A Day of Sympathy

    Last week I had the opportunity to spend a few hours in a wheel chair while on campus. I must say I have a whole new respect for those that are needing to use them for any extended period of time. It was so difficult to get around, especially going uphill! My shoulder muscles hurting so much! Must not use those muscles very often. I noticed that the bathrooms are not very accommodating to those in wheel chairs. It is so hard just to even enter the main door! Once inside, I noticed how small those handicap bathroom stalls actually are. There was very little room to move around. The main entrance of buildings are also not very accommodating, sure some had automatic door openers, but other entrances did not have this feature. It made it very difficult to get into the building without help from another individual. Another challenge I had that morning was finding the elevators within many of the buildings. Unless you have been in the building many times and have traveled on the elevator before, it can be challenging to know where to go. I would also find myself delayed at knowing how to exit or enter a building based off of where a ramp was located. It takes so much longer to get to places and I found that extra time was often needed to get to the desired location. One thing that stuck out that morning was how nice people treated me! Wow! I received so many friendly smiles and had helpers at every turn. Not sure it is always that way around the world, but I was pleasantly surprised at the way people responded to me. I must say that even though I had help, it was still such a challenge. I have gained sympathy for all those struggling physically in any way.