A real eye opener. (General Comments)

Member Name: weeonelass

Product:	General Comments
Date:	04/12/01 (81 review reads)
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I hope this is in the correct catagory, I could not find 'weeone gets on her soap box.'

Anyway, I just wanted to get down on paper my feelings on people with disabilities. I never really thought before how much hard work it can be. Since my husband broke his leg I have learned so much and we are lucky that his is a temporary situation.

His leg is in plaster upto his theigh and will be for sometime so for us to go shopping or just generally out and about has been a nightmare. I did not realise the facilities that are available to help people out. Did you know that in most large shops like tescos, asda, matalan etc.. they provide visitors with wheelchairs (only if you need them of course). Some of them are even motorised which for someone like my husband is great cause he races all the kids in pushchairs and I do not have to push him (picture it, I am 7 stone and he is 16!!!)


Bluewater park shopping centre ofers excellent facilities absolutly free. You can borrow wheelchairs had use them all day or you can hire them for a week for a small fee. There are no stairs to tackle and all the shops are wide enough for a wheelschair to fit in so he can look around too. The parking is great too. You can park right at the entrance and collect the chair. It is so easy.

The problem I do have which we can seem to control is others attitudes towards him. OK he only has a broken leg but we get pushed, we get frowned upon and members of staff in shops offer us no help whatsoever. Bearing in mind I have a two year old too who tends to make the most of the oppotunity that I cannot push daddy and chase her at all times. One day my husband was jammed between two shelves whilst my daughter was rapidly clearing the shelves. So I was trying to un-jam him and control the cherub at the same time whilst a group, yes that;s right a group of staff stood back smirking. Well I do not mind telling you that I wish I could have wipped of
those smirks.

When we are walking around the shops people will not allow him through the crowds, they walk over his leg and swing their shopping into him. It is a nightmare. In restaurants we get no help storing the wheelchair it gets left to me again whilst settling our little terror.

I really feel for people who have to remain permenatly at others mersy like this. It has been awful for us. The saying "walk a mile in another's shoes to learn how it is for others" is so true. I have nothing but admiration for others having to put up with this behaviour. Yes the facilities for people with disabilities does seem to be improving but we have a long way to go to improve people's attitudes.

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