Saturday, April 19, 2014

Those of you that know me or have been reading my blog, will be familiar with Wheelchair Challenge. Today it was the turn of my daughter whilst we were at the shops. I sat in the cafe, by the window (good view) with a drink, whilst she wheeled herself to the cashpoint (which was up a slight hill, and by slight, I mean if you're a walker it was slight, but NOT so slight if you're wheeling yourself), and then got me a few things from the shop. She encountered a couple of interesting people....

....first up, the dickhead that said to the person he was with 'she'd be prettier if she wasn't in a wheelchair'

Aaaaaaarrgggghhhh!!

The next person up was a helpful chatty man of good humour. My daughter dropped a packet of cashew nuts, but then couldn't pick them up, so man number 2  said he'd get them for her. He huffed and puffed a bit and said,

'To be honest, I can hardly get them myself'

Daughter, 'Why?'

Man, 'Because of my belly.'

Daughter, 'Oh' He gets full marks here. It's not often this daughter is stuck for something to say.

Man, 'Why are you in a chair?'

Daughter, 'It's because of my mum.'

Man (shocked look)

Daughter, realising she needs to extend that....'No no, my mum is in a wheelchair, so she gets me and my sisters, or anyone really, to do what she has to do when in a chair, because otherwise we don't get how it is to be in a wheelchair.'

Man (probably relieved), laughs and says ' That is BRILLIANT! '

Meanwhile, I was chatting to a couple in the cafe. We watched my daughters success, or rather, the alternative route she took, to get to the cashpoint. Because she found the slope at the crossing too steep, and therefore couldn't get on the path, she had to stay on the road. As she was going along the back of the parked cars, I was envisioning a disaster, featuring a squashed daughter AND a squashed wheelchair.....I'm still trying to decide which would have been worse...... ;)

Thankfully, both the chair and my daughter returned safe and well, with my daughter relaying her findings. So, it's a 50/50 split at the moment between the dickheads and the helpful normals. I would dearly love the helpful normals to win here, why don't you all join their team? I reckon that team will win.

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