Thursday, March 6, 2014

"Not The Fun Kind"

Photo of a young woman in a manual wheelchair doing a wheelie and smiling
From the Demonically Disabled Tumblr blog.

I’m going to break my own rule and add something to this photo. It starts with a comment on the photo from the blogger / selfie-taker herself:
"I never ever ever ever ever ever want to walk again. That was hell. And not the fun kind.”
I am aware that for some people, the notion of disabled people NOT wishing to be less disabled … of wheelchair users NOT working their asses off to walk again someday … is quite controversial. I dare say for quite a few people it sounds utterly irrational, either “crazy” or some sort of contrarian stance. Well, for some of us it is somewhat philosophical. But for others, it is completely practical; doing things the “normal” way hurts, and is just less practical, than embracing tools and adaptations. I walk, it works for me and my everyday needs, and I am glad for all the surgery and physical therapy in my early years that made that possible. But, I used a mobility scooter when I was in college, and when I have to travel through an airport, gimme that wheelchair man.

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