[gsp23]

I am sure I am not the only one who has done this, in fact probably most people have had something similar happen to them but it sure gave my boyfriend and physical therapist (and some bystanders) a good laugh, at my expense of course.

I need to first start by explaining how I get in and out of my truck as it is a bit different than most people I have talked to... When I get into my truck I get in the drivers side and put only my right brake on. I pull as close to the door as possible and then put my left hand on the door and reach up to grab the "Oh $hit" bar with my right hand (not sure of official name of bar). I then pull myself up and over onto the sill of the door. I then grab onto the "Oh $hit" bar with my left hand and then put my right hand onto the seat and pull myself up and onto the seat. At this time my feet are hanging down just below the nerf bar on the side of my truck so I lift them in.... Getting out is close as I get my chair out and put on only the right side brake and then I get my feet out the door so they are hanging in front of my chair. I thin grab the "Oh $hit" bar with my right hand and the door with my left and lower myself onto the chair.

Ok hopefull you all follow my system and onto my faux paw yesterday...

As I just pulled into the parking spot I got my chair out quickly and there was a truck parked two spots away from me that saw me getting the chair out. As Im sure you have all seen, the people decided they wanted to watch me get my chair out of the truck as I guess most people havent seen this before and are a bit curious. Well I got the chair out and wheels on quickly and when I went to transfer myself from the truck down to my chair, my left hand slipped off the door and caused my body to swivel my chair out of the way. I was hanging by my right hand holding onto the "Oh $hit" bar as I struggled to grab onto something. I finally managed to get myself onto the sill of my truck and was able to swivel the chair back again so I could hop over to it. The people in the truck next to me were looking at me to see if I was ok and then started to discretely laugh. My boyfriend was with but he got out of the truck because he had some running around to do while I was in rehab so he couldnt see any of this. I was looking around for him and saw he was standing on the other side of the door and had no idea what had just happened since I was out of view and he could see the people in the other truck laughing. He got good laugh out of it, I told my physical therapist about it and she laughed at me too saying she wished she had been there to see it but at least I gave some people a good laugh.

Anyways... we all fall or do something stupid at time and usually it seems people are watching. But I guess we just need to laugh at ourselves as well and try to picture what it would look like if it was happening to other people and not ourselves!

[rkzenrage]

"Forgot" to duck and was going too fast with my power-chair when going into the van, up the ramp, and about took my head off. When I hit, because of how it craned my head back and lifted my shoulder, I accelerated (it moved my wrist forward). I thought my neck was going to snap.
Still sore and it was two weeks ago. I think I made the herniated disc in my neck worse.
Still pretty funny, though.

[gsp23]

rkzenrage, on Dec 19 2006, 02:10 PM, said:

"Forgot" to duck and was going too fast with my power-chair when going into the van, up the ramp, and about took my head off. When I hit, because of how it craned my head back and lifted my shoulder, I accelerated (it moved my wrist forward). I thought my neck was going to snap.
Still sore and it was two weeks ago. I think I made the herniated disc in my neck worse.
Still pretty funny, though.

Hopefully you will be ok from that, but the image is still pretty funny. Thanks for that!

[icarus_melt76]

I've often thought and told friends that as crazy as I was before my accident....things are constantly more dangerous since.

Fellow workers held a stag for me just weeks after entering rehab. Tough guys lifting me up the stairs. Nobody listened at the top before going back down. They stood holding various chair parts, as I rolled and tumbled down on my own.

I don't think there are any more ways to fall out of my chair. Sometimes my fault, usually not. At least not by much. Read somewhere here that a peeve was being assisted without knowing or asking. My unseen 'helper' said "I've got you", next I was going off the curb and laying on a busy downtown street. Cars screeching and blaring horns. Turned out the 'helper', through a friend of mine, had meant he was pushing me through the door ONLY. Sidewalk slope did the rest. Couple years ago, the weight of my first electric chair created a slow but steady slide sideways off the curb. A long patch of ice with a touch of new snow. These drainage slopes aren't noticed by AB's but can quickly become apparent when rolling. Just a few off the top of my head (literally)...many more! Funny now though.

