What do you think about these kinds of reaction video's? Should I do another one? If you fancy answering any of these questions comment bellow, Questions asked: Why are you in a wheelchair What are the perks of being in a wheelchair Can you shower yourself Do you get mad when you see people with legs being lazy. Does the wheelchair ruin the romance. Can you have sex Do you care if someone users the disabled toilet How do you feel when someone calls you an inspiration? 💎
I'll answer a few of them.... Why are you in a wheelchair? Born with kidney disease and gut issues, I lose and don't take up salts and electrolytes properly, and compounded with my failing kidney transplant , meaning that my transplant is not managing my salt/electrolyte levels in my blood, causes my muscles and body to not work properly without me getting exhausted or out of breath after walking, so the wheelchair is to help manage my fatigue and the issues I get from being constantly low and deranged on salts and electrolytes (also requires me to go into hospital on occasions to get boosts via an IV). The older I'm getting (I'm nearly 41), the more obvious my symptoms are becoming. What are the perks of being in a wheelchair? I've got an electric chair (Whill Model C), so can outrun basically everyone at top speed. Can you shower yourself? Yep! Do you get mad when you see people with legs being lazy. It annoys me when you see a lift load of people who are young, fit and prioritize themselves for the lift before you. I get there are invisible disabilities, but I do question if there are 15 people in a lift with no space for you to get in, if everyone of those people do need to use the lift.
Hi Gem and thanks a lot for the video, like always! And like always I enjoyed it a lot. Yes, if you feel good to do another one of these, I would watch it. But like I said before, I would watch your videos even if you cored fruits for 30 mins straight. 😅 It's "inspiration p*rn" btw. . 😊 Why am I in a WC? I have a progressive nerve desease that shuts down my body piece by piece over time. Perks? Downhill I am veeeeeeery fast. 😂 Shower myself? Yes, luckily I still can do it myself. Lazy Legs? No, why should I? Ruin romance? Noooo, not at all! Why should it and how? In contrary! It also can be a perk friends. 😉 Sex? Of course not! Everybody knows disabled people never have Sex! 🤡 Disabled toilet? Well, I cannot see at all, if a person has a disability! So I don't judge. But non-disabled peeps shouldn't use the accassible toilet at all! It's a thing of respect, friends! The inspiration thing? Uuuhhhggggg! 🙄
I use my wheelchair when needed. Some days I’m strong enough and have energy other days I can’t walk couple steps. Sometimes I get mad when I see people being lazy but then I do think they maybe like me or all of them can’t be though I try to look on the bright side. I’m not perfect just sadden that I can’t be normal sometimes. Yes I think the toilets should stay for us since we have issues with bladder or mobility and ect we don’t have the privilege as too many toilets as they do. And yes I can have sex I’m a mom of two boys I will leave it at that. I am not an inspiration I’m just living live just different from others I don’t like it brings negative attention to me like pitty and we don’t need that I’m a mom and the rock for my family my husband and kids don’t pitty me so I don’t want anyone else too. All love and positivity love this page
Just randomly got recommended this video, delighted to find more disabled content creators! So here's my tuppences: Why are you in a wheelchair Hypermobility (EDS styley) - bring my own furniture with me What are the perks of being in a wheelchair Learned a whole new way of dancing Can you shower yourself Really prefer baths. Get my PA to do my hair though. Do you get mad when you see people with legs being lazy. Visually impaired, so rarely see anyone do anything! Also, stopped believing in "lazy" long ago. Does the wheelchair ruin the romance. It has for me, though not just the wheelchair. Being visually impaired, autistic, ADHD, rural and lesbian don't help much. Can you have sex Sex just takes imagination and adaptability. I have both in spades. Do you care if someone users the disabled toilet I care that there's usually only 1 accessible toilet (which is sometimes quite disabled). I also care when they are locked and you have to visually follow signs to find someone to "allow" you to piss. Universal design for the win! How do you feel when someone calls you an inspiration? If it's "just for existing while disabled", I feel like puking, spitting and swearing. When it's for doing something I really care about, I'm fine with others being inspired. Just don't use the "i" word to my face! Delighted to have found your channel. Looking forward to the skiing!!!!
I loved the one woman's answer about the toilets. "It's not a disabled toilet. You don't want to use a disabled toilet. It won't flush. It's an accessible toilet." That was genius!
The answer about sitting in the shower made me laugh! My husband used to be a lot more self-conscious about having to get adaptive equipment, but the shower bench was one of the things that has helped with that because I pointed out how much more pleasant MY showers are when I can sit if I want. Plus we've now upgrades from a molded plastic, medical-looking thing to a nice wooden bench (paired with a comfy foam pad), so it even looks pretty now! We've actually discovered a lot of adaptive equipment that's also helpful for my able-bodied self. I've always been a believer in universal design, but living in the "disability world" since my husband's injuries has really driven home how silly it is that it's not more incorporated into everyday life. Universal design helps EVERYONE, not just folks with disabilities.
thankyou for sharing , if i ever get my bathroom redone i might have to upgrade to a new wooden bench sounds great , shaun does sit and shower at times too 🙂❤
Great video! I am a wheelchair user myself. For the inspirational/brave compliment, I think a good test for people who give out those compliments is to ask yourself, "If the person wasn't disabled, would I still be giving out this compliment?" If the answer is yes, then I think it's fine to say. It may not work in every single case, but I think most of the time it works.
Im a full time wheelchair user with skelital dysplasia. Im married too. I had someone at the counter at the airport say "its so nice that you have a nice Mexican boy to help you fly." She was talking about my husband. Ive had several people who have come up to me wanting to pray over me for a miracle that I will be cured and walk again. I finally started saying no to them, I'm just here to shop. It even happened when my husband and I were shopping for our rings, we didn't buy rings from them or ever shopped there again since it was the sales clerk who did it. I had a lady stop me while I was looking for a basket to a cart cause my arm was full of stuff I wanted to buy to tell me that I was an inspiration, I was so confused and loudly said "I am?". I often have little kids ask me why I'm in a chair, they don't usually know better so I just tell them I cant walk. i think I'm gonna start saying something silly/crazy tho like I fought off a dragon or I ran over my own leg with a mosnter truck. lol
hahaha i like the monster truck one 😂thankyou for sharing ,,, i don't get the whole i will pray for you one ,that sits uncomfortably with me too,,thanks for watching❤
I like saying that I thought it was a good idea to hug a bear... If bears are not friends why are they friend shaped😂 🐻 Much better than talking about a day that changed my life forever because someone needed to drive distracted.
The looks on kid's faces is my favorite part😂😂😂 I like to think I'm providing a public service because children definitely are not going to hug a bear because they met me😂
Whenever someone asks me why I’m in a wheelchair I always tell them a contextual story to the situation. So if someone in the grocery store asked me why, I’d tell them the shelves fell on me while shopping. Or is someone asks while at a concert, I say I broke my back while at a concert. Etc
If my husband had someone ask him why he bothered leaving the house within the first two or three years after his injuries, he legit might not even be here anymore. The depression was very real and at times pretty intense. He felt like a burden to me and an obstacle to others every time we went out. It's taken him a long time to get through those feelings, and I'm sure they still swim around on the back of his mind. What an unbelievably and unnecessarily cruel thing to say to someone.
I've made a habit of pretending not to see the door is closed sign on accessible toilets and yell, "Oh, sorry." 99% of the time, it's being used by employees or people doing their #2. At least that way, people know someone is waiting, and I don’t have to wait 15 minutes.
