Tag Archives: Disability

Adjusting…eventually

This weekend, Rob, Scarlett and I went car shopping. Well, to be more specific, we went wheelchair van shopping. Little less sexy, right? There are a few places in the Bay Area that specialize in vans, and we went to one in Burlingame called Mobility Works. On the weekends, they are only open by appointment, which meant we had the whole place to ourselves with a knowledgeable sales guy named Mike.

Mike showed us new and used vans from Toyota, Honda, and Dodge. It works like this: you add a 25K conversion fee to the MSRP of one of these vans. Any add-ons (leather seats, sunroof, navigation, anxiety medication) cost extra. It gets expensive. Used vans can be a good option, provided you can find one that has all of your requirements. For us, the top three are: Read More>

|Categories: Life, Progression, Venting | Tags: , , , | Permalink

Asking

Last week, Scarlett and I were out for lunch with some other family members, when she caught sight of a man who had prosthetic arms. Using the hooks on the ends, he deftly pulled a credit card out of his wallet and paid for his food. Scarlett stared. “Why does he have those?” she asked quietly.

I’ve faced a lot of curious looks since I got my walker, and now my wheelchair. Children will ask. Adults mostly do not. My least favorite times have been when I can hear a child ask their parent about me, and the parent shushes them or calls them nosy.

So my response to Scarlett was, “Ask him.” She did, and he told us that he was born without arms and uses his prosthetics to do everything he needs to do. Then he and I got into a discussion about asking. We both said we liked when kids asked. They’re curious, and we’re different. It’s ok. Read More>

|Categories: Age, Life, Parenting | Tags: , , | Permalink