This post has been edited by icarus_melt76: 20 December 2006 - 01:14 AM

[hotwhlz]

These are funny. It is good we can laugh at ourselves about it, well at least after a little while. Doesn't always seem funny at the time. I think my best one was when I was deer hunting and had a pop up deer blind that I was sitting in. It has zippered windows and I was getting a bit cold, so I reached back to zip up the window and the next thing I know I was laying on my back looking at the sky between my feet. java script:emoticon('', 'smid_68')


When I went over, I leaned on the tent and it went with me. Needless to say I didn't see any deer after that. java script:emoticon('', 'smid_37')

[geoffrey]

Hi,

Earlier this year I was going to the Auto Licence place to do my road test. (if you have a spinal injury you have to redo your road test) I stopped and instinctively took off my seat belt. Opened my two doors in my Saturn Ion, put my seat back down and got my chair from beside me and tossed it over me and outside. The wheels too. I leaned out to far to put the chair together and most of my body departed the car.
So I have one hand on the chair the other on the ground and tried to figure out what to do. I found the best thing to do was to start to laugh. Must admit it was pretty funny.

A couple saw me hanging out the car and laughing, asked me if they could help and all I could say was "please just get my shoulders and throw my ass back in the car" I have been out of the hospital for one year this week and have had a couple of "chair departures"

You are right you just have to laugh. It eases the feelings of anyone around you too.

Have a good Christmas

Geoffrey (in warm, no snow Calgary Alberta)

[geoffrey]

Okay I do have to tell you the other one it did.

I was wheeling down the hallway to my condo. Yes I was going a little to fast I suppose. Got my thumb caught between the rail and the wheel and launched myself forward out of the chair.

I am on the floor laughing, I am still not strong enough to get myself back in, I called 911 and said "well it is not really an emergency but can I have the paramedics" she said sure and put me through. When they came on I said the same thing "well it is not a real emergency but all I can think of is "I have fallen and I can't get up" She said "are you in a wheelchair" My responce was "well that is the problem actually I am not in it" and then laughed. Well they had a good laugh and then came to get me.

It cost me $172.45 cents for that good laugh - and my neighbors had a good laugh - next time I will charge admission ha ha ha.

In one year I have ended up on my butt 4 times.

Geoffrey

[hotwhlz]

That's not too bad, only 4 times. It used to happen to me on a regular basis, and those didn't involve alcohol.

[gsp23]

Almost got launched out of my chair last night...

If any of you saw my other post, you know that I injured my ribs. Anyways, last night after the doctor, we ran to the mall cause my boyfriend wasnt done with his Christmas shopping. I really wanted to push myself but it hurt too bad and he finally started pushing me. Well, he was having a little too much fun with practically running while pushing me and of course doesnt have the width of the chair down to a science like a person using one. Anyways he is almost running through the clothing section and wasnt paying attention that one of the wall displays had poles that came out and angled down to the floor. At his hight of 6'2" it was a long ways back... at mine it was in front of me. I thought he had to have seen it and knowing his personality I figured he was just trying to scare me and was planning on getting close to it before quickly cutting me out of the way. Well... lets just say that he never realized it and my body started to launch out of the chair, luckily his instinct was to reach down and grab me at the same time I was trying to grab onto the handrims to keep from launcing out. I of course hurt my ribs some more from that but at least I didnt end up on the floor!

[ParaforGod]

When I was a Shephard Center for Rehab I was rolling down a hallway when I started to pick up speed so I thought my daughter had started to push me. I noticed I was turning toward the corner of a hall and wondered why my daughter was pushing me that way when I decided she was playing with me to see how long before I would say anything. Next thing I knew I hit the wall and slid almost out of my chair. I started laughing then so did my daughter and a nurse just looked at us as if we were crazy.

