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The Wheelchair as Freedom!
Description
I had never expected a wheelchair to feel like freedom.
That may sound strange. Most of us grow up thinking of a wheelchair as a symbol of limitation. In movies, television programs, and even ordinary conversation, someone is said to be “confined to a wheelchair” or “bound to a wheelchair.” The language suggests imprisonment. It suggests that the chair is the problem and that the person sitting in it has somehow been reduced.
But when I recently used a wheelchair at a medical facility, I did not feel confined. I felt released.
For weeks, getting from one side of a room to the other had become a major undertaking. Walking was no longer something I could do without thinking. Every step had to be considered. How far was it? Was there somewhere to sit when I arrived? Could I make it there without the pain becoming unbearable? If I stood still for too long, would my back begin protesting? If I sat down, how difficult would it be to get up again?
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