Well, what a result!
What a day. What a week. What an amazing, wonderful spark of positivity in what has been such an immensely challenging time.
It’s been such a long time. Year upon year of constant disappointment and heartache as things invariably go catastrophically wrong, just as I think that, this time, It’s all going to go so right. Not this time, though. No, this time perseverance and bloody-minded optimism have driven me over the brink of expectation and into the calm waters of fulfillment.
Yes, this was the week I finally got my new wheelchair. What did you think I was talking about?
The Final Countdown
Yeah, alright, there might have been a small mislead worked into the above, and I’m sure you don’t need to be of a sporting temperament to have caught on. On that particular matter, however, I’m keeping my powder dry, at least until after Sunday’s final. So, instead I’m going to focus on the other big event in the Seated Perspective household.
I have been awaiting a new wheelchair for quite a while now. Not the 55 years England have been waiting to reach a final, but a long time nevertheless. The previous incumbent was a loan-chair that I took on as a permanent replacement due to the last ‘chair (yes, you’ve not miscounted, that is three) having to be taken out-back, shot, given a small but respectable funeral, and left out for the binmen.
This did not work out as well as it could.
Same Old
I won’t bore you with the struggles I had with that loan-to-permanent ‘chair (Although you can read a taste of them, here, here, and here), but suffice it to say there are only so many times a wheelchair user can find himself on less than the usual number of wheels before the experience becomes a little wearing. It was time for a change and, after phoning for my last repair job, I mentioned this and was granted an appointment for a ‘fitting’, at which I would be presented with the best choice to match my build, increasing girth, and lifestyle. I was measured, weighed, measured again, answered some questions on how active and self-propelling I tend to be.
Then I was presented with the same chair as I was sitting in.
Alright, that’s not entirely accurate. It was indeed the same make of chair, a Quickie (ooh, matron!), that was offered to me, and indeed the same model, an Argon. What it also was, however, was bigger.
The Tall And The Short Of It
This chair would be made to measure. It would be taller and wider (because of the fat). The back rest would be taller, and the cushion thicker and more supportive. It would be built with a disabled person as unusually tall, and temporarily heavy in mind. In short, it would be tailor-made to suit me.
Same Old
I won’t bore you with the struggles I had with that loan-to-permanent ‘chair (Although you can read a taste of them, here, here, and here), but suffice it to say there are only so many times a wheelchair user can find himself on less than the usual number of wheels before the experience becomes a little wearing. It was time for a change and, after phoning for my last repair job, I mentioned this and was granted an appointment for a ‘fitting’, at which I would be presented with the best choice to match my build, increasing girth, and lifestyle. I was measured, weighed, measured again, answered some questions on how active and self-propelling I tend to be.
Then I was presented with the same chair as I was sitting in.
Alright, that’s not entirely accurate. It was indeed the same make of chair, a Quickie (ooh, matron!), that was offered to me, and indeed the same model, an Argon. What it also was, however, was bigger.
The Tall And The Short Of It
This chair would be made to measure. It would be taller and wider (because of the fat). The back rest would be taller, and the cushion thicker and more supportive. It would be built with a disabled person as unusually tall, and temporarily heavy in mind. In short, it would be tailor-made to suit me.
That was some five or six weeks ago, and this Monday was the day I actually got to go pick up the machine in question and bring it home. Straightaway, the difference was palpable. When I sit in this ‘chair I feel like I am sitting atop it, rather than nestled in the midst of the machinery. My back is well supported, as are my thighs, all the way to the knee, too. And when my feet are on the footplate, my calves fall into a wonderfully straight 90 degree angle. If my legs were the same length, my feet, I assume, would actually both be perched on the footplate at the same time. But one can’t ask for miracles.
Even better, this chair actually moves smoothly and with a lot less effort than any of the last three chairs I’ve used. For various reasons, the experience of making any progress in those beasts ran from pushing a cast iron wheelbarrow through quicksand to riding a wonky bicycle with just one single square wheel. None of it was what you might call fun.
Fit For Purpose
This ‘chair, though, well this chair moves. It glides. It turns, and it’s given me back so much freedom, and so much independence. Once more I feel able to take the dog out for a walk. A humble, but previously improbable task which has now (weather permitting) become a joy again. Give me a few weeks without torrential downpours and both myself and the dog will be in much better shape. We might even manage a longer walk, now and then, because this chair goes into the car so much easier.
To elucidate, as this chair was being built, I was gifted yet another loan ‘chair. This model was a folding thing twice as big as I needed, didn’t fold down all that well, and required my wife, Tina, to take the wheels off it before she could squeeze it into the back of the car. In contrast, this new vehicle (I feel I should name him, her, or them. Suggestions, please?) fits snugly in the boot with the minimum of fuss and no disassembly.
Even better, this chair actually moves smoothly and with a lot less effort than any of the last three chairs I’ve used. For various reasons, the experience of making any progress in those beasts ran from pushing a cast iron wheelbarrow through quicksand to riding a wonky bicycle with just one single square wheel. None of it was what you might call fun.
Fit For Purpose
This ‘chair, though, well this chair moves. It glides. It turns, and it’s given me back so much freedom, and so much independence. Once more I feel able to take the dog out for a walk. A humble, but previously improbable task which has now (weather permitting) become a joy again. Give me a few weeks without torrential downpours and both myself and the dog will be in much better shape. We might even manage a longer walk, now and then, because this chair goes into the car so much easier.
To elucidate, as this chair was being built, I was gifted yet another loan ‘chair. This model was a folding thing twice as big as I needed, didn’t fold down all that well, and required my wife, Tina, to take the wheels off it before she could squeeze it into the back of the car. In contrast, this new vehicle (I feel I should name him, her, or them. Suggestions, please?) fits snugly in the boot with the minimum of fuss and no disassembly.
It is, of course, early days, and there’s nothing to say that tomorrow won’t see me back on bricks (or at least three wheels). But while the sun shines and mobility remains I’m going to run with it. (well, not run. You know what I mean, though). I’m going to take full advantage of the freedom I have and actually get myself out there, even if it is just for a couple of miles a day.
Now, what was that other thing again?
Until next time…
Now, what was that other thing again?
Until next time…
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