ELLIE'S BLOG on Living Well with Disability

Last week my husband and I decided to go to a couple of new garden centers.  We have several close to us that we have used for a lot of our gardening needs.  But it's fun to go to a new place as they usually have some different flowers or other garden paraphernalia.  I guess we've been spoiled because the local garden centers have the paths that are easy for me to use in my wheelchair.

As heat is a problem for people like me with MS we started early before it heated up. The first garden center we went to was recommended by a friend who works there part time.  Pulling in we realized it was heavily graveled with large stones. We looked at each other knowing this could be a potential mobility problem for me.  But as we are not people who give up without  effort we took out my electric wheelchair and yes the large stone gravel was limiting.

However, the people there were very nice and brought me a chair to sit on as I had to use my cane to get around where the electric wheelchair couldn't go. As my walking distance is quite limited there were many areas that I could not get to. But we did find several plants we wanted and bought them. By the time we were finished I was beat but we still had one other place we had planned to go to. So I rested while my husband drove us there.

The second place was also all covered with gravel. Knowing I would be limited in my electric wheelchair I figured I'd try using my large wheel wheeled walker with the seat. I knew my husband or I could lift it if I got stuck and I could sit when I needed to immediately on the spot. It was easier to get around and I tried to find shady spots between my short distances that I could walk. However it was later in the morning and hotter and suddenly I could no longer walk.  So after resting I found I could take a few steps and added my sideways- backwards walk which brought me further. Normally my next step would be to sit on the seat of my walker and push myself backward. But due to the gravel that was a no go. However with my husbands help and time we made it back to the cashier with our purchases and then to the van.

As we left I looked back with longing as I did with the former garden center. Longing for the sites with flowers, bushes and trees that I could not get to. But I checked out what we had purchased with great satisfaction. They were plants that should fill spots that needed them perfectly.

But as I was planting them with my husband's help in some cases I felt such a sense of sadness. There were some areas I wanted to put some more perennials in. And I have to admit I was really tired and angry when I thought of all that impossible gravel impeding my shopping adventure for my garden.

And as I continued to ruminate on that awful gravel I pictured myself going places where they had gravel in the following wheelchair.

                                                      This is called the TANKCHAIR. This chair was created and built by Brad Soden for his wife who broke her back in an accident. Confined to a wheelchair her life was changed dramatically. She and her husband and their 5 children loved to camp. An incident on a camping trip compelled her husband to create a chair for her. For more information on the TANKCHAIR and why and how it was built go to  http://www.tankchair.com/ 

In this crazy wheelchair gravel would never be a problem for me. I could also go hiking on trails that are inaccessible to me now and just ride across open fields or along the beach. I wonder if I could even climb up sand dunes, hill's or even mountains ?  

My electric wheelchair is meant for going over floors, sidewalks, grass or very fine gravel.  There are standard electric wheelchairs or scooters with larger wheels that could go over larger gravel and some limited open terrain but they are expensive and not in my budget.

But this wheelchair is the max. It's certainly not in my budget. But what a wheelchair !!

                                                                               Look at that expression of utter joy on Pam Soden's face.

What a husband!

What full fun day's of camping this young family will have!

After having fun picturing myself in this TANKCHAIR  going all kinds of places unhindered suddenly my anger at the gravel diminished.           

I glanced over to the chaise area (my special shady nook) on my deck to the plants I had just added there .                                                     The realization that I had almost forgotten the pleasure that I felt from what I did see and had purchased hit me. There's nothing wrong with wanting things to be better. But again the important lesson of appreciating and getting pleasure from what can be can never be forgotten. 

To find current information of new ideas to increase mobility by adapting your wheelchair or a innovative new products go to the Wheelchair Diffusion Blog  http://www.usatechguide.org/blog/category/wheelchair-weird/

Live well and don't obsess on what you can't do.

                                               ellie