@@duffyellie the staff uniform increases the chance that they don't need it and the smell and guilty look as they almost run past also does. I know that they could actually need it, but the chance is low.
@@TheMazinoz I'm from Melbourne & in a wheelchair. I come across people that are quite capable of using the male & female toilets, & the parents rooms all the time, but use the disabled toilets. Men use it to do a No.2, Women use them for a change room or they take their kids in there to use the toilet or for nappy changes. Don't know why they can't use the Parents Room. And Teenagers use them to have S*x in. I have found condoms floating in the toilet numerous times.
For US viewers: in public, the UK generally has separate, larger restrooms for use by people with disabilities. They’re not talking about the larger stalls in US public restrooms.
This is the first that I've heard this program is now on Netflix. I appeared on this show in 2017 where this show was produced by the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).
@@Wheelsnoheels Intersex. I wasn't a wheelchair user at the time though (2020 onwards, yes, and OMG the attitudes of abled bodied people, it's a real eye opener)
Thanks for sharing your story on the show; I watched when it came out and learned SO much. Didn't know it was on Netflix either, they should be giving y'all royalties!
I was using my wheelchair and was waiting patiently for an accessible stall in the bathroom at the Miami Airport. I had let about 30 people go ahead of me for the regular stalls while I waited. A worker, who was trying to keep the restroom clean, noticed how long I had been waiting. She pounded on the stall door speaking harshly in Spanish to whoever was in there (I didn’t understand what they were saying to each other). Then the worker suddenly yells in English “get off your phone because people are waiting”. Out saunters a twenty-something girl wearing giant headphones, texting while she walked, and never looking up.
That happened to me one time It was a fast food restaurant employee and she had been texting You could see her feet leaning against the stall not on the toilet. I even said out loud excuse me I'm in a wheelchair and I can't fit in the other stalls I'm going to pee my pants and then some poor employee is going to have to clean it up. She came out so quickly I like to imagine she's the employee that has to clean the bathroom😂
I've been called an ispiration for.... picking up my dogs poop! Lol seriously I am apparently amazing because I picked up my dogs poop whilst sat in a powerchair
i mean that's great that your picking up your dogs poop ,, inspirational ,,well ,if you weren't in the chair im not sure they would have said that ,thanks for sharing🙂❤
@Wheelsnoheels yeah theirs been times they have seen someone else picking up dog poop & not said anything then seen me & had to call me inspirational it's hilarious. It's happened quite a few times over the years, I sometimes confuse them by responding with 'well my dogs poop really isn't that bad, they're raw fed sp their poops are smaller, more solid & tend to be less smelly, it's really those feeding dog food that you should be congratulating especially those with big dogs as some of the poops are hugggeee' they look so confused then
The problem with the question "Why are you in a wheelchair?" it is never an uplifting story. They are asking a stranger to tell them of the worst day of their life
I see what you mean, especially when they're talking to someone who was paralysed by an accident, but I also think it's important to mention (or it's important to me 💗) that some people were born not being able to walk and don't see it as a bad thing or (as in my case) getting a wheelchair was an amazing thing, because I'm chronically ill and it helped me get outside after I was mostly bedridden. 💗 It makes going to doctor's appointments so much easier and even tho I still don't get to go outside much, when I do, it's much less painful and difficult + I can do more. ^^ It wasn't the happiest day (that'd be if my health got better), but it was a better day after a long time and I'm very grateful. 🍀
@@mikaelastefkovaSame! Well when I get my electric wheelchair I might cry from joy as I’ve been waiting soooo long (I have a manual wheelchair and a mobility scooter) and others with physical disabilities from birth would have their reasons to not want to disclose on just meeting someone but not view being born as the worst day of their lives either. Disability and the reason to be a wheelchair user is nearly as varied as people who are the wheelchair users.
At community college, all classes had their break at the same time so the toilet queues were huge, as in 20 people in the washroom and more out the door and into the hall. There was a wheelchair user who I saw often. When the accessible cubicle came vacant, people always offered to let her go ahead. There were about ten cubicles with one accessible. If she was further than ten places back, she told them to go ahead, but when she got within ten places (the amount of cubicles) she took it. Sometimes people tried to insist, but she got annoyed at the idea of skipping the line. (Obviously her choice, other wheelchair users may decide differently.)
its refreshing to hear people being considerate like that , i think we all react differently , i think myself i would have gone for it for sure 🙂thankyou for sharing that ❤
Had a random guy on a motorway-stop ask me recently “ why are you in a wheelchair” I said “cause I need one” he said “no but, do you get the PIP?!” I laughed and moved on. When ppl ask about the “perks”, I say “oh I am actually in a wheelchair just for the parking! I don’t actually need it”. Dumb question, dumb answer.
Once, I was waiting for the disabled toilet. All of the other stalls were empty, but the disabled one. I waited for quite some time. The woman who was in there was changing her clothes, putting on her makeup, combing her hair, and talking on the phone. While leaving, she stopped in her tracks and glanced at me, then at the empty stalls. Her eyes turned to saucers. She apologized and said she would never do that again. She started to cry even. I didn't tear into her. She was already guilty enough. That's not always the case, though.
I had a random women drive up to me and my aunt who was helping me walk I have an autoimmune disease couple that effect my mobility sometimes severely. At times I need someone to help me walk I didn’t have a wheelchair at that time…she drove up and said bless your heart I will pray for you. 😢I felt soo bad and embarrassed that she didn’t that. I know she was being nice but it made me feel worst about my situation and it was the bringing of my journey now I’m better but sometimes I rather have people just don’t say anything then say anything at all.
At the doctor's one day and another patient kept insisting she could heal my CPPD in my knee (was wearing a brace) and HEDS by placing her hands on me !
As someone with fibromyalgia, I can relate to the shower wearing you out. I no longer enjoy taking a hot shower like I used to. Sometimes the top layer of my skin hurts and the hot water pounding on my skin is annoying on top of my joints being in pain.
I sometimes get that allodynia (is that the correct term - where your skin just hurts for no reason?) but not often. I have M.E. and fatigue is my biggest symptom, rather than pain. Both suck
I was going to say the same thing. I also have Fibromyalgia and severe Osteoarthritis. I always use a shower seat and limit my showers to just several a week as they use so many of the few spoons I have. Thank you for this video, it was very insightful. I always enjoy learning how best to interact with people in different situations/cultures. 😊
Hi Gem. Thanks for your very informative and active content. As a Person with Disabilities and a wheelchair user. It is forever getting harder not easier to have a active life. In Australia there is suppose to be a rule that shop owners need to supply a ramp for access but it is never enforced. If I my mention my personal pet serves that is being judged not understood by society. Anyway all the best to you and your family. Big thanks from David. Wheeling forward never looking back.
ugh it bugged me so much when people would tell me i am so brave for going to uni..for what tho?? doing something anyone can do if they are able to? going to uni doesnt make me brave because of the MS, it makes me stressed from all of the work 😝🤣
People need to be wary of judging others. I may look like I don't need an accessible loo. I have IBS. If I don't have access when I need to go to the loo I would soil myself. Literally. So at gigs when people use the accessible loo rather than wait in the queue for non accessible loos - and they do - I've heard them - they could be causing me massive upset. I've come out of accessible toilets and someone in a wheelchair or using sticks for instance will be there GLARING at me - trust me, I need that quick access loo as much as anyone.