Then A friend of mine came to get me and take me out. My van had not been converted over so I could drive it. I couldn't transfer from chair to seat. When we returned home I let my ramp down and I heard a clang and thought my ramp was down well it wasn't all the way down and I rolled right off head first into a mudhole. I laughed and laughed while my friend panicked. I called 911 and told them I wasn't hurt but I needed the fire Dept. to come and put me back in my chair. Geoffery if you call the fire Dept they don't charge to pick you up and put you in your chair. They told us this at Shephard Center where I went for rehab. Well Im sitting on the ground and I hear the sirens I see the fire truck and I see a fireman pointing at me. By this time all my neighbors are looking to see whats going on. It was funny.

One other. My van still had not been converted over so I could drive so my daughter was driviing and a friend was with us. There were lock downs in my van so my chair could be locked in. although I was locked in a car pulled out in front of us so my daughter had to hit the brakes causing the Velcro on my seatbelt to come loose throwing me out of my chair. My head slid under the drivers seat and I couldn't get up. When my daughter stopped she looked back and my leg was twisted so she thought my leg had to be broke. I was laughing so hard. I told her to pull in at the store which we were going to in the first place to get gas and a Ice Cream. My daughter was all upset and yelling what are we going to do? We were about two blocks away from the firestation so I told her to drive to it and they could help me get up but I ask her to go in the store first and get my Ice Cream. She said no she wasn't going to drive in at the firestation with my head under the drivers seat and my leg looking broke and me holding a Ice Cream in my hand. We drove to the firestation they helped me get up and in my chair. I wasn't hurt just a sore head and no Ice Cream.

[Texaswheelz]

I've had a couple of incidents, but sadly no one ever laughs at or with me other then my wife, everyone else freaks out. i lived in some apartments about 10 years ago that had these huge speed bumps, which i'd just do wheelies over, well one time while popping a wheelie and going over it, my chair shoots out from under me and leave me laying in the middle of the driveway and my chair about 15 ft away. I had no problem getting in my chair, but i didn't have my chair and the people that were around just stood there watching and none of them would bring me my damn chair. I had to scoot across the hot pavement on my ass to get to it, i jumped back into my chair and said good day to all the watchers and then hurried on into my apt.

Another time, a couple of years ago, we had a bad ice storm where i was living. my ramp was completely covered in about a inch of ice. well i didn't have time to wait for the stuff i poured on it to melt the ice and figured going down it would be no problem, i'd just pop a wheelie before i got to the bottom. Well the wheelie didn't work out to well as i could get no traction at all to pull back. I Hit the bottom feet first, flew out head first, caught myself on my hands and then slid as if i was sliding into home plate for about 15 feet. Normally it would be no big deal, i'd just jump back in the chair, my wife was with me and she brought the chair over there to me. Well it was so slippery that she couldn't stand there behind my chair and hold it without slipping back and every time i tried to get up and chair would slide out from behind me.

Well we had been heading out to eat for my birthday and my wife had dressed sexy for me, short black skirt, low cut shirt....( won't get into that here, but lets just say she wasn't exactly wanting to be bending over and having people see her from the front or back at this time. So while we are trying to find a way to get my ass back into the chair a truck with a man that had driven passed and seen us came pulling into our drive way and jumped out to come help, but by this time my wife and I are laughing so hard that we aren't much help to ourselves. in the end it took about 15 minutes, i was soaking wet from rolling around on the ice, my wife was freezing and the man got him a few good looks at something he shouldn't have seen, we ended up having to cancel our reservations and just stayed at home to warm each other up(My wife and I, we sent the man packing with a thanks)

[BBender]

BBender:Mar.,02,2007

When I first got home from rehab with my brand new DL I went into town in my PU as was the costom here(dispit the law) I was driving without my seatbelt(I know"stupid"). Well everything was going fin as I pulled up to a stoplight to make a left hand turn. When traffic cleared I accelerated into the turn. Half way around I started to fall over to the left(bench seat-no arm rests) I managed to stop and got myself sitting up. When I looked arouned I watched expressions of horror change to smiles then laughter as I sheepishly put my seatbelt on then waved and drove off. Barry

