Why do I choose to use a wheelchair?

My joints subluxate and dislocate when I move, which causes a lot of pain. This pain is multiplied intensely when I weight bare or walk. This is why I made the decision to start using a wheelchair at the end of December 2017.

Some people may consider using a wheelchair to be the ‘easy’ option.  Using a wheelchair is by no means the ‘easy’ way out.  In some respects, it is actually harder. For example, you don’t notice the inclines of routes you walk regularly until you have to propel yourself in a wheelchair. You don’t notice the steps into shops and restaurants until you try and enter one in a wheelchair. You don’t notice how narrow doorways or supermarket isles are. Propelling your own body weight plus the weight of the wheelchair and any bags along over uneven terrain is tiring and painful (this is made especially difficult because EDS affects my shoulder and elbow joints too).

When I am using a wheelchair, this can cause my shoulders to pop out, but the pain caused by my shoulders I can deal with compared to the pain in my legs caused by walking Often, the worst pain isn’t while I am walking, it come’s once I have stopped. When I use a wheelchair, I often feel like a fraud. This is because I am capable of walking, but it hurts. The reality is that most people who use a wheelchair can walk, even if it’s just short distances. It’s just less painful to use a wheelchair. Especially if it’s a long day out, or a day that involves a lot of walking.