@@Wheelsnoheels I'm not a wheelchair user, but I do have a disability, which makes it really difficult for me to find my way around, even in places I'm very familiar with. I was on my own in a restaurant once and asked a member of staff where the toilet was, expecting to be directed to the non-accessible toilet. Instead, the member of staff pointed directly at the accessible toilet that was right in front of me. I got up from the table, used that toilet and was delighted to be able to find my way back to the table with no difficulty at all. Since then, if using an accessible toilet has meant that I can independently get to the toilet and back to where I started from, I've used it. Being able to do that just helps me to keep my self-esteem at a reasonable level. On a slightly different, but related topic, I have never used an accessible toilet to change my clothes, but I've been with people who have. I'm sorry I allowed that to happen and will make sure that, if I'm in a similar situation again, I explain to people why they should find ways of not having to use an accessible toilet for such things.
my favorite "you cant ask" that questions ive gotten as a full-time wheelchair user who is in highschool as the only wheelchair user at my school and the first wheelchair user to be in gen-ed at that school is "can you masturbate?", "how do you pee?", "do you get a period?", "how did *you* make honor roll?", "can you feel down there?", "wait... you can move your legs....why do you need a wheelchair?". and some other disgustingly sexual comments about me being in a chair that arent questions and def aren't in youtube TOS lol
Oh mate! I too was the only wheelchair user in school. Girls generally didn't come anywhere near me for romantic purposes. It was more as I left school and started going out to pubs and clubs etc that complete strangers would ask me completely inappropriate personal questions. Girls are the worst but strangely enough they didn't like it when I'd ask similar questions .
Thanks for sharing, I didn't know about this program and I am on there often. Asking people why they are using something is rather personal and unless they trust and know you, they won't be saying anything. It isn't your business.
Several times now when I've been out in my wheelchair I've been patted on the shoulder and been told "well done". If I hadn't lost my speech the reply would be "what for?".
11:45 Love that girl for her answers 😂 Thank you for covering this episode. I haven’t seen it and don’t have to watch it now 😂 Your review was far better 😄 Yikes about the story about the 2 teenagers. People are so patronising when you’re out aren’t they?? It’s insulting. People have said to me “they don’t know any better. It’s just that generation.” That’s an excuse and it’s no excuse. I’m in a wheelchair because I have spina bifida. I’d rather be asked and tell them rather than assumptions be made, especially assumptions about my intelligence.
2:50 I take your point, but I believe the person asking wants to know why you can't walk. 3:04 I would assume it's because of the person's interest, not that they need to know. 7:39 I don't think so. I would think so if the question did not include the word "other". 9:00 I love that too. 11:39 This made me laugh!
I always love it when children come and ask me why im in a wheelchair. I always tell them what happened to me but i also include why others are using wheelchairs. After that we now have another person educated in why we use wheelchairs.
As a non disabled person for me its pure curiosity about others. I love to learn about people and I am very interested in the ins and outs of others. However I am conscious that there are a lot of people that don't want to be asked something so I try not to do so all the time as I dont want to seem rude, I'm never being rude, but there are some out there that are rude. I have lot's of diverse friends from autism, ethnic minorities, sexual orientation and religious backgrounds and I have learnt so much just by asking them. But there is definitely a way of doing it and not doing it and ensuring we're sensitive about how approach it. Love this video 😌
“Do I get annoyed when I see people with legs”… most of us in wheelchairs have legs, they’re just shit in getting us around lol. Also the elevator thing only annoys me when I roll up first and the able bodied people shove on before me. Then I can’t fit or I’ve got bum in my face.
So many people use the accessible toilet to poo at work! It drives me nuts! And Target puts changing tables in them as well. My partner has offered to go into the women's toilet with me to help me into a standard stall, but I don't wanna lean on stall walls 🤢
I was a part time wheelchair user, but my condition improved, but i know i may still have to go back and have no issue with it. I used to love when I was using my wheelchair because I could wear my cute heels and it wouldnt hurt because I didnt have to stand or walk in them.
I am an ambulatory wheelchair user now, but for YEARS before I got to this point I used the accessible stall and I'm sure made plenty of people angry, but I really did need them because my mobility was waning, it just didn't look like it at the time.
I traveled First Class once because of my disability. They had to change my seat and the others available weren't ones I could get into. Those seats are AMAZING and you get free drinks and great meals--even if you are just seated there and didn't book First Class.
7:57 in my opinion as someone who has spent time in wheelchairs due to chronic illness but am usually walking, i dont know why they’re in the elevator and its not my place and even if its because they just don’t want to take the stairs, its a tiny bit of my comfort gone eo someone else can feel better who cares . also what a weird question in my opinion
The shoe thing is so legit. I have the most amazing collection of keds And they all look new😂 People will always be like oh those are gorgeous where can I get them😂 I'm like you'll need to go back in time because keds sold them like 5+ years ago
I’m with you on toilets and parking spaces. I live in TEXAS. I often end up sitting there waiting for somebody who is in the disabled stall. I try not to be judgmental because I know that not all disabilities are visible.. However often the person that comes out is obviously not disabled. And they usually apologize to me often, helping to shut the door for me.. I’ve had to sit there and wait for the person in the disability stall as others would come in and use the regular stalls to do their business and leave. I could tell you stories.. One woman one time even argued that the disability stalls are cleaner and that’s why we use them. Yeah that’s probably because people like me have to clean them out, and I have to carry a grabber in order to grab out the mess that somebody left in the toilet so it will flush. And I can also tell you stories about people parking in the disabled parking spaces . If you call the police, they don’t come they just take a report over the phone that’s it.. If you don’t call the police and confront them, the people in the disabled parking space accuse you of harassment. They call the police. The police come down , give them a warning and tell us don’t confront them just call the police. By the time the police get there they move their car so they don’t even get a ticket. It’s frustrating. However, I have found that most people are generally pretty nice.Some me will open the door for me if they see I’m having difficulties. . What I’m surprised isn’t mentioned as when you finally get up enough speed after going through a number of people and somebody walks in front of you and cut you off and then you have to grab the wheels and hurt your fingers in the spokes. I have gotten to the point now with my chronic pain that I am now using an electric wheelchair because it hurts too much for me to push a manual wheelchair. So my attitude now is if you cut me off when I’m in my electric wheelchair and you get run into that one’s on you..
Hello gem early last year i needed to use a toilet in the shopping centre I sat in my wheelchair for 30 mins waiting for someone to come out to find a able body person yousing it as a baby changing room so i went mad at her and wot made me do that is because across the corridor where baby's changeing rooms
I know. This annoys me no end. The shopping centres that have parents rooms, they should take out the baby change tables in the disabled toilet. And put an accessible baby change table in the parents room. I have used the toilet in a parents room before, as they have an adult toilet & a child's toilet in the same cubicle. I only do it when I can wait no longer for the disabled toilet, because when my flow starts I can't stop it. Non disabled parents use the Disabled Toilet, So I think I have the right to use yours. And it's the only other toilet I can access.
Most of the questions were intrusive. I had people asking me more often when I was using a walker…. But then again I was out in public much more often then.
someone walks up to me and asks why I am in a wheelchair I might just say I got tired of walking and thought I would take it easy and sit in a wheelchair. not really sure about the perks. Right now is I always have a place to sit no matter where I go. No one has let me cut lines yet. oh, there Is the parking. Showering I roll in transfer to my shower chair and wash myself Not really about lazy people I can be lazy too Romance I was married before the accident. Yes it has changed It not what it was before. At this point, I feel I am losing her. Sex What is that? I am not a imperration. I just trying to get through life like everyone else the best way I can.
