[Lucydog]

OK Im going to have a bit of a rant here.

last night I had to go to a meeting. Over the last few weeks there have been a lot of emails going backwards and forwards arranging a venue. I kept repeating the old mantra. 'I need WHEELCHAIR ACCESS'. Now this isnt hard to understand is it? Is it in another langauge, what havent I said? So anyway I was ASSURED that X's house was fully wheelchair friendly.... hmmm I DID have my doubts but anyway I went.

As I drove up this little street full of terraced houses on a steep HILL I started to feel very suspicious, every house had at least a 3 inch step . Yep you guessed so did my destination. So what do you do? Now as Im incomplete I can still just about after a fashion do a hop, skip, jump, hobble and potter from the car to the door. About 4 or 5 steps. To be honest I was quite rude when I had the door opened on me about it. The house certainly wasnt wheelchair friendly and dont even ask about the loo.

Anyway should I have just turned round and drove home? Created more fuss? Or what? Am I as the minority being unreasonable about asking for access?, after all I dont suppose my house was particularly wheelchair friendly until it had to be. Or is other people, Just what dont they understand?

Your comments are welcome!! Whew, thanks! Thats off my chest now!!

[bubbleandsqueak]

Well let me start with this, before my SCI never thought twice-about wheelchair access. But if I ever did in my mind fore or five steps would be nothing to help the person up, other then that I had no idea what other needs some one in a chair would need. But then after my accident all that changed. So I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’ve found that unless you know some one in a chair and are farley close to some one in a chair there the average Jow dose not know what wheelchair accessible is.
Yes you’d thank it’s commonsense but........... ..........thats a whole nother topic.