Let me be the person in the wheelchair you know so we can all think about how to be more inclusive

Let me be the person in the wheelchair you know so we can all think about how to be more inclusive

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This first-person article is the experience of Codi Darnell, a Vancouver mother who used a wheelchair due to a spinal cord injury.For more information about CBC’s first-person story, see common problem.

A few months ago, a notification lit up on my phone. In our family group chat, a new message showed a photo of my sister-in-law and her husband’s brand new deck with five words: “The terrace is open.”

Like many people during this pandemic, they have been busy with home renovation projects. But this deck has a feature that many others don’t: because they know that even one step is too much for wheelchair users, their design includes a perfect gradual ramp.

With that gesture, I know that I am also very popular.

I am not born as a minority. But in 2016, I fell from a height of three meters at the place where our house was added, which made my legs useless and made me a full-time wheelchair user.

Before that, as a healthy, white, non-transgender, and heterosexual woman, I never had to face the fact that this world was not born for me. So, imagine my surprise when I returned to the world after the accident, and found that my value to society was weakened.

Before I was paralyzed, I never knew that a few stairs could mean the difference between feeling contained and excluded.

Before I was paralyzed, I never thought that I might go somewhere and couldn’t use the bathroom.

Before I was paralyzed-although I was never habitually on time-I never thought that I would be late for my daughter’s swimming class because the few available parking spaces in the community center were occupied, and I shed tears with her Take a round in the parking lot.

Before I was paralyzed, I never thought that I might not be able to take my kids to play football because it would be dangerous to climb stairs to enter the field or try to push myself up a steep hill.

Before I was paralyzed, I never thought that my life would change in such a way that these issues would become the focus of attention-for me, for people who know and love me.

But then i used to be I am paralyzed and it is my responsibility as a parent and partner to find that what has not changed. It does not restrict my desire to go shopping, participate in activities, or go to restaurants and hotels.

It really changed my vantage point in the world. Through the lens of disability, I saw that I was an afterthought.

When her relatives used a wheelchair ramp to build the terrace, Darnell said it made her feel like a wheelchair user. (Submitted by Codi Darnell)

Creating wheelchair access in our communities and businesses indicates the need for people in wheelchairs. This shows that the society has seen the value of my business and has not forgotten me in the planning process.It tells wheelchair users that our presence is important.

I’m not just talking about ramps and elevators. It also paved trails and playgrounds with solid surfaces. Tables and counters of standard height rather than bar height, and bathrooms with large automatic doors and handrails. This is more of a wide enough parking space, no curb cuts for positioning, so parked vehicles will block the access point.

This is a thoughtful and understanding that people in wheelchairs should be given equal opportunities.

These solutions are easier to see when the struggle becomes personal, which is why my sister-in-law and her husband designed a ramp for their new deck. However, not everyone has family or friends sitting in a chair. Not everyone has a personal connection, and the problem of wheelchair access can be changed from vague to tangible.

So let me be the person you know sitting in the chair.

A woman, wife, and mother, she just wants to buy groceries, play with her children on the playground, have dinner with friends, and maybe one day, go to a concert after the pandemic.

If you have this connection, you may be more inclined to notice when the ramp is disguised as a storage space, or you may think twice before entering an accessible parking space, even if it is only a minute. You will become another pair of eyes for wheelchair access in the world, helping society to become more inclusive.


Do you have a fascinating personal story that can bring understanding or help others? We hope to hear from you. This is more information on how to sell to us At [email protected].



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