In my journey I have found people really question if I need to use my wheelchair especially when I am shopping at Walmart for example. I am a large person and the comments have come to me that I just use the wheelchair because I'm fat.
I went out drinks mate bloke brought are drinks cause he thought I was brave coming out house socialising as wheelchair user didn’t know were put my face 😂x
I have had both like your "inspirational for being so happy in your condition." On the other had i had a lot of people feel sorry for me being weelchair user at such a young age.
It also seems like the people who say things about us being inspirational for being so happy are the ones who don't see us all the time. Just because they don't see us sad doesn't mean we don't get that way. Everybody goes through different emotions throughout their days, no matter if they are disabled or not.
i have the worst pain condition there is in everywhere but my head and neck but back when it was just in my right foot and ankle, but was still extremely painful, and was able to walk with a cam walking boot I had someone say that there sister had toothache so they how how bad it feels. i also keep having people saying I am amazing and so strong and that they would not be able to live with what I am going through. i am only alive as my many sui***e attempts have failed.
"Why are you in a wheelchair?" Post-Covid (with severe ME/CFS). You can imagine the next question. "But are you sure it's not only because of the vaccine?" 😠 Damn, I got ill 03/2020, no vaccine available this date. Post-Covid and ME/CFS are such conflicting topics; today I say "why do you drive a car?" or "neuroimmunological disease".
Ive been abused for using a cane and given the third degree and "shamed" for using a 2 wheel 🛴 electric scooter as a mobility device. Apparently Im really using it to do illegal things and ride at 80km / hr, its dangerous etc. I use it due to fatigue and pain. Balance is fine, can manipulate controls etc.
I couldn't help noticing the kitchen in the background of this. Gem, if you're reading this comment, have you done a video tour of your kitchen adaptations?
Hi there. I sure I have. The kitchen tour is here: ua-cam.com/video/zkRPvB3vzTY/v-deo.html I also have documented the kitchen being designed and built, and some other house renovations. The are all in this playlist for you to enjoy. :) ua-cam.com/video/7dBA3bLr6cQ/v-deo.html 💎
❤ I want to be an inspiration I believe that it is okay for people to say that we are an inspiration to someone even if it's not for something great that we have accomplished like receiving a phd. We don't know where that person who said that might be coming from they may be coming from an area and their lives where they are just at the brink of giving up and they see you and you are the inspiration the light that they need at that moment to continue on. One doesn't know how exactly another person interprets our actions. I believe we need to look on the silver side of every cloud and try not to be so negative about everything all the time yes there are times we need to speak up about the wrongs absolutely but I believe that people can interpret their journey in a way that may put us in a light that we have not realized that w.e have touched them in a positive light.
I never get asked why I'm in a chair because it's blatantly ouious that I only have 1.3 legs 😎 In 4 years, I've only had one adult ask me how it happened. I suspect that has a lot to do with the fact that this town is a popular destination for military retirees, and most people figure they don't want to hear the story. I also had one curious 5-year ld ask "What happened tour lef?". His poor mother was horribly mortified about not shushing him, but was much relieved when I calmly told him that my leg got badly infected, and they couldn't kill the germs, so they cut off the infected part so it couldn't any more of me. I haven't been to the big city for several years (well, except for getting the one and only helicopter ride of my life when the local hospital decided I was too much for.Which ended in a very good landing, even though I coiuldn't walk away from it). But here in a medium-sized town, people on a wide spectrum of ability get along "mahvelously".
this normally get a giggle in a lift for me when my partner pushes me in the lift I always say is your bum in when the door is closing she then replies yes you are dea I'm fine with this as it often cheers someon day and yes being a wheelchair user does not mean you cant have a sense of humour.
There is also whispers around you when you are in wheelchair remember in a fast food come with friends go on table and just next table a groupe of guys start to talk that they never had sex whith a women in wheelchair I just turn my head to them and say you need more imagination and creativity sometimes have sex with you look boring 😂 I think when it’s about sex and disability make resurface how sexuality is always think has heterosexual and what is or not sexuality.
The why are you in a wheelchair question doesn't bother me at all I actually find it weird that it upsets other users. Alot of the time I make things up to amuse myself, my friends do the same. We have kind of made it a game to see who can come up with the most outrageous story.
I'm happier to tell little kids why I use a chair. If you're an adult sorry, you don't get to know unless you need to know. Best perk I've got recently is my firend got to have his covid jab too for talking me. 🙂 He'd have only gotten flu jab by himself. Hehe mad at legs😆 With the accessable loo please don't need to don't use it if you don't need it. But I'm fine with people using it if they would be unsafe in a gendered toilet. 'you're an inspiration' I hate it. I've had one lady say it then straight after that she'd top herself if she had to be disabled. 🙁 It's just saccharine in pity.
Not a question, but my sister, who is a doctor and is usually generally very supportive, has responded to my saying I'm bored by saying I should be grateful I have so much time to listen to audiobooks and educate myself. I mean, yeah, I'm glad audiobooks exist but I'd 100% rather have my health and be a functioning member of society instead of always having to cheer other people on from the sidelines. I think it's because she's currently so stressed that she needs a break and that's all she can see, but she's stressed because of her choices. I'm not. I can choose to have a good attitude (hence why I choose to educate myself via audiobooks) and I do, but I never chose to have a chronic illness for 30 years, missing out on education and a career and a normal social life, etc., etc.
@Wheelsnoheels thank you for being so lovely. I've learnt so much from you and have the confidence to take me wheelchair on a flight for the first time in March
What do you think about these kinds of reaction video's? Should I do another one?
If you fancy answering any of these questions comment bellow,
Questions asked:
Why are you in a wheelchair
What are the perks of being in a wheelchair
Can you shower yourself
Do you get mad when you see people with legs being lazy.
Does the wheelchair ruin the romance.
Can you have sex
Do you care if someone users the disabled toilet
How do you feel when someone calls you an inspiration?
💎
I'll answer a few of them....
Why are you in a wheelchair?
Born with kidney disease and gut issues, I lose and don't take up salts and electrolytes properly, and compounded with my failing kidney transplant , meaning that my transplant is not managing my salt/electrolyte levels in my blood, causes my muscles and body to not work properly without me getting exhausted or out of breath after walking, so the wheelchair is to help manage my fatigue and the issues I get from being constantly low and deranged on salts and electrolytes (also requires me to go into hospital on occasions to get boosts via an IV). The older I'm getting (I'm nearly 41), the more obvious my symptoms are becoming.
What are the perks of being in a wheelchair?
I've got an electric chair (Whill Model C), so can outrun basically everyone at top speed.
Can you shower yourself?
Yep!
Do you get mad when you see people with legs being lazy.
It annoys me when you see a lift load of people who are young, fit and prioritize themselves for the lift before you. I get there are invisible disabilities, but I do question if there are 15 people in a lift with no space for you to get in, if everyone of those people do need to use the lift.
Hi Gem and thanks a lot for the video, like always!
And like always I enjoyed it a lot. Yes, if you feel good to do another one of these, I would watch it.
But like I said before, I would watch your videos even if you cored fruits for 30 mins straight. 😅
It's "inspiration p*rn" btw. . 😊
Why am I in a WC?
I have a progressive nerve desease that shuts down my body piece by piece over time.
Perks?
Downhill I am veeeeeeery fast. 😂
Shower myself?
Yes, luckily I still can do it myself.