[margaret]

My husband's funniest "mishap" happened when his electric wheelchair was getting repaired. He had to use his manuel chair and after 2 weeks was getting cabin fever. He drives his van from his electric chair with tiedowns. The tiedowns were not set up for his manuel chair, but he was desperate to get out of the house. So off we went for about an hour driving around. Stopped at an intersection and when he took off (a little more quickly than he should have), in an instant, next thing I know is he is still strapped in his chair, but the chair is now laying on its back. Meanwhile, the van is moving, no one driving and we are headed straight for a telephone pole and a real big ditch! He yells," Stop the Van!!", Dummy me, panicking, shoved the hand contrrol the wrong way and gave it gas instead of the brake. Realizing my mistake, I shoved the hand control so hard to brake, when we stopped, it flipped him right back up in the sitting position to resume driving.So, needless to say, no one got hurt, he didn't fall out of his chair, and we laugh uncontrollably everytime we remember that day. Learned our lesson; never drive without being locked in!!!!

[justin]

I was comeing from my back porch into my house. Well there a lil incline from the porch to the house no biggy i get up it all the time. Well 1 day my finger hit the brake so i moved my hand back to get another shove. Well it didnt go as plained my wheelchair rolled backwards and it flipped over. I landed on the porch. i was so mad but after i got up i couldnt stop laughing cause i figured if i was an ab person how funny it would be. this happened like 2 weks ago

[gsp23]

I have read posts of this happening to others so I have been careful... but it happened to me last week...

I was at the local hockey store on Friday and the parking spots are setup so that you pull up facing the building. As you all know, this usually means that the vehicle is sitting at a slight angle as the parking lot angles at the building. I got my chair out, put together and when I pulled it up into the crevice of the door tight, I put the one brake on and it was sitting nice and secure. I got into my chair and went to close the door only to notice I forgot to put my parking placard up. So I pull my chair backup again to the door and scootch over onto the sill of the door. By holding onto the "Oh $hit" handle I could hold myself in place and lean to the side to get my placard and throw it up onto the dash. I then went to scootch back onto my chair again to realize that I forgot to put my brake back on again and it was rolling away.

I have enough tone in my legs to tip myself forward so I gaged up the distance between where the chair was and how far away it was from me and figured that if I pushed off really hard from the door I could probably tip right onto my chair... My guess was pretty good as I was leaning on my door and pushed off, tipped over to the side and caught myself on the front edge of my seat... unfortunatly I didnt plan ahead that the chair was still rolling and that was going to keep happening once I made contact. So I hit the front corner of my chair and it rolled a bit further out of my reach and I was now laying on the ground in the parking lot. I managed to pull myself across the pavement a few more feet and grab the footrest and eventually positioned my chair and got myself pulled up into it, took quite a while for me to do on that angle but finally did it. Luckily nobody was in the parking lot to witness this, although someone pulled in as I was heading back to my truck to close the door.

I guess I can say that I am thankful at least that the decline was not too steep and my chair wasnt rolling to fast!

[Tim13]

I had just finished plowing the snow from main road and parking area to my workplace at around 7:00 am and decided to have a cup of coffee and finish the rest of the area after the workers arrived at 8:00. Pulled the Suburban up in front of my office and got out as usual, unfortunately, the area that i had just cleared had turned very slick and when i began to lower myself into the wheelchair, it slid off across the parking lot and i was deposited in an unhappy lump on the icy ground. Because of the aforementioned ice, everytime i would get halfway into the chair, it would slide away, after a few tries this became annoying so, pushing the chair ahead of me, i slid across the lot about 100 feet and jammed the chair into a snow bank. I was then able to drag my then wet, miserable self into the chair and go have my coffee. Learned to carry a coffee can full of sand after that to avoid that sort of thing happening in the future.