The Wheel World: Day 3

The first part of the day was spent at the Spinal Defects clinic. Afterwards, we headed to the mall to run some errands.

Having a two-year-old in a wheelchair presents some logistical conundrums. First of all, I have heard many parents lament the point at which their child is too big and/or independent for a stroller - the main reason? THE STORAGE. A good stroller is almost as good as a shopping cart; you can hang your bags on it and there is a basket underneath for all manner of gear and whatnot. I don't know any parent of a two-year old who would want to do without their stroller. And yet, here we are.

If Annabelle is in her wheelchair, what are we supposed to do, push an empty stroller beside her? That's sorta silly. Then again, neither the wife nor I want to spend the day with a diaper bag hanging off our shoulder. Imagine taking your two-year-old to the mall, the zoo, anywhere, without a stroller . . .

So we picked up this little bag at Target:

It's a perfect fit for the chair but it is about 1/4 the size of a diaper bag. We can fit a package of wipes, 3 diapers, a blanket and maybe a couple bags of snacks. We are DEFINITELY travelling light now-a-days. I am not sure what we will do when we have to start carrying cathing supplies . . .

Another thing that is challenging is time-management. Again, imagine taking your two-year-old to the mall without a stroller. You would either carry them or wait for them - like herding a cat. In Annie's case, we actually push her from behind. imagine pushing your toddler from behind around a mall. Okay, it's not exactly the same but it isn't completely different either.

A couple of times, Annie protested and grabbed the wheels to stop them. Of course, daddy weighs about 10 times what she does so it was no contest. When Annie isn't resisting being pushed, she lightly rests her hands and/or forearms on the wheels as we are "zoom-zooming" from store to store. At the end of the day, everything below her elbows was black from the grime coming off her tires.

This is not a complaint, by-the-way. We are TOTALLY STOKED about the chair - we are just going through an adjustment period.

The errands went just fine. We got all the usual stares but more than one person exclaimed how cute they thought Annie looked in her chair. One stranger in the elevator looked down and said, "Well that's a neat stroller!". We are pretty sure he actually thought it was a stroller.

So that's that. We are parents of a two-year-old flying without a stroller or diaper bag. Sorta like acrobats without a net.

We're hard-core like that . . .

Wheels: Day 2

So Monday was Annabelle's first day at home in her new wheelchair. Our house is all one level with the exception of the sunken family room where we spend most of our time. As a result, Annie has done most of her exploring in the family room - a little in the living room and virtually none in the rest of the house.

Annie has basically never explored her own nursery - all she has done in her own room is nurse, and sleep.

Just for kicks, I set her in her wheelchair in the kitchen to see what she would do. She immediately wheeled through the kitchen, through the dining room, and through the living room. I sat at the computer in the dining room and tried to give her some independent space.

When I looked over my shoulder, Annie was wheeling towards the hallway leading to the bedrooms. She paused, did a 180 - looked at me as if to say, "Can I?", and then disappeared down the hall.

I waited a few minutes and then checked on her. She had gone straight from the kitchen to her own bedroom with clear intent. Here is our little one able to explore her own room for the first time in her life (clearly, we have some toddler-proofing to do):



Next, she wheeled to her door and grabbed her pink boxing gloves off her door knob - which is just loaded with symbolism for us.



After that, she decided to check out the bathroom. The reason I include this otherwise boring clip is because of what seems like a look of wonder on her face that she can go wherever she wants now.



Good - Great - Stuff!

Wheels: Day 1

So I picked up Annie's wheelchair on Saturday and got home just in time to make a few adjustments and load it into the van - we had a 3-hour drive to LA to spend the night with some friends.

By the time we got to their home, Annie was conked out and went straight to bed.

Sunday morning, I sat Annie in her chair, made a few adjustments to the straps and let her loose in her wheelchair for the first time. The first thing she did was wheel over to an end-table and yank a place mat - sending everything on it crashing to the floor. I turned to my friend, Mike, and said, "Well - she's never done that before. Clearly there is a learning curve involved here . . ."

We went to church and then met up with some friends in Glendale for lunch. So now, for the first time, we were confronted with; "Should we take the wheelchair or leave it?" We decided to take it. Keep in mind, this is the first time we have ever had Annie in public - in wheels.

The WC actually has a mommy-bar that can be easily attached so you can push the chair like a stroller. We call stroller-time "Zoom-Zoom" while we call Annie-powered time "Go-Go". We had a great lunch with friends and spent some time walking around shops.

Annie was all dolled up for church and cute as can be. Not-to-mention that the world's smallest wheelchair has it's own cuteness factor. So there we were, zoom-zooming from store to store and go-going once we were in the stores.

People stared.

MOST people stared.

We sat down at a Starbucks and were chatting when one of our friends scowled over my shoulder and mumbled, "Take a picture . . ."

"What's going on?" I asked.

"That man is just standing there staring at Annabelle in her wheelchair".

So it starts.

Frankly, staring is not a problem for us. We have had 2+ years to get used to the idea of Annie in a WC - strangers are caught unawares. I would probably stare too (hopefully subtly). We had a conversation about how staring strangers is just part of our new normal. Let's just face it, (and I will be biased here) we have the cutest little girl in the cutest little WC - people are going to stare. And it's fine.

But I will tell you what is not so fine . . . .

2 or 3 people walking by would stick out there lower lip and make a pitiful frowny-face. And that steams me. Now granted, these people did not expect to encounter Annie today and so their reaction is knee-jerk (emphasis on the JERK).

But that wasn't the worst of it . . .

4-5 people not only made the frowny face but audibly uttered a pity-ing "Awwwwwwwww . . . .". just so you know, when you see a disabled toddler, put on your frowny-face and let out an "Awwwwww . . . . " you might as well yell out "I could use a good kick in the yarbles right now! Unless you don't have time and prefer to back-hand me in the chops".

But . . . then again . . . they were caught unawares . . . and it is just their natural knee-JERK reaction . . .

It's our new normal - to be stared out - to have social misfits frowny-face and "Awwww . . .". It's not okay but it is what it is and we will choose to spend our energy enjoying ourselves as a family instead of trying to educate the entire population of So. Cal. on proper disabled etiquette (we might as well try teaching the dawg algebra).

But it is an adjustment. And it is hard. And if we are honest, it is somewhat painful.

But it's life - our life.

And we are going to strive to make it beautiful for our little poka-nut (and teach her to steer away from the knee-JERKS as best as she can).