Lazy Legs?
No, why should I?
Ruin romance?
Noooo, not at all! Why should it and how? In contrary! It also can be a perk friends. 😉
Sex?
Of course not! Everybody knows disabled people never have Sex! 🤡
Disabled toilet?
Well, I cannot see at all, if a person has a disability! So I don't judge.
But non-disabled peeps shouldn't use the accassible toilet at all! It's a thing of respect, friends!
The inspiration thing?
Uuuhhhggggg! 🙄
I use my wheelchair when needed. Some days I’m strong enough and have energy other days I can’t walk couple steps. Sometimes I get mad when I see people being lazy but then I do think they maybe like me or all of them can’t be though I try to look on the bright side. I’m not perfect just sadden that I can’t be normal sometimes. Yes I think the toilets should stay for us since we have issues with bladder or mobility and ect we don’t have the privilege as too many toilets as they do. And yes I can have sex I’m a mom of two boys I will leave it at that. I am not an inspiration I’m just living live just different from others I don’t like it brings negative attention to me like pitty and we don’t need that I’m a mom and the rock for my family my husband and kids don’t pitty me so I don’t want anyone else too. All love and positivity love this page
Just randomly got recommended this video, delighted to find more disabled content creators!
So here's my tuppences:
Why are you in a wheelchair
Hypermobility (EDS styley) - bring my own furniture with me
What are the perks of being in a wheelchair
Learned a whole new way of dancing
Can you shower yourself
Really prefer baths. Get my PA to do my hair though.
Do you get mad when you see people with legs being lazy.
Visually impaired, so rarely see anyone do anything! Also, stopped believing in "lazy" long ago.
Does the wheelchair ruin the romance.
It has for me, though not just the wheelchair. Being visually impaired, autistic, ADHD, rural and lesbian don't help much.
Can you have sex
Sex just takes imagination and adaptability. I have both in spades.
Do you care if someone users the disabled toilet
I care that there's usually only 1 accessible toilet (which is sometimes quite disabled). I also care when they are locked and you have to visually follow signs to find someone to "allow" you to piss. Universal design for the win!
How do you feel when someone calls you an inspiration?
If it's "just for existing while disabled", I feel like puking, spitting and swearing. When it's for doing something I really care about, I'm fine with others being inspired. Just don't use the "i" word to my face!
Delighted to have found your channel. Looking forward to the skiing!!!!
@@acd6835 thankyou so much for sharing❤
I loved the one woman's answer about the toilets. "It's not a disabled toilet. You don't want to use a disabled toilet. It won't flush. It's an accessible toilet." That was genius!
i agree that was a great 😂❤❤answer
😂 same
The answer about sitting in the shower made me laugh! My husband used to be a lot more self-conscious about having to get adaptive equipment, but the shower bench was one of the things that has helped with that because I pointed out how much more pleasant MY showers are when I can sit if I want. Plus we've now upgrades from a molded plastic, medical-looking thing to a nice wooden bench (paired with a comfy foam pad), so it even looks pretty now!
We've actually discovered a lot of adaptive equipment that's also helpful for my able-bodied self. I've always been a believer in universal design, but living in the "disability world" since my husband's injuries has really driven home how silly it is that it's not more incorporated into everyday life. Universal design helps EVERYONE, not just folks with disabilities.
thankyou for sharing , if i ever get my bathroom redone i might have to upgrade to a new wooden bench sounds great , shaun does sit and shower at times too 🙂❤
Great video! I am a wheelchair user myself. For the inspirational/brave compliment, I think a good test for people who give out those compliments is to ask yourself, "If the person wasn't disabled, would I still be giving out this compliment?" If the answer is yes, then I think it's fine to say. It may not work in every single case, but I think most of the time it works.
👍❤
Im a full time wheelchair user with skelital dysplasia. Im married too. I had someone at the counter at the airport say "its so nice that you have a nice Mexican boy to help you fly." She was talking about my husband. Ive had several people who have come up to me wanting to pray over me for a miracle that I will be cured and walk again. I finally started saying no to them, I'm just here to shop. It even happened when my husband and I were shopping for our rings, we didn't buy rings from them or ever shopped there again since it was the sales clerk who did it. I had a lady stop me while I was looking for a basket to a cart cause my arm was full of stuff I wanted to buy to tell me that I was an inspiration, I was so confused and loudly said "I am?". I often have little kids ask me why I'm in a chair, they don't usually know better so I just tell them I cant walk. i think I'm gonna start saying something silly/crazy tho like I fought off a dragon or I ran over my own leg with a mosnter truck. lol
As a wheelchair user, I can't agree more! And sometimes it makes us laugh of how people can even think of that. But it's really irritating sometimes.
hahaha i like the monster truck one 😂thankyou for sharing ,,, i don't get the whole i will pray for you one ,that sits uncomfortably with me too,,thanks for watching❤
I like saying that I thought it was a good idea to hug a bear... If bears are not friends why are they friend shaped😂 🐻
Much better than talking about a day that changed my life forever because someone needed to drive distracted.
The looks on kid's faces is my favorite part😂😂😂
I like to think I'm providing a public service because children definitely are not going to hug a bear because they met me😂
Whenever someone asks me why I’m in a wheelchair I always tell them a contextual story to the situation. So if someone in the grocery store asked me why, I’d tell them the shelves fell on me while shopping. Or is someone asks while at a concert, I say I broke my back while at a concert. Etc
I've had a woman say to me "why do you even bother leaving your house".
And another said "you're so lucky that you don't have to use the stairs".
If my husband had someone ask him why he bothered leaving the house within the first two or three years after his injuries, he legit might not even be here anymore. The depression was very real and at times pretty intense. He felt like a burden to me and an obstacle to others every time we went out. It's taken him a long time to get through those feelings, and I'm sure they still swim around on the back of his mind. What an unbelievably and unnecessarily cruel thing to say to someone.
a woman said to me "if I had to live like you, I would shoot myself" People are really, really hurtfull sometimes
@@maironamakesstuff I'm so sorry that happened.
i mean those comments are both insensitive and just cruel to anybody ,im so sorry to hear that 😔
Ew. What is with these people?
I've made a habit of pretending not to see the door is closed sign on accessible toilets and yell, "Oh, sorry." 99% of the time, it's being used by employees or people doing their #2. At least that way, people know someone is waiting, and I don’t have to wait 15 minutes.
In Australia accessible toilets are male, female, baby changing and disability toilets. I rarely see obviously non disabled people abusing them.
How do you know that? How do you know they don't have invisible health issues that may mean they need to use that toilet?
@@duffyellie the staff uniform increases the chance that they don't need it and the smell and guilty look as they almost run past also does. I know that they could actually need it, but the chance is low.
@@TheMazinoz
I'm from Melbourne & in a wheelchair. I come across people that are quite capable of using the male & female toilets, & the parents rooms all the time, but use the disabled toilets. Men use it to do a No.2, Women use them for a change room or they take their kids in there to use the toilet or for nappy changes. Don't know why they can't use the Parents Room. And Teenagers use them to have S*x in. I have found condoms floating in the toilet numerous times.
For US viewers: in public, the UK generally has separate, larger restrooms for use by people with disabilities. They’re not talking about the larger stalls in US public restrooms.
This is the first that I've heard this program is now on Netflix. I appeared on this show in 2017 where this show was produced by the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).
Oooo which episode were you in?
