Public Address | Cafe | Access: Walking Is Overrated

Christine Peet

Sat, 07 Jun 2014 15:44:07 +1200

Hi Chelle, I have just come across your post and couldn't agree more. I have always said it doesn't bother me that I can't walk. (I have Spina Bifida too) It's what I've grown up knowing. Like yourself I learned to walk when I was young. I can say that…

Angela Hart

Sat, 10 May 2014 19:58:31 +1200

Thanks for the link, Martin and Hilary, the piece is well worth reading and it's entertaining too.

Hilary Stace

Sat, 10 May 2014 09:34:34 +1200

Martin, your link doesn't work – here is a link to the pdf. Well worth reading – it is very entertaining.

Moz

Fri, 09 May 2014 20:52:20 +1200

A quick reply to those recommending recumbent cycles: I am going through the process of finding funders for a Top End Custom Excelerator Handcycle. I'm guessing it's probably exactly what I'm being warned against.

Yup. But as with all this stuff, having something that works for you is really important.…

Chelle Hope

Fri, 09 May 2014 15:09:53 +1200

I wouldn't dismiss this sort of thing out of hand. If the kids enjoy it – and it looks like they do – so long as they are comfortable and not in any pain, I don't mind. It's not like it's being touted really as a viable alternative to being…

Chelle Hope

Fri, 09 May 2014 15:00:25 +1200

Sacha

Fri, 09 May 2014 14:00:06 +1200

Hmmm – a harness for walking (90 sec clip)

Kevin McCready

Fri, 09 May 2014 13:45:51 +1200

I second Moz on the Greenspeed. We had a tandem recumbent. On one hill we regularly went down we had to brake at 80 km/hr so as not to break the speed limit. Magura disk brakes were awesome.

Martin Sullivan

Fri, 09 May 2014 12:12:44 +1200

Thanks for your post on walking Chelle. It reminded me of the times when we would have a smoke and go out for a walk and i used to so enjoy cruising (especially down hills) in my chair while my mates, poor buggers, had to walk! It also reminded me…

Hilary Stace

Fri, 09 May 2014 08:03:02 +1200

It I interesting that the company that makes the bionic/robotic legs has not been the stand out (pun) success they anticipated. I have a friend with MS who seriously contemplated them (and could probably afford them but now has a chair that stands him up when he needs to, which…

Russell Brown

Thu, 08 May 2014 22:06:39 +1200

Your analogy that not being able to walk is like not being able to fly is obvious, but it opens my eyes to your experience, brilliantly.

Same.

Chelle Hope

Thu, 08 May 2014 21:44:20 +1200

You made me laugh, Stephen. Thank you. I too would like a tail so I could swing through the trees like a spider monkey. I would also like a spider monkey of my own. I would call him Maurice. Seriously though, thanks for reading:)

Chelle Hope

Thu, 08 May 2014 14:43:25 +1200

Thanks, David. I appreciate you taking the time to read it.

Russell Brown

Thu, 08 May 2014 14:28:27 +1200

I think it’s an important distinction to make. People with physical disabilities who have to deal with chronic illness can be isolated in a way that healthy individuals might not be. Particularly when it comes to recreation, we can feel really quite limited.

I get how alienating it can be…

David Haywood

Thu, 08 May 2014 14:10:33 +1200

This was a most illuminating piece, Chelle (and very well-written, too). It's given me quite a bit to think about. Thank you!

Moz

Thu, 08 May 2014 13:34:50 +1200

Particularly when it comes to recreation, we can feel really quite limited.

Yeah. I used to hang out occasionally with a woman who had MS as she ground down that ugly slope, and eventually even leaving the house was all a bit much. But for a while the local bi…

Moz

Thu, 08 May 2014 13:19:46 +1200

I'm looking at getting a wheelchair cycle myself

If you can afford it for the love of all that's sane, get a tadpole recumbent trike with arm-power, rather than the usual crappy delta (like Sean had). Those are unstable at any speed, but unfortunately the muppets who make them are…

Chelle Hope

Thu, 08 May 2014 12:29:57 +1200

I do understand. It wasn't meant to be a criticism, by the way. Apologies if it came across that way. I just meant to say that I've experienced life as a very active person with a disability and also, later, as a person who lives with chronic illness and isn't…

Moz

Thu, 08 May 2014 12:06:17 +1200

Fun means different things to different people, too.

Oh, very much so. I'm quite aware that I'm excluding a lot of potential friends by saying "no ride bike, no Moz for you". I'm also trying to be clear that this is all about me, and I'm not denying that other…

Chelle Hope

Thu, 08 May 2014 12:01:29 +1200

Thanks for your comment, Moz. I had very few health concerns until 10 years ago. In that time I did pack in a lot of 'fun'. However, due to deteriorating health, I'm not quite as physically able or, on the whole, as well as I once was so I have…

Chelle Hope

Thu, 08 May 2014 11:40:14 +1200

Oh, thanks. That's very nice of you to say.

Moz

Thu, 08 May 2014 11:23:33 +1200

I still don't have a good way to describe people who are basically healthy and robust, but in a wheelchair. Because those are the people who seem to go out and have fun, and are fun to do stuff with. But fun I mean the stupid stuff that teenagers do,…

Morgan Nichol

Thu, 08 May 2014 11:15:50 +1200

When I saw the link I thought this would be about commuting & public transport and such, but it was so much better than that. Thank you.

Chelle Hope

Thu, 08 May 2014 10:52:16 +1200

Oh, it is! I do miss it. Sadly, I'm much better behaved these days.

Russell Brown

Thu, 08 May 2014 10:01:28 +1200

A sight I'd always enjoy at the Big Day Out was young people in wheelchairs with their mates, dancing in the Boiler Room. It struck me that being off yer chops and wheelchair-dancing looked like a lot of fun.

Public Address

Thu, 08 May 2014 10:01:28 +1200

Discussion from blog post.