kelpforestdwellers:

sadhoc:

i totally get venting about facing microaggressions in public for using a mobility aid, and i’ve totally done it myself, but after talking with some disabled people who are afraid to start using canes or rollators or wheelchairs because they’re worried about people being assholes to them in public, i want to reiterate that my rollator changed my life and that the amount of harassment i’ve faced is frankly negligible.

anyway today i was able to take the train to physical therapy by myself, and stopped for coffee on the way back, and nothing bad happened and it was a beautiful day.

other mobility aid users feel free to share your stories about why it’s worth it.

yeah people stare at me and once in a blue moon there’s some harassment or whatever, but i can zoom around wherever i want in my power chair and it couldn’t be more worth it.

once i was transferring from the car to my manual wheelchair using my walker, and a woman walked past moving very slowly with a cane, and she stopped, and she looked at me, and i greeted her, and she said “do you like your wheelchair?” and i was delighted! people rarely actually give me the chance to tell them how much i love my mobility aids. so i told her yeah, it’s amazing, it doesn’t totally meet my needs but it makes things so much easier, sometimes i can go places and do things i hadn’t been able to do for years. the hardest part is when i can’t move around because of the way people design and build buildings, or when people park bikes on the sidewalk, that sort of thing.

she said “that’s really good to hear. i’ve been putting it off for a while and this makes me feel better about doing it. i’d LOVE to go places again.” and i said “do it! it changes your life, it can be difficult sometimes but that’s so small in the face of what it can do for you!”

most of the interactions i have with other people that are specifically about my mobility are positive moments of solidarity. not all, but the vast majority.

it’s worth it and i will take every opportunity i can to tell other people that it’s worth it. not just wheelchairs, any mobility aid. not a single person deserves to live even a single day putting off their mobility simply out of fear.