Tag: Power Wheelchair

Doing what you can.

On By Katy DalyIn My Disability TruthLeave a comment

I think when you need a lot of help from those around you, being able to help them can be something even more important to you than most. I don’t really want to say it feels like like paying them back, because that suggests that you should have to pay those that helped you back for that help, and of course you shouldn’t. But if I’m honest with myself, it does feel like that.

So when I’m able to help someone, I push myself to do that more than I should, and perhaps more than most would. Sometimes doing this can be to my own detriment, as was the case yesterday.

We ended up having to get a taxi part of the journey home from the concert on Tuesday. While this was in part due to public transport ending before the concert had finished. It was over a distance that I would normally be able to travel in my chair. But because of things I had done earlier that day and having thought far enough into the future, I ended up with very little battery in my wheelchair and would not have been able to make the journey.

Earlier in the day I had ran errands for a family member whose car had broken and needed things picking up. This person is not able to travel without their car as they are unable to walk long distance.

It’s a learning experience when you’ve always been disabled watching those around you become disabled. Watching how they react to it all, how they adjust to their new normal. And sometimes unfortunately how they give themselves to grace they never gave you.

But not to dwell on that. Here was something I could do for someone who has done a lot of things for me regularly in my life. I just didn’t think through the consequences of helping them.

That is honestly a really frustrating part of being disabled, when others need your help, you still have to consider what you are able to do within the capabilities of your condition and situations. Sometimes this means you are not able to do everything you want to be able to do for them. It’s one thing to let yourself down, it feels so much harder to let other people down.

So I was going to do what I could despite what it cost me. And in all honesty I didn’t even realise until it was too late. But it’s not the end of the world, I got home okay and had a great night. And I managed to help someone, so that felt good too.

I just wish that wheelchairs could be charged using USB from a powerbank. That would honestly be the most helpful solution so my wheelchair is never able to limit my independence due to its charge Maybe one day it will be possible. 

Disability Pride Month 2024

On By Katy DalyIn Disability Pride ♿️Leave a comment
Image Description: Straight diagonal lines from top left to bottom right. The colours from top to bottom are red, yellow, white, blue and green, all on a faded black background.

Now I want to say that I will be doing various posts related to Disability Pride over this July which is Disability Pride Month. And I will do my best to share information, but as always I make no promises.

But for now, let’s start with the flag. All of the colours have individual meanings so let’s go through them.

  • Geen is for sensory disabilities.
  • Blue represents emotional and psychiatric disabilities.
  • White stands for non-visible and undiagnosed disabilities.
  • Gold is for neurodiversity.
  • Red represents physical disabilities.
  • The faded black background commemorates and mourns disabled people who’ve died due to ableism, violence, negligence, suicide, rebellion, illness and eugenics. The dark background also represents rage and protest against the mistreatment of the disabled community. According to the creator’s statement, black is also a connection to the pirates’ Jolly Roger flag, a general symbol of rebellion.

As I’ve said I will try to post more about Disability Pride this month. But plans can sometimes be difficult, so don’t blame me if I fail.

♿️HAPPY DISABILITY PRIDE♿️

It’s a bit much.

On By Katy DalyIn BlogLeave a comment

A bad experience at a concert can really through me, and that’s what happened last night.

If you want to know more specifics about the experience you can see the TikTok I made here. A poor inaccessible experience, and that’s putting it lightly, throws the entire image I have of myself as a disabled person into question.

It makes me wonder why I even try, if I’m just going to be treated like that. It makes me wonder why I even try. It makes me feel more disabled. 

It shows me without a doubt that it’s society that makes me disabled, and that makes me sad. It makes me sad because I know there’s nothing I can really do about the way they want to treat me.

I just want to enjoy a concert. I don’t understand why that’s to much to ask.

A fun day out.

On By Katy DalyIn Blog, My Disability Truth1 Comment

So I’ve recently attended a friend’s birthday meet up. I get invited yearly, but usually can’t go, this year I’m was very happy to be free. And I have to say what a relief it was that they are also a wheelchair user.

I know it’s a horrible stereotype that disabled people should only have disabled friends. But it just makes things so much easier. I know that when we do things together it’s going to be accessible.

