Archive: April 2003
Wheelchair on the Loose!
I visited a friend in the hospital yesterday, and the whole time I was there I had this creepy feeling that someone was going to grab me and lock me up for being loose on my own in a wheelchair. I did get a lot of long hard looks from staff who apparently managed to [...]
The Communion of Saints, Part III
Congregational meeting this morning - the estimate for refitting two bathrooms and putting in two curb cuts came to $14,400 and was approved unanimously.
After the service the minister thanked me for pushing them. The good guys won - now I want to see some contruction!
For the rest of the story:
The Communion of Saints
The Communion of [...]
Hands on the Wheel
You know all that stuff you do while you’re driving? Putting on your seatbelt, changing the CD, fiddling with the radio, drinking your coffee, talking on your cellphone, putting on your sunglasses?
Don’t do them if you’ve got hand controls.
To the Cleanroom and Beyond!
Yesterday I went on a half-day tour of my company, Ball Aerospace. They give the tour for employees every two months. I emailed the Responsible Party and asked if it was doable in a wheelchair.
His response was very prompt: it was four hours, two miles, fourteen buildings, any weather. All of that was up to [...]
The Communion of Saints, Part II
Yesterday I attended a meeting at the Inaccessible Church, and came away with real mixed feelings.
The purpose of the meeting was to get an estimate for accessibility changes to present to the congregation. There was an accessibility consultant who was referred to me by the local Center for People with Disabilities, and a contractor, recommended [...]
One of These Days…
… I’d like to wake up in the morning after nine hours of sleep refreshed and rested instead of exhausted.
About fatigue in MS:
Fatigue, an MS Consumer Guide
fatigue, from mult-sclerosis.org
Understanding the Unique Role of Fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis
Wheelchair Humour
From Jody: A Little Wheelchair Humor
Here’s more:
DizAbled
Callahan Online
Steel Wool
Crip Korner Humor
Home Modifications
I now have an officially Wheelchair Accessible House!
The ramp to the front door was first. We’ve gutted and remodeled the upstairs bathroom, and Monday, the stairlift (a Bruno Excel, for the detail-minded) was installed.
Some useful links:
Building an Accessible Home
Wheelchairnet’s Home Modification Page
Bob Vila’s Accessible Design
Low Cost Solutions for Making Your Home Accessible
Whee!
I got the solo. So even though Carousel has got to be one of the weirdest musicals ever, complete with child abuse, misogyny and domestic violence, and You’ll Never Walk Alone has got be one of the treacliest inspirational songs ever, I’m really happy.
Coefficient of Friction
One of the first things I noticed about using a wheelchair is that Residential Carpet is Evil. Between the cushy cut loop pile and the cushy, luxurious padding, it’s got a murderous coefficient of friction. Who knew I’d need all-terrain tires to cross my own living room?
Commercial carpet, on the other hand, is usually fairly [...]
Out of the mouths of babes
My daughter just returned from a 5 day high school trip, and was telling us all about it.
“Mama, you’ll be both delighted and dismayed about my hotel room,” she started. “Delighted because it was wheelchair accessible - the bathroom had grab bars all around, and the toilet seat was higher, and the sink was outside [...]
Too cool!
My uncle:
Der Fachbereich für Politik- und Verwaltungswissenschaft der Universität Konstanz lädt ein zu einem wissenschaftlichen Symposium zu Ehren von Professor emeritus Dr. Gerhard Lehmbruch [Translation]
Just because you’re paranoid…
I recently read A Disability Paranoia Journal on the BBC’s ouch! website (”chippy” = having a chip on one’s shoulder), in which the author says, “How often do I think about my disability? Every minute of the day, that’s how often.” She describes going through her day assuming people are constantly watching and judging her. [...]
No Parking
Ever notice that it’s really hard to find handicapped permit parking at retirement homes? Just about every one I’ve been to has “Residents Only” parking up front, visitor parking in back forty, and no handicapped permit parking.
A couple of years ago I was scheduled to perform at a local retirement home. As is my habit, [...]
Settling for Shirley Jones
I don’t get to be Julie Andrews, but I might get to be Shirley Jones and sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” to a slow gospel beat.
The reluctant gardener
I can admit it now: I don’t want to garden.
I have impeccable gardening credentials. My mother was a master gardener and later a landscape designer who created beautiful gardens in West Africa, Asia and the tropics of Washington, DC. We were roasting eggshells and collecting hair clippings to compost when I was six.
As a young [...]
Fear and Loathing at Target
I’m at Target with two of my children, and it’s kind of crowded, long lines at the registers. I pick a line, I make eye contact with the woman at the end, and say, “I’m behind you.” She smiles, nods. I station myself to one side because the line is getting so long that it’s [...]
Access to old buildings
As a corollary to my posting about the Academy of Ancient Music concert, I’ll give Macky Auditorium at CU Boulder kudos for their accomodations for wheelchair using patrons.
Macky was originally built in 1914. Parking is extremely limited. The site is hilly, and the auditorium rake is very steep. The entrance to the lobby is [...]
O brave new world,
That has such music in’t!
Last night I went to a concert given by Andrew Manze and the Academy of Ancient Music. I barely know how to begin describing how beautiful it was.
There were sixteen musicians, five first violins, four second violins, two violas, two cellos, bass, harpsichord and theorbo. The upper strings all stood to [...]
Being Julie Andrews
or, trying to be normal.
Tuesday I had choir rehearsal at 6:30, so I just went straight from work.
My leg was so spastic it was getting painful to sit up, so I laid down on one of the benches that are scattered around the room, held my music in the air over my head, and tried [...]
Falling
One of the bizarre things about MS is the variability. Some mornings I wake up, push the covers off, scoot over to the side of the bed, pop into the wheelchair (no problem!) and head off to the bathroom.
Some mornings I wake up, push the covers off, try to sit up, collapse back onto the [...]
You Know…
You know you live in a weird weather state when it’s sunny, in the 70s (F), and the girls in sundresses are walking past the 12 foot piles of dirty snow left from last week’s blizzard.
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