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He’s Unlikely To Have BIID
Written by Sean on Saturday, June 20, 2009
I noticed a man using a wheelchair on the sidewalk on the way from the grocery store this afternoon. I noticed him because of the state of his wheelchair, and I thought "this guy is not transabled". How did I know? It’s not like we have a big sign hanging over our heads, right?
This guy had a look about him, a look of "falling apart". Perhaps not so much himself as his wheelchair. It was a decent enough wheelchair. Rigid frame, even. But it looked unmaintained. From the back I could see the cover of his cushion coming through between the seat sling and the backrest. It looked to be just an old pillow. Several spokes looked to be missing from one wheel. That chair was in a serious state of disrepair.
I’ve seen that often. Many wheelchair users either can’t be bothered to maintain their chairs, or can’t actually afford to. They go about their lives in wheelchairs that are decrepit, if not falling apart.
And most transabled folks that own and use a wheelchair tend to maintain the thing. We get the best chairs we can afford, and take care of the machine. I’d venture to say we take a lot more care of the equipment than most people. I think we also tend to know more about our wheelchairs than even a lot of wheelchair vendors do.
This does tend to anger some people with physical disabilities, who see it as thoroughly unfair we would have better wheelchairs than they do. And I can see their point. They are often stuck with no choice of chair and unable to get a new one when they need one because of insurance. It is not cheap to be disabled, especially when you live in the States.
In any case, there you are. I saw a guy, and made an assumption based on a complete first impression of seeing him for all of two seconds. But you know, I’d bet I wasn’t wrong.
Tags: BIID, Disability, Transabled, Wheelchair
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15 Comments
The reason many people in wheelchairs do not maintain upkeeping is due to the type of abilities and the ability to reach the spots on our hands and knees… not due to depression or not caring. It takes a lot out of us to take care of ourselves each day.
3 On 20 June, 2009, Sean said:
@wheelman, I think that Amanda’s comment is right on point there. We have to be careful not to generalise, and we also have to be careful not to let our prejudices taint our thinking.
In my experience, I have seen a whole range of people and chairs - just like you’d expect in any population. How many cars are maintained perfectly vs. being in a state of disepair?
I do think your comments about transabled people putting special care into their equipment are right on though Sean.
And how do you know this guy didn’t have BIID and that was the best chair he could afford?
Most genuine disabled people who have been ‘given’ a wheelchair by health professionals will also give a proper cushion with a proper cover.
Just because the chair was in a state of disrepair - it could mean that was all he could afford because he needed to pay for it himself and that was all he could get. Perhaps it was his first trip out in it and he’d just been so excited to go that he hadn’t done the maintenance and fixing first.
Perhaps I’m wrong and you’re right. You probably are right, I’m just pointing out that people with BIID are constrained by budget too, even if we do try and save up as best we can. Many start with an old hospital clunker before even getting a rigid chair.
6 On 20 June, 2009, Sean said:
@Beth, of course transabled folks are constrained by budget. The point was more about the *state* of the chair than the quality of it. Even clunkers can be maintained :)
Good points all around. I have a post coming up about hospital chairs, clunkers and modern equipment. It can take people (me) yeays and years and years to finally get something decent put together - as someone ithe BIID & as a PWD (mild). There is no free lunch.
We are forgetting things like motivation, time, dexterity, eyesight, more pressing priorities, pride, self esteem, helping hands and a hundred other factors all as significant as money.
The longer I live the more I realise that on the whole one shouldn’t generalise about people, whether they be slovens or perfectionists.
Even better, don’t generalise about anything or anyone, ever.
If one yearns for a thing night and day for years and years, chances are that she or he will take very good care of it. Consider the Corvette.
10 On 21 June, 2009, Sophie said:
I’m generally a slob, I’ve learned to keep my mess to my bedroom but ultimately I’m a messy person. I struggle to find things if my room is clean.
I’m also a perfectionist, I always made sure my wheelchair was clean and maintained.
@Bracey. I would consider the Corvette, but I have no idea what it looks like! I might consider the Porsche 911 though.
The 911 is also a great example (much better than the 924). You never see those dream cars in disrepair or in junkyards, & if they do wind up in heaps, there are always dreamers ready to pull them out & fix them up. I’m sure I love my braces as much or more than most classic car owners love their vehicles. I think I’ll go polish them right now.
I don’t know the names of the bones in my feet or how the muscles and tendons connect to them. I don’t know any exercises to keep everything moving in flow. They just get me where I need to go.
Besides the model (TiLite), my chair is pretty slobbish. But then again, I’m the type of person who puts more value on function than aesthetics.
Gordo, I’m similar. My chair is a bromakin street classic with lots of chips in the paintwork, in need of new front castors and rear tires but because all the tires (front and back) and solid rubber and without punctures I just can’t afford to spend the required money.
If I had more spare money then I’d get new castors and tires. I’d love to also get a better cushion and spinergy wheels but those are both a long time off for me.
I’m not quite at the level of using a pillow for a cushion but if that was all I had then I’d use it, just to be able to go out in the chair.
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1 On 20 June, 2009, Wheelman1912 said:
From my contact that i have had with PWDs, my findings have been that most don’t really understand or know that their wheelchairs need maintance. How strings and hairs in the casters can effect their ease of getting around or even cause more damage to their chair if not addressed. Also, usually they don’t really know how to maintain their chairs because they have never been shown let alone been told it was necessary.
Also, a lot of PWDs are so disgusted with their lives because of depression and unwillingness/inability to accept their lives and to become independent that they treat their chairs and other mobility aids as a prison or some other thing that does not deserve care or acceptance from them. Instead it should just be thrown around and beaten up in frustration.
Just my two cents.