Believe it or not, learning to spend a few days using my wheelchair instead of my walking frame isn’t something I’m very good at.
I can hear when my body is telling me to do this; I know the signs and the feelings, I know what happens when I push myself too hard, and yet, I always try and ignore it.
I wasn’t actually planning on leaving the house yesterday. Sunday’s can be quite quiet where I live and my hips and knees weren’t feeling up to much. Then my mum and her partner told me they were going to the supermarket.
They’ll be chocolate there, I thought to myself. I’d really love something sweet right now.
I know that I could’ve just asked them to pick some up for me, but the thought of going and hunting out the best bargain for myself was just too strong.
“Can I come? I asked
“Course you can. Martha or wheelchair?”
Usually I’d say that I wanted to take my walking frame Martha before they’d even finished the question, (they always offer the choice, even though they know that I like to walk as much as possible), but that time I did something I hardly ever do. I hesitated.
The word “wheelchair” was on the tip of my tongue, that should have been a big hint to myself, but I bit it back “Martha.” I said.
“Are you sure?” They then asked why I wanted to walk and risk making my pain worse. I knew they had a point, I’d already been walking on it for the last few days, and maybe it was time for a break. I made it halfway up the stairs to get my bag before I changed my mind.
In the end, I’m glad I did because we ended up going around more than one store and they were quite busy. I got walked into at least once by someone who wasn’t looking where they were going, so it was probably for the best all round.
I found that I got to sleep much faster last night too and I feel much better today.
I guess I should let this be a lesson to myself, huh?