Wheelchairs are used for many disabilities; it could be very painful to walk, one may lack the strength to walk, have hyperflexibility, shortness of lung capacity, fragility of joints, muscles, skin etc.
REBLOG so people STOP harassing wheelchair users when they stand up and even WALK out their chairs in public.
I hardly ever add comments to posts but i feel the need to add on. A couple years ago i was in a wheel chair because of my chronic illness. I went to an amusement park with my school and each time we’d go on a ride the people who work there must ask if i was able to walk onto the ride. A lot of people found this offensive (my sister is working at disney world and she told me that whenever there is a wheel chair the cast members must ask if they are able to walk.) I of course told them i was able to walk and when i got out of my wheel chair i got so many bad glares. After that field trip i was bullied the rest of my highschool life because people thought i was faking it. It got to the point where these girls from church ended up breaking my wheel chair. Please please stop harassing people who use wheelchairs.
There are many times when due to breathing difficulities I’ve had to use a wheelchair or motor cart in the store or other places. That doesn’t mean I can’t walk or others can’t walk but it does mean we can’t go far and we do need the assistance. It’s no ones business judging people who need the help. No one should feel bad for using what the need when they need it.
I grew up with a bone deformity in my feet in ankles that was not visible to the eye and I was still able to walk. After walling for any more than about 30 ft my feet would begin to hurt so bad I could barely function. My family took a trip to disney world when I was 9 and I needed to use a wheel chair. I specifically remember hearing a woman scoff and growl about how lazy and disgraceful I was but also my family for raising such a lazy child. And this was just because I got out of my chair to go hug Tinker Bell. Please stop harassing wheelchair users who can still walk. You made an 8 year olds first trip to disney a lot worse than it should have been.
Keep telling your stories ❤
I remember a trip to the museum back when I was 10 and my Complex Regional Pain Syndrome was just starting to spread. I hadn’t been able to be in school much, so I was so excited to finally be able to be a part of a normal, exciting day with all of my friends. I hesitantly borrowed a museum wheelchair in lieu of using crutches; I felt very vulnerable and sort of embarrassed needing to be pushed around, but I wanted so so badly to be a part of the big day. After a couple hours, I set the wheelchair aside to go to the bathroom, and then lowered myself into it when I got back out. A museum guard went fucking ham, telling me I was lazy and entitled. I hadn’t fully explained my disability to a lot of my classmates, so when they gathered around to watch the shit show, I was so crushed and embarrassed. Because of that one incident, for years, I was hesitant to ask for extra help when I needed it and I ended up worsening my condition long-term. Respect ALL wheelchair users. Treat everyone you come across with respect. You are not always entitled to an explanation.
Gonna reblog this every time I see some foolishness on or offline about someone thinking a wheelchair user is “faking” because they stood up and walked some. This time it was a YouTube video and the comment section, a curse on both their houses!!!!
Dear folks who think these sorts of posts don’t do anything: A few years back, one of these kinds of posts was circulating in response to a that meme about “fakers” with the woman standing from her wheelchair. The folks talking there really opened my eyes to how common it is for a wheelchair user to still be able to walk (this despite the fact that I’d used one temporarily when flying with a bad knee injury and that my gran needs one occasionally when her arthritis is bad). Before that, it wasn’t really something I’d thought about much, and I admit I’d made those jokes and shared those memes out of ignorance and societal ableism/fatphobia.
A few months later, I happened to be with someone in the store and we saw a guy in a wheelchair get up to reach something. The person I was with was really offended and started making some fatphobic comment about how he was probably “just too lazy” to walk. I relied, “How do you know? There’s a lot of things that can make you need a wheelchair that aren’t paralysis. Heck, I used one when I was fifteen and had a really bad sprained knee because the airport wouldn’t let crutches past security and I couldn’t walk.”
“Oh. I didn’t really think of it that way.”
“It’s ok, just… do think of it that way next time. I can tell you from experience using one of those is a total pain in the ass. Trust me, he wouldn’t use it unless he needs it.”
Telling your story and how that shit affects you in real life has real-world consequences. So keep telling your stories. You make the world a better place because at least some of the folks reading them take it to heart.
PSA: Some wheelchair users can *GASP* walk
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