I wasn’t worried in the slightest about how accessible the day would be. I even went happily to somewhere I had never been before, something I wouldn’t normally do. If I was going somewhere completely new I would do a trial run of the area to figure out both how to get there and how accessible it is. But I didn’t need to do that here, and that was such a relief.

They even agreed to meet a few of us on the way to the place somewhere that we knew, including myself, to go to the place together. How nice was that?!

I spent a day not feeling disabled, not worrying about needing help. I was still slightly insecure over my incontinence issues, but as I got more comfortable in the day it was easier to deal with. But overall it was such a fun day, I was so comfortable and just got to be me. This doesn’t happen often.

This is why it’s easier to be around other disabled people, around other people that understand what it’s like to be you. It’s so nice.

Other people need to learn to be more inclusive and society needs to be more accessible in order to change this in anyway. Having fun shouldn’t be stressful, and for once it wasn’t.

Well at least you’re in the building.

On By Katy DalyIn Blog1 Comment

When was the last time you saw a live performance?

This is the prompt for today, but as I’ve answered it before it won’t let me answer it again. I’m at one now.

Getting into this building wasn’t easy for me, it was honestly testifying. It was something I can’t be sure I would have done if I knew what was expected of me from the start.

I was essentially pulled up several flights of stairs in my wheelchair, using an old but honestly good accessibility aid. I’ve included a picture of me using this below.

Image Description: A photo of myself in my electric wheelchair being pulled up stairs. My hands are gripped tightly on the armrest of the chair.

As this photo shows the whole experience was terrifying, and as I write this I have to go back down again.

Knowing the artist I’m here to see, I’m certain it was worth what it took to get me in here. But if I’m honest with myself I’m still upset by this whole experience. I shouldn’t have to go through this to have fun. Fun shouldn’t be this hard. Fun shouldn’t be hard.

The anxiety of this experience is going to leave me in more pain than usual for the next few days.

I’m torn between writing more about this now, while the emotions are fresh or focusing on the fact I’m about to here one of my favourite artists live.

I’m going to focus on the music for tonight.

My chair died.

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The problem with relying on people and technology is things can simple go wrong and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Yesterday my wheelchair died when I was miles away from home. It died because it hadn’t been plugged in the night before. Even though I am not the person that plugs it in at night, this is of course my fault because I should have checked they had done it. It’s just one of those things that usually gets done correctly and so I forget that I should check on it. To be fair they had plugged it in just not switched it on at the wall.

Either way it didn’t charge and I was stuck. Which I am actually somewhat relieved about because yesterday I wasn’t sure if my chair was broken and that’s why I was stuck. It having no battery is an easy problem to deal with.

The only way for me to get home then was paying £145 in a taxi. As when my chair has no power everything that was previously accessible to me, like trains, my planned way to get home, becomes inaccessible. And because I can’t just get into any vehicle, no one could come and pick me up, so a taxi was the only option.

Now taxis have to be up there with the least accessible mode of transport for me, alongside other cars. While it is possible to find accessible taxis, like I did yesterday. This can be very difficult to do.

Many taxis say they’re wheelchair accessible but will only take people who can get out of there wheelchair and fold it into the boot. I cannot do this. So for me this is not a wheelchair accessible taxis. I have even had taxis come and then refuse me, despite specifying before hand that I wouldn’t be able to do this. But you know how people love to blame you when they don’t listen.

Accessibly means different things to different people and companies.

Emergencies happen, things go wrong and get forgotten. But when they go wrong with my chair it’s honestly terrifying.

International Wheelchair Day 2024

On By Katy DalyIn Disability Pride ♿️, My Disability TruthLeave a comment

So today is International Wheelchair Day 2024.

And funnily enough I’ve just had my wheelchair fixed. My wheels bring me freedom, I’d be stuck without them. They are the reason I get to be a person.

But the truth is the world isn’t built for people like me. It’s difficult using a wheelchair, because of the inaccessibility around me. Being in a wheelchair takes a lot of effort and planning just to get out of the house some days. Memorising routes and hoping nothing is going to block them. Not being able to go to concerts and have the same experiences as everyone else.

