You guys, guess what!? The other day I tried getting in the car by myself, including breaking down my chair and hauling it into the car. And I DID THE DAMN THING!! I have wanted to do this on my own for 7.5 years. And I finally did it! Now let me start at the beginning.
About a year ago I spent maybe a week practicing getting in/out of my car and breaking down my chair and putting it back together. I quickly lost motivation and stopped trying. However, the other day, I wanted to go hangout with my mom. I was clearly feeling real confident because while I was home alone, with no one knowing, a wheelchair with brakes that don’t work (that’s another story for another time), and without my Apple Watch on, I thought, “I can do this. I can get in the car.” So I grabbed my purse, got Charlie riled up to go in the car, and headed to the garage. I knew the whole process was going to be challenging since it started with me spending three minutes trying to open the car door without pinching my fingers.
Once I finally got the door open, I pulled my chair alongside the car, put my sliding board under my leg, slid across to the driver’s seat, lifted my legs up, and was in the car. It was now time for the hard work to begin. And you have to remember, I had no idea what I was doing. I took off my cushion, threw it on the dashboard, folded down my side guards, popped off one of my brakes, spun the chair around, and got the other brake off. This is when I ran into my first problem: the wheelchair rolled away and I couldn’t reach it. Luckily, I was able to slam my car door into it and push the chair close enough to reach. Then I folded the back down and tried to get one of the wheels off. This is when I ran into my second problem: for some reason the wheel I wasn’t trying to get off fell and rolled away. I figured “no big deal, I’ll get it once I’m done and can back my car up to reach it.” I managed to get the other wheel off and threw it in the back seat. Then, I reached down to grab the frame of my chair and tried pulling it in several different ways. You have to realize something, I just got a manicure that I didn’t want to chip and had a photo shoot the next day I didn’t want bruised legs for. Finally, one of the ways worked and the chair was on my lap. In the process of getting it in the passenger seat the back unfolded, which was a complete pain to deal with but I managed. Now I was safely in the car with my wheelchair frame, one wheel, and feeling proud the hardest part was over.
This is when I ran into my third problem: I clicked the garage opener button on the visor of my car and nothing happened. I tried again … nothing happened. I tried fifty more times. Nothing. I had managed to get myself and my chair in the car and the freakin garage door wouldn’t open. I knew I couldn’t get out of the car because putting my chair back together is way more difficult. Plus that dang wheel had rolled away and the only way for me to get it was by backing my car up with the garage open. I was stuck, stranded, with no one to help. I could feel the tears of frustration building up. I was starting to lose my mind. Then I thought, “I know it’s dumb to start my car in a closed garage, but if I do it really fast maybe the garage will open when I click the button.” So I gave it a go …. IT WORKED. I backed the car up, leaned out, grabbed my wheel, threw it in the backseat, and was off to meet my mom.
During the whole process, Charlie got a little nervous with all the loud banging and chair being pulled into the car. Plus she was a bit confused because the wheelchair was in her prime front seat spot. So unfortunately Charlie was a backseat rider that day and not very happy about it.
I learned a couple things for next time.
- Tell someone I’m getting in the car by myself in case they don’t hear from me they know to come looking on our cold garage cement floor
- Wear my Apple Watch so if something happens I can call or text someone
- Don’t wear a white shirt because it will get covered in grease and dirt
- Make sure the garage door will open!
What an adventure I had all by myself. Even though the whole thing took probably 20 minutes, as I drove off, I can’t begin to explain the level of pride, accomplishment, and independence I felt. Now I’m determined to continue practicing and get better, faster, and more efficient. Then I need to figure out a way to put my chair back together so I can be completely independent when I’m out and about.