@@Wheelsnoheels Intersex. I wasn't a wheelchair user at the time though (2020 onwards, yes, and OMG the attitudes of abled bodied people, it's a real eye opener)
Thanks for sharing your story on the show; I watched when it came out and learned SO much. Didn't know it was on Netflix either, they should be giving y'all royalties!
@@acd6835 ooww im yet to watch that episode , but i will be very interested❤
I was using my wheelchair and was waiting patiently for an accessible stall in the bathroom at the Miami Airport. I had let about 30 people go ahead of me for the regular stalls while I waited. A worker, who was trying to keep the restroom clean, noticed how long I had been waiting. She pounded on the stall door speaking harshly in Spanish to whoever was in there (I didn’t understand what they were saying to each other). Then the worker suddenly yells in English “get off your phone because people are waiting”. Out saunters a twenty-something girl wearing giant headphones, texting while she walked, and never looking up.
that gets me going just hearing that , i think if Shaun was there he may have popped a fuse , thanks for sharing ❤
I am in a wheelchair, & that annoys me no end.
That happened to me one time It was a fast food restaurant employee and she had been texting You could see her feet leaning against the stall not on the toilet. I even said out loud excuse me I'm in a wheelchair and I can't fit in the other stalls I'm going to pee my pants and then some poor employee is going to have to clean it up. She came out so quickly I like to imagine she's the employee that has to clean the bathroom😂
I've been called an ispiration for.... picking up my dogs poop! Lol seriously I am apparently amazing because I picked up my dogs poop whilst sat in a powerchair
i mean that's great that your picking up your dogs poop ,, inspirational ,,well ,if you weren't in the chair im not sure they would have said that ,thanks for sharing🙂❤
@Wheelsnoheels yeah theirs been times they have seen someone else picking up dog poop & not said anything then seen me & had to call me inspirational it's hilarious. It's happened quite a few times over the years, I sometimes confuse them by responding with 'well my dogs poop really isn't that bad, they're raw fed sp their poops are smaller, more solid & tend to be less smelly, it's really those feeding dog food that you should be congratulating especially those with big dogs as some of the poops are hugggeee' they look so confused then
The problem with the question "Why are you in a wheelchair?" it is never an uplifting story. They are asking a stranger to tell them of the worst day of their life
I see what you mean, especially when they're talking to someone who was paralysed by an accident, but I also think it's important to mention (or it's important to me 💗) that some people were born not being able to walk and don't see it as a bad thing or (as in my case) getting a wheelchair was an amazing thing, because I'm chronically ill and it helped me get outside after I was mostly bedridden. 💗 It makes going to doctor's appointments so much easier and even tho I still don't get to go outside much, when I do, it's much less painful and difficult + I can do more. ^^ It wasn't the happiest day (that'd be if my health got better), but it was a better day after a long time and I'm very grateful. 🍀
@@mikaelastefkovaSame! Well when I get my electric wheelchair I might cry from joy as I’ve been waiting soooo long (I have a manual wheelchair and a mobility scooter) and others with physical disabilities from birth would have their reasons to not want to disclose on just meeting someone but not view being born as the worst day of their lives either. Disability and the reason to be a wheelchair user is nearly as varied as people who are the wheelchair users.
For me, taking a shower, getting in and out of my chair, in or out of bed, opening spring closing doors, all really tire me out.
Me too, it adds up over the course of the day and by the end I can barely move. I don’t think most people understand how tiring it is
Showers put me out of action for hours 😔
5:00 Thank you, yesm, this is a BIG perk for me. You can learn a lot about people by how they react to you with how they react to you in a wheelchair.
At community college, all classes had their break at the same time so the toilet queues were huge, as in 20 people in the washroom and more out the door and into the hall. There was a wheelchair user who I saw often. When the accessible cubicle came vacant, people always offered to let her go ahead. There were about ten cubicles with one accessible. If she was further than ten places back, she told them to go ahead, but when she got within ten places (the amount of cubicles) she took it. Sometimes people tried to insist, but she got annoyed at the idea of skipping the line. (Obviously her choice, other wheelchair users may decide differently.)
its refreshing to hear people being considerate like that , i think we all react differently , i think myself i would have gone for it for sure 🙂thankyou for sharing that ❤
Had a random guy on a motorway-stop ask me recently “ why are you in a wheelchair” I said “cause I need one” he said “no but, do you get the PIP?!” I laughed and moved on. When ppl ask about the “perks”, I say “oh I am actually in a wheelchair just for the parking! I don’t actually need it”. Dumb question, dumb answer.
I mean even if you did you couldn't buy a PlayStation with it, that's how not rich we are.
Once, I was waiting for the disabled toilet. All of the other stalls were empty, but the disabled one. I waited for quite some time. The woman who was in there was changing her clothes, putting on her makeup, combing her hair, and talking on the phone. While leaving, she stopped in her tracks and glanced at me, then at the empty stalls. Her eyes turned to saucers. She apologized and said she would never do that again. She started to cry even. I didn't tear into her. She was already guilty enough. That's not always the case, though.
hmmm lets hope she didn't do it again, shame it didn't cross her mind before having to make you wait , thanks for sharing that story 🙂❤
I had a random women drive up to me and my aunt who was helping me walk I have an autoimmune disease couple that effect my mobility sometimes severely. At times I need someone to help me walk I didn’t have a wheelchair at that time…she drove up and said bless your heart I will pray for you. 😢I felt soo bad and embarrassed that she didn’t that. I know she was being nice but it made me feel worst about my situation and it was the bringing of my journey now I’m better but sometimes I rather have people just don’t say anything then say anything at all.
At the doctor's one day and another patient kept insisting she could heal my CPPD in my knee (was wearing a brace) and HEDS by placing her hands on me !
Yes, even our disability is habitual but the random comments are really irritating and embarrassing.
As someone with fibromyalgia, I can relate to the shower wearing you out. I no longer enjoy taking a hot shower like I used to. Sometimes the top layer of my skin hurts and the hot water pounding on my skin is annoying on top of my joints being in pain.
I am exactly the same. I also have fybromyalgia.
I sometimes get that allodynia (is that the correct term - where your skin just hurts for no reason?) but not often. I have M.E. and fatigue is my biggest symptom, rather than pain. Both suck
thankyou for sharing ❤
I was going to say the same thing. I also have Fibromyalgia and severe Osteoarthritis. I always use a shower seat and limit my showers to just several a week as they use so many of the few spoons I have. Thank you for this video, it was very insightful. I always enjoy learning how best to interact with people in different situations/cultures. 😊
Hi Gem. Thanks for your very informative and active content. As a Person with Disabilities and a wheelchair user. It is forever getting harder not easier to have a active life. In Australia there is suppose to be a rule that shop owners need to supply a ramp for access but it is never enforced.
If I my mention my personal pet serves that is being judged not understood by society. Anyway all the best to you and your family.
Big thanks from David. Wheeling forward never looking back.
