Happy Fourth Of July! It’s the month when we celebrate our Independence! Let Freedom Ring!
Well…not quite. I am happy to celebrate the birth of our Nation, but those of us living with paralysis often have days when we just don’t feel independent. To be sure, I am thrilled that I can go so many places in my wheelchair I could not go without it, and as I have written in a previous blog, I consider my wheelchair my friend. But even with my caring and attentive husband always helping me, and the mobility I gain from my wheelchair, reality often intrudes. And, as a 1994 film told us, “Reality Bites”.
We have all encountered “accessible” hotel rooms with not enough room for our wheelchairs to pull alongside the bed. How many bathrooms have you found that post the wheelchair symbol, but don’t have a stall door wide enough to get into it? And how many times have you pulled up to a public building only to find stairs, or a door so heavy there is no way we could open it? This is the reality we all face every day.
I don’t want to sound ungrateful. I have also found truly accessible bathrooms, easily entered public buildings with automatic door openers and ramps, and taken advantage of great “handicapped” theater seating. I appreciate the effort made by these establishments to meet our needs. But we need to keep pushing and acting and fighting for our independence.
There are many ways we can become involved, from personal contacts to organized lobbying. For instance, if you check into a hotel that advertises accessible rooms, and the room is not what you need, don’t just complain to your partner or spouse. Go to the front desk, point out the deficiencies and see if they can relocate you. And when you get home, write a (polite) letter to the hotel company stating what they had advertised and how the reality differed.