Handicapped Parking, access, and wheelchairs.

When Richard was finally released from all facilities, one of the things we needed to do was to go to Walmart to pick up some things for him.  I asked him if he wanted to try to venture out himself.  He wanted to try.  I drove the Walmart parking lot to see if I could find a handicapped parking space, but they were all taken.  There was one however, with people standing around the car talking.  I pulled up and asked them if they were going to be leaving soon as I would like to have the space. They refused.  Of course, that is their right. I have had similar experiences, and many times when there just weren't handicapped spaces available.  That makes it really hard for those who really need those spaces, especially if there is a wheelchair involved.  I would park, get out and get the wheelchair out of the trunk, open it up, put the leg supports on each side of the wheelchair and roll it around to Richard's side of the car where it would take him a good, long time to get out of the car and get into the wheelchair.

I don't know why this is, but it seems that anytime I had to push the wheelchair, it was always uphill. When you weigh half of what the person in the wheelchair weighs and you are pushing uphill, it is not an easy ride. Even when you are going downhill, you have to hold the wheelchair from getting away from you and heading downhill on its own.

Once we went to a restaurant like a Chili's or something similar.  They have stairs to the seating area! How is a wheelchair supposed to do that?  It was a nightmare!

A couple of years into this, we went to BYU Education Week. It is an amazing week of classes at BYU, but they are all over campus. I never realized how many hills there are on the BYU campus!  Going from the first class to the second in the amount of time that you are given was impossible, and I know the campus pretty well. The classes are filled on a first come, first seated basis. We decided after that second class that we were just going to go to the Marriott Center (an arena type venue) to listen to whoever spoke there.  We couldn't be picky.  Besides, we figured that the best classes would be at the biggest venue. We have rarely been disappointed.

There are not enough handicapped parking spaces. I believe that there should be levels of handicapped parking spaces.  Sometimes people, like Richard is now, 10 years later, take a space that they certainly need, but there may be someone else who needs it more, like he did in the beginning.  I believe they should have priority.  I don't know how to reasonably do that, but I think there should be a way.

We soon learned to use the motorized carts at Walmart instead of a wheelchair, but in that case, I would park, go inside to get a cart, drive it to the car, and get him into it. When we left, I would get him into the car, return the cart, and come get in the car.  It is a long and difficult process.  We have a handicapped license plate now and I will not park in a handicapped spot if Richard is not with me.  Could I?  Yes, I could get away with it, but I may be denying the space to someone who really needs it, and I won't do that.

If you see someone struggling with a wheelchair going up or down hills, getting the chair in or out of the trunk, etc., please stop and ask if they need help.  It is hard and exhausting.