But without a wheelchair I wouldn’t even have the freedom I do now. Yet growing up as was told I needed to do as much as possible, to not become “wheelchair shaped”. Despite this being my eventuality and it causing a considerable amount of discomfort to attempt to delay it.

Using a wheelchair isn’t bad. Not walking isn’t bad. Mobility aids and physio need to be given for the best outcome of the individual, and not simply to push someone towards the societal norms that can actually be damaging to them.

Wheelchairs are not bad.
Mine is a life saver

Image Description: This picture shows myself facing the camera in my wheelchair with Imogen Ava Daly sat on my right and Bella sat on my left. Both dogs are looking at the camera.
Image Description: This picture is art by @Colourblind_Zebr. It’s shows a purple manual wheelchair with the text “My wheelchair is my FREEDOM not my PRISON”, with freedom and prison written in rainbow.
Image Description: This picture shows a picture of me slightly in the distance, on an angle facing left but looking towards the camera. Bella is stood in front of me, and Imogen is stood behind me with her front paws on my knee. We are all looking at the camera.

It’s rarely just once.

On By Katy DalyIn BlogLeave a comment

So I shared, as I occasionally do, a pavement obstruction in my local Facebook group. It’s not the first obstruction or obstacle I’ve faced today, in fact it’s one of many, but it’s the first one I had the confidence to share publicly.

My confidence with sharing these issues can be fragile. It fluctuates, and it’s difficult, even though I know I’m right to share these problems.

This issue is the inadvertently the cause of some of the people I share it to. So pointing it out is easier. But other issues aren’t as black and white. It can be harder to pin point who exactly causes the issue, so it can be harder to share.

Who’s fault is it that a lift is broken? Machinery brakes. It takes time to fix. It wouldn’t be fair to blame a specific person for this issue, when it’s a system. But does that mean I’m not allowed to share it? I don’t always know to be honest.

I definitely couldn’t share all the issue inaccessibility issues I face on a daily basis. It would be too difficult to share, and would mean I’d be focusing unfairly focusing on the negative for me.

So just remember when someone gets the confidence to share an issue with you, it’s rarely all that they are dealing with. They’re sparing you the full picture. Be kind.

Somewhere else to sit.

On By Katy DalyIn My Disability TruthLeave a comment

So, as a wheelchair user, I only ever sit in my own wheelchair or on my bed. However, I was recently given another kind of chair for me to sit in, which sits me in a different position.

Prior to having this chair, if I wanted to get out of my wheelchair I would get in my bed and stay there. My bed was the only other place I was able to sit, and once I was in it, I struggled to see the point of going through all that effort of getting out again. I also didn’t want to put the pressure of transferring me, which can be a difficult task, needlessly on those around me.

This chair gives me somewhere else to sit, that’s easier to transfer to. I will hopefully give me a little bit more of my physical mobility back and be generally more comfortable, simply from spending more time sitting in a different position.

Using this chair is something that it will take time getting used to. I am also aware that there will likely be a point in the future where I have to make a conscious effort to sit in the chair, but I’ve done well so far. That said I will not be able to sit in it tomorrow, as I have places to go so I won’t have the time. I haven’t been told I need to sit in it any particularly length of time, so we’ll just have to see how it goes.

New equipment and / or mobility aids can take time to get used to, and they should be worth it, I hope. So please stick with the things you need to help you if they’re difficult in the beginning. Things should get easier, and I am hopeful that sitting in this chair will.

Below is a picture of me sat in this chair with my dogs on my knee, because of course they had to try the chair out with me as well.

Image Description: Myself sat in my new chair, with both my dogs, Immy and Bella sat on my knee.

Travel day

On By Katy DalyIn My Disability TruthLeave a comment

If you pay attention to this blog you might notice this post is backdated. It’s back dated because yesterday I had a very long day.

I went on a train, well two, well four, if you count there and back. And I had to have a bit of a wonder in the middle there.

Wonders can look very different when you’re disabled. I didn’t travel too far, I only went round the corner, but that counts as a wonder.

Going to new places is difficult when you’re disabled, so I try not to do it.

So this is your reminder that sometimes to go on a wonder you don’t have to go far, just somewhere new.