Finding the Right Fit
Geoff always says that one’s first wheelchair is the worst wheelchair because it takes time to know the right fit. In our small yet ever-expanding wheelchair universe, we’ve had three friends reach out this fall about someone close to them adjusting to a new wheelchair lifestyle. One message came all the way from Australia. I read about this teenage boy whose mountain bike accident left him with a spinal cord injury, yet I learned he was using his Strava app on his phone to track his wheelchair outings with his PT so that his friends could “follow” his progress. Regardless of whether he walks again, this young man would undoubtedly be okay in his life. In fact, I predict he will be better than okay. He will thrive. He will drive a car. He will fall in love. He will continue to figure out ways for him to join his friends in their outdoor adventures, but perhaps from a seated perspective forever.
Something else we do when someone reaches out to us about a new spinal cord injury situation is simply listen. Maybe they are looking for a hospital bed or standing frame when they are discharged from rehab. Maybe they need someone to observe them transferring into their vehicle to make sure they are doing it correctly. Maybe they just want to hear how someone else handles their bowel program. Maybe they are hoping Geoff can deliver one of his award-winning pep talks. Maybe they would like to set up a Zoom call across time zones and oceans. Maybe they need me to network “other women living with spinal cord injuries in the greater New England region.” While the SCI club is not necessarily one anyone wants to put on their high school or college transcript or later adult resume, it’s certainly a good village to belong to.
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That is how we, in the SCI universe, build the community around us. Does it also include medical professionals and social workers and PTs and OTs and speech? Of course. And although our circumstances might vary-- along with our resources and situations and adaptability, the hope is the same. Life will go on, and there will be people nearby who will help to sort out the right fit, whether we are talking wheelchairs, friend groups, adaptive sports, accessible bathrooms; the list (and the hope) also goes on.
Above is a photo of both our children with their dad, Geoff, seated in the wheelchair. The man with the Nordica hat is named Cam, and he helps Geoff with his skiing sponsorship and gear needed to be a professional mono skier. The other man is Jesse, our kids’ race coach. Geoff has a vision for the gear our kids will use, but Jesse has the on-snow knowledge and practice and understanding of how 12 and 13 year old's manage their gear both in the lodge and on the race hill. Everyone is needed to make this equation work out, and in this case, I stay out of the conversation entirely and take pictures. If you are new to this community, welcome. If you have been coming back for years, we are glad to be part of this world too.