A Humbling Moment in Time

So yesterday . . . I went back to the doctors for my final visit for my leg . . and I did get my walking paper so to speak . . . and the last thing I'm now dealing with for the next 3 - 6 months is plantar fasciitis.

So you know . . . this journey got me thinking . . . after being diagnosed with "terminal" cancer years ago . . . I felt I had become a more humbled, appreciative and compassionate person on my journey through life. I thought I understood.

But . . . after breaking my leg and being in a wheelchair, then a walker and now a cane for 3 months. . .

My eyes have been opened even more

And you know what I discovered? . . . I didn't have a clue.

We're all strong human beings and created with the ability to adapt with what life presents us.

But . . . I have found that the "disability" isn't the "problem" we face as human beings . . .

It's the "accessibility" that's the "problem".

Bethany Hamilton once said . . . as disabled . . . I don't need easy . . . I just need possible!

How powerful is that statement?

I didn't know, until I was presented with the "impossible" . . . and I'm not even really disabled . . . so I could only imagine how difficult "accessibility" can be at times for those that are.

So let me explain . . . and I'll tell you a little story that happened at the beginning of my journey.

I went to the store with my husband one day because I really needed to get out of the house. So he packed up my wheelchair and off we went.

We got to the store and I wheeled around . . . boy did that feel good.

Well . . . as we were shopping . . . I said to my husband, "I'm going to the ladies room, I'll be right back". He asked if I needed help. I said, "nope . . . I've got this".

So I wheeled to the ladies room only to find . . . I couldn't open the door. It was too heavy,

At that time I thought . . . how could "any" disabled person use this restroom?

So I flagged someone down and they opened the door for me.

Now . . . the door "pulled out", so I'm thinking . . . on the way out . . . all I have to do is "push" the door open.

That should be easier . . . right?

So I rolled to the handicap stall. Now mind you . . . I did have my leg lifted up in an extended position. But when I wheeled in . . . the stall size would not allow me to turn around so I could shut the stall door.

So I wheeled back out . . . turned around and backed into the stall to close the door.

Mission accomplished . . .

Now, I get to the toilet, go pee and guess what???

There's a manual handle to flush the toilet . . . Okay . . . let's be real . . . who actually uses their hand to flush the toilet . . . the majority of us use our foot to flush . . . So how can this be right???

Now, I've been in the regular stalls in this bathroom before and they're all automatic flush toilets . . .

So don't you think they'd put an automatic one in the handicap stall too? :(

Okay . . . so now I leave the stall and proceed to wash my hands. That was uneventful.

But . . . when it was time to leave the restroom

I couldn't get the door open . . . it was too heavy for me to push in my wheelchair.

So I yelled to see if anyone was around on the other side of the door to help me . . . with no prevail.

Thank goodness I had my cell phone so I could call my husband to come get me. Or I still just might be there writing this post. :)

So moral to this story is this . . . we need to make this world a place of "accessibility" for all!

And I truly am thankful that I broke my leg . . . because this part of my journey in life has given me a whole new perspective to what it means to be healthy and whole.

So the question is . . . am I an even more humbled, appreciative and compassionate person from this experience and for the disabled?

Absolutely! And will be an advocate for this concern.

As always, feel free to contact me here