Transitioning from Manual to Power
After nearly 59 years as a para using a manual wheelchair, I’m now in the beginning stages of making the change to power. The first thing I’ve learned is how important it is to take time to get the right chair for your individual circumstances. The second is not to ditch your manual chair. There will be certain occasions when you need it. The third is to continue exercising to keep what flexibility and strength you have.
Aging and complications from spinal cord injury/disease have a way of making any big change in your lifestyle seem daunting. Not only are the physical changes challenging, but your psychological, emotional, and spiritual health will need attention. When I was first injured (T-11, age 20), it took another 20 years before I dreamed my first wheelchair dream. I’m pretty certain it was all about re-making my self-image, something that seems to happen in its own sweet time. I could not dream I was in a wheelchair until a new self-image had replaced the image I had of myself from childhood to age 20 — a time of continually participating in competitive sports. Since accepting my new image at around the age of 40, another 39 years have passed, gradually entrenching my self-image as an active lifestyle wheelchair user. Now I’m 79, someone who has driven tractors with hand controls, patrolled a farm by transferring to a 4-wheeler and did nearly impossible transfers from ground to chair and chair to pickup with nothing more than arm power. But those days are over. It’s time for yet another big change.
Making the manual to power change is similar to what happens when you transition from working to retirement. It’s a mistake to think that life will be easy-peasy once you retire, one low-pressure day after another. In the same way, a power chair lifestyle carries with it a whole new set of challenges, further complicated by aging, less earning power, less energy, and more worry about your future and your loved ones, especially if you have children and grandchildren. How will your decisions about spending on equipment affect those you love now and when you are gone?
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Not wanting to be a burden on others is impossible to ignore as we age. Even though your loved ones may worry that your waning strength and vitality will increase their burden, adapting successfully to a power chair lifestyle can actually have the opposite effect: less dependence on others. No more having to wait around for someone to push you up your ramp into your van or house or an inaccessible building. No more being exhausted and without energy after running an errand or two or visiting a doctor. Your power chair will save your energy. When you return to home base, you can be more useful. It may even be possible to take on a part-time remote job with that extra energy.
There is an invisible element to big lifestyle changes as you age. Your spiritual health — how you view your past life, present, and future — may become an important concern. The hardest part may be confronting what you consider your life purpose to be. Some of us come to believe that we have been born with or have acquired a major disability in order to serve as an inspiration to others. That’s a tough purpose to live with, especially if you begin to doubt it.
To me, the best insurance against becoming depressed or anxious is to keep your focus on all the ways you have been blessed, even if they seem small or insignificant. Take time for daily thanksgiving. Feeling grateful for having the opportunity to live and love and enjoy each moment is the best soul food of all.