I got a taste of what it must be like

[lvs_eeyore]

Last week we were in Disney and somehow I messed up my hip. Could have come from running and turning fast the day before during the storms at Epcot. Well we did the EE at MK and my hip and back were hurting when we started off. I should have known then to get an EVC but thought I could walk it out. An hour into walking around things went downhill FAST. I got to the point where I could barely walk and my foot was dragging so badly I was tripping. We s l o w l y made our way back up to the front of Disney to rent an EVC so that dh could still use the stoller for the boys. Well when we got up there we were told there were no EVC's and our only option was a small wheelchair. That was impossible for us as my youngest is only 3 and we had to have a stoller or some way for him to ride with me. I was SO upset. Dh suggested leaving the park but I couldnt ruin the boys day sooooooo I kept trying to walk. We got half way to the haunted mansion when I just couldnt do it anymore. Dh suggested I sit in the double stroller and hold my son. Im not a large woman at all so I did that. We got to HM and I was told off in NO UNCERTAIN terms by the CM there. His exact comment was Those were not designed for YOUR weight maam..if YOU have a problem go rent a wheelchair!!! I was livid and embarrassed. We made our way again back to the front of Disney and turned him into guest services who MAGICALLY found us a LARGE wheelchair so that I and my son could fit into it and off through the park we went.

I was SHOCKED at how much trouble people in wheelchairs have. I was walked into, cut in front of to the point where we hit a couple of people etc it was unavoidable. It gave me a whole new insight. That insight was broadened later that evening and the next day when I had an EVC to get around. Talk about being walked into!!! Geesh. One lady basically broadsided me walking out of MK and lost her shoe getting it stuck up under the EVC. She gave ME a dirty look! Its almost as if everyone has blinders on and pays no attention to who is around them. I have a whole new perspective on Disney now and will do my hardest to make sure the next time we do Disney to pay more attention to who is around me. I guess we get lost in what we want to do and where we want to go etc.. and just go for it. This will make me and my family a lot more conscious.

 

[Wheelsie]

Let me be the first to thank you for coming in and telling us your story....you're a brave soul
It's VERY appreciated!!

How are you feeling now?? Are you still hurting? Are you going to/have gone to see a Dr??

It does amaze me how many people practically slam others (walking or not) into the scenery and don't pay attention to the world around them.
Did you notice how (in your state of being shorter than everyone else) everyone around WDW looks up!! instead of either straight or side to side around them as the walk....walking like that I'm amazed people get anywhere in the parks LOL

But again..


Thank you and WELCOME!!!

 

[teri]

I bumped this classic thread, My afternoon/evening in a wheelchair at Epcot for you to read... you are not alone!

 

[lvs_eeyore]

Wheelsie by the third day I could walk okay but Im still having some on and off pain with it. I think its about time I have it checked out. Im sure it's probably just an inflammation of the sciatic nerve but better to check it out and know for sure.

YES!!!!!! I did notice that everyone looks UP and OUT and not forward or to the sides. I thought it was just a perspective thing since I was shorter than everyone else....LOL not that Im that tall OUT of a wheelchair or EVC...Im 5 foot....heheheheehehee...... but dh commented about that to me also. Your statement is so true it's a wonder everyone isn't constantly slamming each other into walls, posts etc....

Thank you so much for the welcome. This experience made quite an impression on me. If one person pays closer attention to whats happening around them and to who is around them then to me something good came out of a bad experience.

 

[Wheelsie]

I tried to post this a lil bit ago but my net connection died.......

Be sure to keep us posted about your hip!!!


And no it's not you....People REALLY DON'T look at what they seem like to be heading toward....and sometimes you wonder why they are heading toward your wheels LOL

 

[lvs_eeyore]

Teri thank you so much for posting that thread. I cant tell you how many times reading through those posts that I said YUP...that happened, that happened too and agreeing with what was expressed in that thread. I wish more people would realize or stop to think what it's like to be in a wheelchair or EVC. That's why I posted my experience.

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks for your comments. It is interesting to see things from another perspective sometimes.
My DH used a wheelchair for a few days a while back when he hurt his leg. He thought he knew all about being in a wheelchair by living with our DD the past 15 years. He certainly noticed a lot of things when HE was in the wheelchair that he didn't notice when he was pushing one. He actually thinks everyone should be forced to be in a wheelchair or be rigged up somehow to experience another type of disability for a day to see what it's like. I think it would be a great class for high school or junior high.
DH also wanted to rent a wheelchair for a day at WDW so he could do an expose for the disABILITIES Board, but I told him I thought we had enough people with real need for wheelchairs who could "tell it like it is."

 

[s&k'smom]

All I can say after reading the last few posts is wow!! Thank you so much for sharing that with us. How are you feeling now? I had a niece who was total care and in a wheelchair and the greatest lesson she taught us before she passed on was to look at our world in a different way. And now that I am the mom of a child with special eneds I appreciate her lesson even more. It's funny I think sometimes people were actually scared of her. We didn't see what her "issues" were just that she was who she was. I've seen what you experienced at WDW in lots of other places like the grocery store when sometimes a person blazes by a senior citizen who may be moving too slow for them etc. Keep us up to date. Thanks again for your post.

 

[hilside]

..at the University of MO at St. Louis, once a year we had disability awareness week. One of the events was always a wheelchair scavenger hunt. Students would have to get into wheelchairs & roll around campus collecting items from a list. It was really neat watching these big frat guys try to maneuver wheelchairs through doors & such without getting out. hehe The thingthat always got me was that if it was raining, they would cancel the hunt. Hello!!! Can I just not come to school if it's raining? They should have made them do it anyway to give them a real taste of what getting around campus in a chair is like. Hold the hunt when it's 20 degrees and snowy, not 75 and sunny!

Hil

 

[lisapooh]

How about 95 degrees after a hot humid rain. Getting through heavy doors some that are partially blocked with cement ashtrays.
Fortunately we have some real nice students at my school who willingly open doors when asked.
Oh someone broke the wide center door to the class hall I have class in. Now I have to manuever through the smaller regular doors on either side.

 

[SueM in MN]

I think that wheelchair scavenger hunt is a really great idea. I think they should also include a community part to it where they have to get things in grocery stores, clothing stores, etc. And anyone who thinks wheelchair users don't need parking spots close to the entrance of the stores should be dropped off about 100yds from the mall entrance with 6 inches of slushy snow (and maybe some frozen ruts for good measure).

 

[s&k'smom]

Lisa Pooh, SueM couldn't agree with you more.