I Loooove these kinds og videos. Both the originals and reactions, they are Such good Education tools
Great video. Enjoy your skiing!
thankyou ❤
ugh it bugged me so much when people would tell me i am so brave for going to uni..for what tho?? doing something anyone can do if they are able to? going to uni doesnt make me brave because of the MS, it makes me stressed from all of the work 😝🤣
People need to be wary of judging others. I may look like I don't need an accessible loo. I have IBS. If I don't have access when I need to go to the loo I would soil myself. Literally. So at gigs when people use the accessible loo rather than wait in the queue for non accessible loos - and they do - I've heard them - they could be causing me massive upset. I've come out of accessible toilets and someone in a wheelchair or using sticks for instance will be there GLARING at me - trust me, I need that quick access loo as much as anyone.
thanks for sharing and watching ❤
@@Wheelsnoheels I'm not a wheelchair user, but I do have a disability, which makes it really difficult for me to find my way around, even in places I'm very familiar with. I was on my own in a restaurant once and asked a member of staff where the toilet was, expecting to be directed to the non-accessible toilet. Instead, the member of staff pointed directly at the accessible toilet that was right in front of me. I got up from the table, used that toilet and was delighted to be able to find my way back to the table with no difficulty at all. Since then, if using an accessible toilet has meant that I can independently get to the toilet and back to where I started from, I've used it. Being able to do that just helps me to keep my self-esteem at a reasonable level. On a slightly different, but related topic, I have never used an accessible toilet to change my clothes, but I've been with people who have. I'm sorry I allowed that to happen and will make sure that, if I'm in a similar situation again, I explain to people why they should find ways of not having to use an accessible toilet for such things.
Aside from keeping my self-esteem up, using an accessible toilet does, sometimes, just make my life a whole lot easier! Thank you for the video.
my favorite "you cant ask" that questions ive gotten as a full-time wheelchair user who is in highschool as the only wheelchair user at my school and the first wheelchair user to be in gen-ed at that school is "can you masturbate?", "how do you pee?", "do you get a period?", "how did *you* make honor roll?", "can you feel down there?", "wait... you can move your legs....why do you need a wheelchair?". and some other disgustingly sexual comments about me being in a chair that arent questions and def aren't in youtube TOS lol
Omg!!!! I’m so sorry. 😞 totally inappropriate. 💎
Oh mate! I too was the only wheelchair user in school. Girls generally didn't come anywhere near me for romantic purposes. It was more as I left school and started going out to pubs and clubs etc that complete strangers would ask me completely inappropriate personal questions. Girls are the worst but strangely enough they didn't like it when I'd ask similar questions .
Kids just blurt out things adults wouldn't.
@@jamieelphinstone5063Way to go. Ask them embarassing questions.
@@TheMazinoz I don't mind kids doing it. In fact I encourage questions, even from adults but there is a respectful way of asking.
Thanks for sharing, I didn't know about this program and I am on there often. Asking people why they are using something is rather personal and unless they trust and know you, they won't be saying anything. It isn't your business.
Several times now when I've been out in my wheelchair I've been patted on the shoulder and been told "well done". If I hadn't lost my speech the reply would be "what for?".
i just comes across so patronising , even if its not intentional , thanks for sharing🙂
I love crip humor lol
It's my favorite part of being part of this community is the gallows humor😂
11:45 Love that girl for her answers 😂 Thank you for covering this episode. I haven’t seen it and don’t have to watch it now 😂 Your review was far better 😄 Yikes about the story about the 2 teenagers. People are so patronising when you’re out aren’t they?? It’s insulting. People have said to me “they don’t know any better. It’s just that generation.” That’s an excuse and it’s no excuse. I’m in a wheelchair because I have spina bifida. I’d rather be asked and tell them rather than assumptions be made, especially assumptions about my intelligence.
thankyou for sharing ,yes being a certain generation doesn't matter its no excuse ❤
2:50 I take your point, but I believe the person asking wants to know why you can't walk.
3:04 I would assume it's because of the person's interest, not that they need to know.
7:39 I don't think so. I would think so if the question did not include the word "other".
9:00 I love that too.
11:39 This made me laugh!
I always love it when children come and ask me why im in a wheelchair. I always tell them what happened to me but i also include why others are using wheelchairs. After that we now have another person educated in why we use wheelchairs.
As a non disabled person for me its pure curiosity about others. I love to learn about people and I am very interested in the ins and outs of others. However I am conscious that there are a lot of people that don't want to be asked something so I try not to do so all the time as I dont want to seem rude, I'm never being rude, but there are some out there that are rude. I have lot's of diverse friends from autism, ethnic minorities, sexual orientation and religious backgrounds and I have learnt so much just by asking them. But there is definitely a way of doing it and not doing it and ensuring we're sensitive about how approach it. Love this video 😌
“Do I get annoyed when I see people with legs”… most of us in wheelchairs have legs, they’re just shit in getting us around lol. Also the elevator thing only annoys me when I roll up first and the able bodied people shove on before me. Then I can’t fit or I’ve got bum in my face.
So many people use the accessible toilet to poo at work! It drives me nuts! And Target puts changing tables in them as well. My partner has offered to go into the women's toilet with me to help me into a standard stall, but I don't wanna lean on stall walls 🤢
I was a part time wheelchair user, but my condition improved, but i know i may still have to go back and have no issue with it. I used to love when I was using my wheelchair because I could wear my cute heels and it wouldnt hurt because I didnt have to stand or walk in them.
I am an ambulatory wheelchair user now, but for YEARS before I got to this point I used the accessible stall and I'm sure made plenty of people angry, but I really did need them because my mobility was waning, it just didn't look like it at the time.
thanks for sharing that 🙂❤
I traveled First Class once because of my disability. They had to change my seat and the others available weren't ones I could get into. Those seats are AMAZING and you get free drinks and great meals--even if you are just seated there and didn't book First Class.
Wow that was aa perk thx for sharing👍❤
7:57 in my opinion as someone who has spent time in wheelchairs due to chronic illness but am usually walking, i dont know why they’re in the elevator and its not my place and even if its because they just don’t want to take the stairs, its a tiny bit of my comfort gone eo someone else can feel better who cares . also what a weird question in my opinion
We have had this in Australia already.
The shoe thing is so legit. I have the most amazing collection of keds And they all look new😂 People will always be like oh those are gorgeous where can I get them😂 I'm like you'll need to go back in time because keds sold them like 5+ years ago
I think that a teen version of this would be interesting to see what questions they get asked a lot and their opinions.
Gem, I don’t ever answer that question if I don’t know the person, if they know me they wouldn’t be asking👨🏻🦽!!❤️
I’m with you on toilets and parking spaces. I live in TEXAS. I often end up sitting there waiting for somebody who is in the disabled stall. I try not to be judgmental because I know that not all disabilities are visible.. However often the person that comes out is obviously not disabled. And they usually apologize to me often, helping to shut the door for me.. I’ve had to sit there and wait for the person in the disability stall as others would come in and use the regular stalls to do their business and leave. I could tell you stories.. One woman one time even argued that the disability stalls are cleaner and that’s why we use them. Yeah that’s probably because people like me have to clean them out, and I have to carry a grabber in order to grab out the mess that somebody left in the toilet so it will flush.
And I can also tell you stories about people parking in the disabled parking spaces . If you call the police, they don’t come they just take a report over the phone that’s it.. If you don’t call the police and confront them, the people in the disabled parking space accuse you of harassment. They call the police. The police come down , give them a warning and tell us don’t confront them just call the police. By the time the police get there they move their car so they don’t even get a ticket. It’s frustrating.
However, I have found that most people are generally pretty nice.Some me will open the door for me if they see I’m having difficulties. .
What I’m surprised isn’t mentioned as when you finally get up enough speed after going through a number of people and somebody walks in front of you and cut you off and then you have to grab the wheels and hurt your fingers in the spokes.
I have gotten to the point now with my chronic pain that I am now using an electric wheelchair because it hurts too much for me to push a manual wheelchair. So my attitude now is if you cut me off when I’m in my electric wheelchair and you get run into that one’s on you..
