The View From a Wheelchair

With the holiday shopping season underway, parking spaces at shopping centers are at a premium. Many able-bodied shoppers are tempted to pull into a spot designated for the handicapped. KATHYRN MacLAREN spoke with Deidre Sexton, a 33-year-old eighth-grade teacher whose work-related accident in September left her using a walker and a wheelchair, about how stores and shoppers can help those who are disabled--starting with not using these specially designated parking spaces.

Since an accident left me with two broken ankles, one of them separated from the leg and requiring surgically implanted pins and plates to replace my crushed ankle, I depend on a walker or wheelchair to get about.

Usually I have to shop sitting in my wheelchair with a basket on my lap, which isn’t easy. Think about it: maneuvering a wheelchair around a crowded store with two-liter bottles of soda and other heavy items perched on your lap. Sometimes I get lucky and there is a motorized chair and basket available at my market. But often, it isn’t there. There have been some times that I could have used some help, but no one has offered any.

Maybe if I had been in this situation longer, I would be more assertive and would just ask for help. But this is new to me since this accident. I just feel that when people realize you need help, it would be best to offer it, and so far, no one has done that.

I think an assisted shoppers program would be welcomed by many people, including the elderly. And maybe the market could strategically place benches so people could sit and rest.

With the holidays coming, I avoid places. I’m not planning to go anywhere near a mall. I avoid shopping by asking friends to pick up items for me if the stores are on their way when they are coming to visit.

I will be going to the East Coast for Christmas and I have arranged to get a wheelchair. Already I know there will be problems because it’s going to be crowded with rushing people who only care about themselves and getting their own packages through.

I worry about what I will do if the person who is supposed to pick me up isn’t there. It’s a month away and I am already getting nervous about it.

Some businesses have told me that their bathrooms are handicap-accessible, but in reality you can only use it if you are on crutches. You can get the chair in, but you can’t turn it around.

When I was at the movies and I couldn’t open the bathroom door, this teenage girl finally realized my predicament and said “Oh you first.” When I said I couldn’t open the door with my foot, she just giggled and walked out. Maybe it’s just teenagers today.

This experience has left me somewhat disillusioned about people. For example, at the drugstore, you have long lines and you see someone in a walker. It’s really hard for them to stand there for a long while waiting and yet nobody offers them his or her place in line. Why doesn’t the store manager realize this is going on and maybe open a register for the disabled?

I used to think the handicapped parking spaces were nonsense. I’d say “Look, there are seven great spaces and nobody handicapped goes anywhere anyway.” I now know of course that people who wrongly park in these spots are robbing me of the ability to go out to places.

In this holiday season, I urge the able-bodied to just pay a little more attention to those who have a harder time getting around. Don’t use the handicapped parking spots just because they are open. Don’t take the handicapped bathroom stall just because there’s more room for your packages. If you see someone less abled than you, give them your place in line, offer to help them. Think of it as traveling a mile in their wheelchair or crutches.

It’s all just common decency, isn’t it?