Yesterday I went out with a team of recreational therapists. We took my wheelchair on the street and rolled about ten blocks lowering the local neighborhood. What I learned on this expedition is that sidewalks are nothing like the smooth halls you find in the hospital, or the office, or the home. Sidewalks have cracks. Sidewalks have bumps. Sidewalks are just rough enough to cause serious problems for a newbie wheelchair user. I spent much of my time scanning for the best path and figuring out which bumps I can simply roll over and which bumps I must carefully stop at to avoid the possibility that my wheelchair might tip or simply reach what I consider to be a dangerous position.
All of this will come with experience, much experience and the more I can get out in the neighborhood and learn what it is that I can and cannot do, the better off I will be.
What I have learned from all of this is that when accessibility is an issue the world looks like a very, very different blocks.
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