Student Recounts Day in Wheelchair

Author: Todd Falcone

8:20 a.m. Left Jewett House and wheeled across the street and up the ramp into Twilight Hall for an 8:40 a.m. class. Besides taking 20 minutes to essentially cross the street, the icy and snow-covered path did not make it any easier. The handicap ramp didn't look too steep but it took a concerted effort to make it up. I then had to wait for someone to open the door for me. Once inside Twilight Auditorium, I was forced to stay in the back of the room because I couldn't get to any of the seats due to the stairs. As students walked past me to their seat I was amazed that so few people actually looked at me. They all walked right past me to get to their seats. I noticed throughout the day that people seem to purposely avoid eye contact. At times it made me feel like a ghost.

9:50 a.m. I wheeled outside Twilight, down the ramp and met my friend in the parking lot. I needed to get to Bicentennial Hall for a class photo-shoot at 10 a.m. and then class at 10:10, and so he offered to drive me. Depending on others is an important part of dealing with an issue like this.

10:00 a.m. Photo-shoot in Bicentennial Hall and then attended my second class of the day on the first floor of the building. We managed to fit three of us (in chairs) in the elevator at once.

11:00 a.m. Made my way, with the help of a couple of friends from Bicentennial Hall back to Twilight for a discussion. Took the elevator to the third floor.

12:05 p.m. One of my friends pushed me up the hill from Twilight to outside Sunderland Auditorium where I told him I could get to the Freeman International Center (FIC) for lunch by myself. As I was being pushed across the street, my front wheels got caught on the sidewalk causing the chair to stop moving and me to fall out in the middle of the crosswalk. The small lip where the road meets the sidewalk was too high for the chair to make it over. For my friend it was slightly amusing but all I kept wondering was what would have happened if I was alone. I wouldn't have been able to get back in my chair alone.

12:35 p.m. Arrived at FIC for lunch. Entered through the Cook entrance and eventually found the elevator. I met one of my professors (also in a wheelchair for the day) and two of his thesis students (not in wheelchairs.) We took turns taking the elevator down and reconvened in the kitchen of FIC. We wheeled through the kitchen and into Freeman for lunch among the throngs of students just out of class. The crowds were very intimidating and we could hardly move. My professor and I found a table in the backroom while the two other students accompanying us got us food. We sat there waiting for our lunch and felt very helpless and dependent on others; two feelings that we were not used to. After our meal, our trays were carried up for us.

1:25 p.m. I used a handicapped bathroom in Bicentennial Hall before class and found out just how difficult it was to open the stall door and then close it once inside. Then I had to get myself on the toilet. I felt like I would be cheating if I just wheeled in the stall and then stood up to do my business. Let me tell you, if you ever want a challenge try to hold the bar attached to the wall in a handicap stall and physically lift and swing yourself onto the toilet from a seated position without using your legs. I never appreciated a urinal as much as I did the next day. I also noticed that the view at the sink was very different. I could barely reach the faucet and I don't think I had ever seen that part of the mirror before. It gave me a different perspective.

1:40 p.m. Late to biology lab. Its already hard enough being a TA for a class that I have not taken in 2 years but not being able to stand made it more difficult, let alone the fact we were working with radioactivity.

5:00 p.m. Had a friend push me to the Wonnacott Commons office to drop off the wheelchair for the next day's activity. By this time my arms were sore and my legs and whole backside were just about numb.

5:30 p.m. Dropped off the chair and headed home making sure I didn't trip on any cracks or slight raises in the road.