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Aaaagh, I need a new (3rd) wheelchair and NOTHING has changed. I read an article in the paper this morning that announced in outraged terms that someone had ‘to buy their own wheelchair.’ Don’t they know that nearly everyone buys their own wheelchair? And, mostly, they are not cheap!
So far, I have my Balder – no. 1 wheelchair, big, expensive, comfy mother that I spend most of my time in – and my portable, cheap, no. 2 folding wheelchair to go out in and chuck in the boot. With the decision on the new WAV pretty much made, I need a third wheelchair that is a combination of the two – not as heavy and bulky as the Balder but more rigid with a headrest option than the folding chair... and a bit of power would be good. So, I start to look around.
And it is all the same! We all know wheelchairs are incredibly ugly - when will some design aesthetic reach us? - but why, in God’s name, do so many wheelchairs NOT come in black? We get a chair that is both ugly AND - whoa, look at me - fluorescent yellow! What grown adult – say, anyone over 30 – would want a wheelchair in bright yellow, purple, red or sparkly silver? Kids, yes. Grown adults? No, No, NO!
What is wrong with the manufacturers? What the hell happens to their brain? Do they think we will be happier because we have a brightly coloured wheelchair? Do you think your mood about severe illness would be improved by a sparkly silver chair? Or, for that matter, the aesthetics of your personal style – like colour co-ordinating your clothes isn’t enough hassle? Can’t walk, gullible AND no style! Think, man (are there any females working in the disability industry? I have met one!), I am just like you... yes, I am. PUT YOURSELF IN MY SHOES.
Would you, if you could not stand up, want to sit in an ugly, fluorescent yellow wheelchair? No, me neither! Think about that and make it quick - my new search is feeling so old already!
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