking YOU". As I left, I noticed that she was sitting in one of the store’s wheelchairs. They were in fact the only seats in front of the store. After I put my shopping in the trunk of the car, I went up to her, and said "if you’re going to sit in one of these, you have to do one of those", as I popped a wheelie. She burst out laughing. I waved and went to the car and left.

That was the fun part of the "shopping experience". I came across one psychiatrist who threatened to out me. I’d gone to see him to get help, and in the process he told me that he had an ethical issue, he thought it his duty to out me to a non-profit organisation I was involved in. Eventually managed to get him to back off. Anyway, today, he saw me and said "oh, you’re still using *that* thing, then?". I did not even acknowledge his statement by saying anything. I just kept going. What I find interesting is that I know people who were injured in car accidents, paraplegic, who had their family and friends telling that very same statement after a year or three post-injury.

Anyway, moments later, I came across the social worker I was seeing towards the end of last year. It had taken a long time to get someone to actually see me at that clinic. But I had a bad vibe all along, and in the end, stopped going. This guy was with a woman I assumed to be his wife – they were walking arm in arm. He said to me "oh! hi, I hope you’re ok since you stopped coming to see me". HUGE breach of privacy there.

Not that I can do much about it. I can’t complain to the psychiatrist who happens to be the social worker’s boss, because, well, it wouldn’t go anywhere. And I can’t complain about the psychiatrist because it is risking opening a huge can of worms.

Oh well, just another day in the life of a transabled guy.

Have you had any similar experiences? If so, how did you handle them?

Tags: BIID, Psychiatrist, Social Worker, Wheelchair

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