Mobility Awareness Month
Image description: Kae, an east asian woman with brown hair is sitting in her power wheelchair, leaning forward and looking over her shoulder, smiling with her teeth, posing in the paved pathway of a park in Toronto called High Park, with cherry blossoms blooming in the background. Large white sans-serif text is written over the photo reading “Happy Mobility Awareness Month”.
It’ll be a little over a year since I got my first power wheelchair and admittedly, I only recently named her…which says a lot about our budding relationship—and my acceptance. I knew she was important and would become a part of me but perhaps I didn’t want to get attached because subconsciously that meant I would always need her. I grapple with that dark truth but remind myself it’s about perspective. It took me a long time to come to terms with my prognosis of losing the ability to walk over time; transitioning from a healthy, able-bodied person to experiencing a gradual decline in strength and mobility is extremely challenging. That’s the thing about progression though, it’s not constant. I always have to find my new normal every time I notice a change in my body and abilities—and that’s what the fight is about. I must keep going. I must keep adapting. I must keep being here.
A wheelchair doesn’t solve all my problems. It helps but it also adds new problems to solve like how to travel with it, where to store it, how to use it in tight spaces, how to transfer safely, etc. Now that I’ve had Willow for a while and experienced more life with her, I reflect on how much easier life could’ve been if I had embraced mobility aids sooner. They are tools, not symbols of pity; they liberate people with mobility challenges. I still get shy being out in my wheelchair in social settings but freedom ultimately trumps the fear and awkwardness because I get to have some of my life and mobility back. To anyone transitioning into being a wheelchair user, you got this. 💙 Happy Mobility Awareness Month!
Love, K.