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#Post#: 5189--------------------------------------------------
In praise of manual wheelchairs
DIR By: agate
Date: May 27, 2026, 2:04 am
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I've used a manual wheelchair since 1984. I'm on my third such
chair. These manual chairs haven't changed much over the years.
They are still sturdy, long-lasting, and fairly straightforward.
You don't have to learn very much about how to operate and take
care of them.
What many people don't realize about manual wheelchairs is how
adaptable they are. You don't just order up a chair and get a
standard chair. Whatever brand of chair you get, you'll be able
to adjust the armrests, leg and foot rests, and the back--and
especially the seating.
You can order up a narrow adult chair if you think you'll have
problems with some doorways.
You can customize the chair by adding on an umbrella holder, a
headrest, even a beverage holder.
You can propel the chair yourself if your arms can take the
workout, or you can ask someone to stand behind your chair and
push it. Or if you can still walk a little, you can stand behind
your chair and push it, then plunk yourself down in the chair
when you feel tired or numb or in pain.
People often assume that anyone riding around in a wheelchair
has legs that don't work any more. Not so. There are many people
who use a wheelchair for occasional use--at various times of
day, for instance, or even at various times in the year. There
are good days, and there are bad days for most people.
I don't sit in anything else but my wheelchair but I can still
walk, often with a rollator but not always. But I can't sit in
most ordinary seating for very long at all. A few minutes maybe.
When I've been standing for a while and know I am about to give
out, there is that wheelchair, ready for me to sit down and rest
for a while.
People with MS are often reluctant to start using a wheelchair.
They are afraid that they will feel too much like an invalid. Or
they are afraid that using a wheelchair will move them closer
toward losing use of their legs altogether. Or maybe they are
just afraid of being conspicuous.
You do have to cope with standing out in a crowd. People have a
way of either noticing you entirely too much, maybe by being
overly solicitous--or ignoring you completely, even bumping into
your chair as if it is just a shopping cart in their way.
Some might offer to help you with a difficult door. Some won't.
I don't envy the people who have power chairs or scooters even
though they can whiz around and go places I couldn't go to. They
are stuck with a very heavy and cumbersome aid that has to be
stored, recharged, and repaired by professionals--and everywhere
it goes, it will be very much in the way, compared to a manual
wheelchair.
The paratransit system I use has a policy now of telling users
of power chair or scooters that for their own safety, they will
be expected to transfer to one of the seats on the bus.
I'm not sure how long this policy has been in effect but I can
imagine why it was necessary. It must be difficult to secure a
power chair or scooter to a van.
I've ridden in a scooter and a power chair. Yes, you can zip
along. But I'm fond of my manual wheelchair.
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