In order to share my recent enlightening experience, I also have to share something mortifying.
OK.
So.
On Saturday I went and got new tyres for my wheelchair, having worn them down to the threads. Nothing earth-shattering there, except that I found that having new, round tyres with tread on them meant that I could no longer actually move my wheelchair. This is because I've put on so much weight I now stop the wheels going around, with my big fat thighs. My old tyres were so worn down that I could still move the wheels, but even then one of the wheels would rub on the side of my leg, where the skirt protector is missing.
So I found myself housebound, from being too fat. Horrifying, both from the fatness, and from the housebound-ness. I have been trying to lose weight for a long time, and although I have stopped putting it on, I'm finding it very difficult to lose anything of any significance.
Anyway, in order to not be house-bound, I organised to hire a wheelchair from the Spinal Injuries Association, and it arrived today. It's not too dissimilar to my own wheelchair, in that it's rigid frame (not folding*, which means I can get it in my car!), low back, no arm-rests, footplate tucked in, all the things I'm used to. Even so, it's quite scary going outside in a different chair. I've had my current one for at least 10 years, if not longer. My balance in the hired one is different, and I sit in it differently (it's not made-to-measure like my one), but it does move!
It actually moves too well. I'm so used to mine being so hard to push around - and not just because I'm heavy and one of the wheels rubbed - and I thought the reason it was hard to push was because I was so broken down and decrepit and too fat. The only joints in my body that aren't painful (touch wood) are my elbows. Everything else hurts, and when it comes to pushing a wheelchair, having painful hands and wrists isn't helpful, and in my case pushing my wheelchair has become excruciating.
But in this hired 'chair, it was easy to get around. Dexter couldn't keep up! I got up an incline to the shops without stopping or even having to noticeably push harder. Pushing along took barely any effort, my wrists weren't bothered, and I didn't have to use my hands at all (by this I mean I could push just using the heel of my hand, without using my fingers at all). This also means that there was less exertion on my shoulders and back.
Which all means that it's my wheelchair that's making it so very difficult to get around, not (just) my extra weight. I already knew I had a problem with one of my little wheels, as I haven't been able to get it off to oil it the last couple of times I've tried, but I hadn't realised it was having such an impact. But now if I push my empty wheelchair, it rolls for a few centimetres, then spins on the stuck little wheel. If I push the empty hire chair, it only stops when it bumps into something.
I am broken down and decrepit, and really overweight, but I am also applying for a new wheelchair today. Despite the overwhelming application process, which has put me off applying for at least three years, I want to get a wheelchair that doesn't cause me immense pain and exertion to use. It may take two years to get it, so I'll concentrate on losing weight in the meantime.
All in all, it gives me hope for improved mobility in the future.
*Folding wheelchairs are much heavier than rigid frame wheelchairs, and I don't have the strength to get a folding chair into my car. With a rigid framed chair, you take the wheels off, and lift it into the car in pieces. This I can still manage, although I try to limit how many times I do it in one day.
OK.
So.
 |
| "Sniff Break" at the shopping centre. |
So I found myself housebound, from being too fat. Horrifying, both from the fatness, and from the housebound-ness. I have been trying to lose weight for a long time, and although I have stopped putting it on, I'm finding it very difficult to lose anything of any significance.
Anyway, in order to not be house-bound, I organised to hire a wheelchair from the Spinal Injuries Association, and it arrived today. It's not too dissimilar to my own wheelchair, in that it's rigid frame (not folding*, which means I can get it in my car!), low back, no arm-rests, footplate tucked in, all the things I'm used to. Even so, it's quite scary going outside in a different chair. I've had my current one for at least 10 years, if not longer. My balance in the hired one is different, and I sit in it differently (it's not made-to-measure like my one), but it does move!
It actually moves too well. I'm so used to mine being so hard to push around - and not just because I'm heavy and one of the wheels rubbed - and I thought the reason it was hard to push was because I was so broken down and decrepit and too fat. The only joints in my body that aren't painful (touch wood) are my elbows. Everything else hurts, and when it comes to pushing a wheelchair, having painful hands and wrists isn't helpful, and in my case pushing my wheelchair has become excruciating.
But in this hired 'chair, it was easy to get around. Dexter couldn't keep up! I got up an incline to the shops without stopping or even having to noticeably push harder. Pushing along took barely any effort, my wrists weren't bothered, and I didn't have to use my hands at all (by this I mean I could push just using the heel of my hand, without using my fingers at all). This also means that there was less exertion on my shoulders and back.
Which all means that it's my wheelchair that's making it so very difficult to get around, not (just) my extra weight. I already knew I had a problem with one of my little wheels, as I haven't been able to get it off to oil it the last couple of times I've tried, but I hadn't realised it was having such an impact. But now if I push my empty wheelchair, it rolls for a few centimetres, then spins on the stuck little wheel. If I push the empty hire chair, it only stops when it bumps into something.
I am broken down and decrepit, and really overweight, but I am also applying for a new wheelchair today. Despite the overwhelming application process, which has put me off applying for at least three years, I want to get a wheelchair that doesn't cause me immense pain and exertion to use. It may take two years to get it, so I'll concentrate on losing weight in the meantime.
All in all, it gives me hope for improved mobility in the future.
*Folding wheelchairs are much heavier than rigid frame wheelchairs, and I don't have the strength to get a folding chair into my car. With a rigid framed chair, you take the wheels off, and lift it into the car in pieces. This I can still manage, although I try to limit how many times I do it in one day.
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