This was originally on ABC Australia before coming to Netflix. The show is no longer made.
Hello gem early last year i needed to use a toilet in the shopping centre I sat in my wheelchair for 30 mins waiting for someone to come out to find a able body person yousing it as a baby changing room so i went mad at her and wot made me do that is because across the corridor where baby's changeing rooms
I know. This annoys me no end. The shopping centres that have parents rooms, they should take out the baby change tables in the disabled toilet. And put an accessible baby change table in the parents room. I have used the toilet in a parents room before, as they have an adult toilet & a child's toilet in the same cubicle. I only do it when I can wait no longer for the disabled toilet, because when my flow starts I can't stop it. Non disabled parents use the Disabled Toilet, So I think I have the right to use yours. And it's the only other toilet I can access.
“Why are you in a wheelchair” god that’s such a long explanation man 😭 you got half an hour and a keen interest in genetic biology ?
Most of the questions were intrusive. I had people asking me more often when I was using a walker…. But then again I was out in public much more often then.
+Wheelsnoheels *_You Can't Ask That!_** is one BEAR of a series.*
someone walks up to me and asks why I am in a wheelchair I might just say I got tired of walking and thought I would take it easy and sit in a wheelchair.
not really sure about the perks. Right now is I always have a place to sit no matter where I go. No one has let me cut lines yet. oh, there Is the parking.
Showering I roll in transfer to my shower chair and wash myself
Not really about lazy people I can be lazy too
Romance I was married before the accident. Yes it has changed It not what it was before. At this point, I feel I am losing her.
Sex What is that?
I am not a imperration. I just trying to get through life like everyone else the best way I can.
thankyou for sharing all that 🙂❤
In my journey I have found people really question if I need to use my wheelchair especially when I am shopping at Walmart for example. I am a large person and the comments have come to me that I just use the wheelchair because I'm fat.
I went out drinks mate bloke brought are drinks cause he thought I was brave coming out house socialising as wheelchair user didn’t know were put my face 😂x
I have had both like your "inspirational for being so happy in your condition." On the other had i had a lot of people feel sorry for me being weelchair user at such a young age.
It also seems like the people who say things about us being inspirational for being so happy are the ones who don't see us all the time. Just because they don't see us sad doesn't mean we don't get that way. Everybody goes through different emotions throughout their days, no matter if they are disabled or not.
@eaglesandowls so ture is allway random people I Don't know that say it to me
i have the worst pain condition there is in everywhere but my head and neck but back when it was just in my right foot and ankle, but was still extremely painful, and was able to walk with a cam walking boot I had someone say that there sister had toothache so they how how bad it feels. i also keep having people saying I am amazing and so strong and that they would not be able to live with what I am going through. i am only alive as my many sui***e attempts have failed.
"Why are you in a wheelchair?" Post-Covid (with severe ME/CFS). You can imagine the next question. "But are you sure it's not only because of the vaccine?" 😠 Damn, I got ill 03/2020, no vaccine available this date.
Post-Covid and ME/CFS are such conflicting topics; today I say "why do you drive a car?" or "neuroimmunological disease".
Ive been abused for using a cane and given the third degree and "shamed" for using a 2 wheel 🛴 electric scooter as a mobility device. Apparently Im really using it to do illegal things and ride at 80km / hr, its dangerous etc. I use it due to fatigue and pain. Balance is fine, can manipulate controls etc.
I couldn't help noticing the kitchen in the background of this. Gem, if you're reading this comment, have you done a video tour of your kitchen adaptations?
Hi there. I sure I have. The kitchen tour is here: ua-cam.com/video/zkRPvB3vzTY/v-deo.html
I also have documented the kitchen being designed and built, and some other house renovations. The are all in this playlist for you to enjoy. :)
ua-cam.com/video/7dBA3bLr6cQ/v-deo.html
💎
❤ I want to be an inspiration I believe that it is okay for people to say that we are an inspiration to someone even if it's not for something great that we have accomplished like receiving a phd. We don't know where that person who said that might be coming from they may be coming from an area and their lives where they are just at the brink of giving up and they see you and you are the inspiration the light that they need at that moment to continue on. One doesn't know how exactly another person interprets our actions. I believe we need to look on the silver side of every cloud and try not to be so negative about everything all the time yes there are times we need to speak up about the wrongs absolutely but I believe that people can interpret their journey in a way that may put us in a light that we have not realized that w.e have touched them in a positive light.
Nicely said ,thankyou for sharing that 🙂❤
I never get asked why I'm in a chair because it's blatantly ouious that I only have 1.3 legs 😎
In 4 years, I've only had one adult ask me how it happened. I suspect that has a lot to do with the fact that this town is a popular destination for military retirees, and most people figure they don't want to hear the story. I also had one curious 5-year ld ask "What happened tour lef?". His poor mother was horribly mortified about not shushing him, but was much relieved when I calmly told him that my leg got badly infected, and they couldn't kill the germs, so they cut off the infected part so it couldn't any more of me.
I haven't been to the big city for several years (well, except for getting the one and only helicopter ride of my life when the local hospital decided I was too much for.Which ended in a very good landing, even though I coiuldn't walk away from it). But here in a medium-sized town, people on a wide spectrum of ability get along "mahvelously".
this normally get a giggle in a lift for me when my partner pushes me in the lift I always say is your bum in when the door is closing she then replies yes you are dea I'm fine with this as it often cheers someon day and yes being a wheelchair user does not mean you cant have a sense of humour.
😂
💜💜💜💜
There is also whispers around you when you are in wheelchair remember in a fast food come with friends go on table and just next table a groupe of guys start to talk that they never had sex whith a women in wheelchair I just turn my head to them and say you need more imagination and creativity sometimes have sex with you look boring 😂 I think when it’s about sex and disability make resurface how sexuality is always think has heterosexual and what is or not sexuality.
The why are you in a wheelchair question doesn't bother me at all I actually find it weird that it upsets other users. Alot of the time I make things up to amuse myself, my friends do the same. We have kind of made it a game to see who can come up with the most outrageous story.
🙂👍❤
I'm happier to tell little kids why I use a chair. If you're an adult sorry, you don't get to know unless you need to know.
Best perk I've got recently is my firend got to have his covid jab too for talking me. 🙂 He'd have only gotten flu jab by himself.
Hehe mad at legs😆
With the accessable loo please don't need to don't use it if you don't need it. But I'm fine with people using it if they would be unsafe in a gendered toilet.
'you're an inspiration' I hate it. I've had one lady say it then straight after that she'd top herself if she had to be disabled. 🙁 It's just saccharine in pity.
If you're quick and considerate, I think it's okay to use a disabled toilet in a pinch.
Not a question, but my sister, who is a doctor and is usually generally very supportive, has responded to my saying I'm bored by saying I should be grateful I have so much time to listen to audiobooks and educate myself. I mean, yeah, I'm glad audiobooks exist but I'd 100% rather have my health and be a functioning member of society instead of always having to cheer other people on from the sidelines. I think it's because she's currently so stressed that she needs a break and that's all she can see, but she's stressed because of her choices. I'm not. I can choose to have a good attitude (hence why I choose to educate myself via audiobooks) and I do, but I never chose to have a chronic illness for 30 years, missing out on education and a career and a normal social life, etc., etc.
thankyou for sharing that ❤
@Wheelsnoheels thank you for being so lovely. I've learnt so much from you and have the confidence to take me wheelchair on a flight for the first time in March