Where's the wheelchair going?

Where's the wheelchair going?....That was the question that was asked by a member of the public when a member of the Scotrail passenger assist team was assisting me to board at train recently. Clearly I was invisible and my wheelchair was driving itself!

I wish that made this comment could have told that to my bank balance...It must have been my wheelchair that had just spent £100 in Primark!

I was still on the platform when my fellow passenger made this comment or that would have been my response. The passenger assist staff member just indicated that i, Dr Danielle Farrel or Danielle would be sitting in the allocated space.

I'm the type of person who can laugh at these thoughtless comments but underneath my laughter it does make me angry. My fellow passenger was of an older generation but this doesn't make her comment right or excusable. She was pushing a pram which i can only assume was the chariot of her grandson grand-daughter or any other possible extended family member of that age. I wasnt close enough the the pram before she boarded to see the gender of her little bundle of joy but how would she have liked it if i had said 'where's the pram going' as opposed to 'where are you going to sit?'

As the image on this blog post says" the wheelchair should not be a symbol of disability but rather a vehicle of liberation...a chariot of independence" i will go a step further that that to say that my wheelchair is to me the equivalent of what a non disabled persons legs are to them. Some disabled people might not agree with what I just said and i would totally understand that but I'm just not easily offended by making these comparisons.

Nether my wheelchair or my cerebral palsy define me. Yes, without my cerebral palsy. I often wonder if my life would have taken a different path... would I be married with 5 kids by now or would i have completed my PhD? I guess we will never know but one thing i definitely do know is that my CP is only a tiny part of who I am and without it i would probably be a totally different person, with a different outlook on life and perhaps a different set of morals. My wheelchair plays no part in who I am as a person but if we want to look at more positively then yes it is my "chariot of independence" and is a object that allows me to live the life I want to lead.

That said I've heard some different opinions to this. I remember once going for a wheelchair assessment as my existing wheelchair at the time had become uncomfortable. The technician asked how long i sat in my chair per day. At that time i was a university student so i spent a large part of my day in my wheelchair, whether I was at uni or studying from home. His response left me bewildered. He advised that "wheelchairs are not for sitting in!" I was glad i had a support worker with me to witness this comment. Otherwise I don't think anyone would have believed me that a wheelchair, apparently wasn't for sitting in. I never did find out what the technician thought wheelchairs were for but i specifically remember thinking "am i suppose to go to uni in my bed then?"

Regardless of other peoples opinion's my wheelchair is for sitting in, as doing so allows me to have the independence to not only not live my daily life but also to achieve my dreams and aspirations. My wheelchair will never define me but it will always be an extension of my identity. For example my current wheelchair is purple and i have been known to bling up the wheels with diamantes or add stickers that reflect my humour to my disability. One of the stickers i currently have says "Pair of legs for sale- hardly used!" i realise that some wont find this funny or if a non disabled person made a comment like this to a disabled person it may be considered highly offensive...i totally understand that, everyone has their own view point, the world would be a boring place otherwise...

However this is me...Danielle. So next time don't ask where the wheelchair is going... ask me where I want to sit!