There's a big place in my heart for wheelchair users

I cannot walk by a building or down a town street without my passionate concern asking, "how would a person confined to a wheelchair enter there?, or why is that ramp so steep?". Why?, you may well ask, after all I do not have anyone in my family who uses a wheelchair! I am not confined to using a wheelchair, so why all this passionate concern!.

I will share with you my story. It is not until reality hits us in the face, hard at that, do we really learn lessons that remain in our memory.

Back in 2001 my darling son of 8 years of age fell off his bicycle and broke his shin bone, it was one big crack that would take months to heal. The plaster was set from the top of his thigh to bottom of his toes. Stiff like a rock. This was early July, the sun was really warming up and no swimming pool to cool down. To get Max out of the house was an effort in itself, fortunately God blessed me with strength and I was able, in a fire woman's lift, carry Max down the flight of stairs out the front door and into my car. After followed the rigged up a plank of wood, to keep the plastered leg straight out and a borrowed wheelchair. Day time trips were to be avoided, we turned into dusk searches, saved by the large shopping malls that catered with lifts and ramps and bless them air-conditioning. To cut a long story short, this went on for months, I can only describe it as extremely heart breaking hard work, not only physically but the mental pressure of "eyes" watching you like we were some sort of alien with a plank of wood.

Well out of something bad more than not arrives something good. Three points that will always remain in my memory. After 2 1/2 months being confined to the bed or the wheelchair my son Max finally was able to walk again. Secondly he learnt to read phonetically and thirdly I converted to a big advocate for wheelchair users. I am the one that gets real mad when someone dares to park in a reserved wheelchair zone, when shops do not place a ramp outside, when people park near the curb blocking side ramps, when people moan they are too tired to walk, how dare they. This subject we will cover again, as it is immense.

I really would like everyone to spend just one week of their lives using a wheelchair to get around town, I believe it is the only way we will finally learn that we need to change our mentality drastically, the sooner the better.