It is of little consolation to read that other wheelchair users find themselves pretty much housebound by the snow. Andrew Farrow, for example, talks of getting stuck between the house and the car, when he found himself wheel-spinning in the snow. I managed a few good wheel-spins on my semi-slick tyres yesterday.
Then I rolled through what appeared to be snow, but was actually a load of crushed mothballs (?). No really. As a result, my wheels, my gloves and even the cuffs on my jacket smell like the long-abandoned depths of a grandmother's cupboard. I keep glancing nervously over my shoulder, half-expecting to be savaged by a mink stole. I hope the smell doesn't have the same fur-coat associations for foxes, as one has taken up residence in our garden...
On the whole, I have remained relatively mobile, thanks largely to Penny clearing the path and the good people of Hackney Council coming and regularly shoveling snow off the pavement. That being said, I have still avoided venturing out except for the odd foray to the supermarket.
This feeling of house-boundedness has served to remind me just how much of my connection with the outside world was severed along with my spinal cord.
Before my accident (fell out of a tree while working as a tree surgeon for anyone new to this site), I worked outdoors every day. If a day went by without me going outside, a used to feel really odd. A sort of crawling the walls, claustrophobic odd.
Most of my leisure activities involved being outdoors- football, mountain biking, hiking, camping, Ultimate, or just hanging out in the park or on Hackney Marshes with friends.
Now, it is possible for me to go three days without leaving the house. This is extreme, of course. We don't usually have this much snow. If we did, I would probably work out a few strategies to make life a little easier. I still have quite big tyres on the wheelchair wheels that I 'wore' to Australia, and that certainly helps.
But with a platform lift between me and the street, and a balcony and flight of stairs between me and the back garden, I have lost the ability to just 'step outside'.
So I find my wishlist growing ever longer. As well as dreaming of an open plan home with level access throughout, I would like to be able to roll out into a garden, cup of coffee in hand, and stare at a few trees. Please.
Mind you, staring out of the window into the back garden revealed that I am not the only one who appears house-bound at the moment...
Then I rolled through what appeared to be snow, but was actually a load of crushed mothballs (?). No really. As a result, my wheels, my gloves and even the cuffs on my jacket smell like the long-abandoned depths of a grandmother's cupboard. I keep glancing nervously over my shoulder, half-expecting to be savaged by a mink stole. I hope the smell doesn't have the same fur-coat associations for foxes, as one has taken up residence in our garden...
On the whole, I have remained relatively mobile, thanks largely to Penny clearing the path and the good people of Hackney Council coming and regularly shoveling snow off the pavement. That being said, I have still avoided venturing out except for the odd foray to the supermarket.
This feeling of house-boundedness has served to remind me just how much of my connection with the outside world was severed along with my spinal cord.
Before my accident (fell out of a tree while working as a tree surgeon for anyone new to this site), I worked outdoors every day. If a day went by without me going outside, a used to feel really odd. A sort of crawling the walls, claustrophobic odd.
Most of my leisure activities involved being outdoors- football, mountain biking, hiking, camping, Ultimate, or just hanging out in the park or on Hackney Marshes with friends.
Now, it is possible for me to go three days without leaving the house. This is extreme, of course. We don't usually have this much snow. If we did, I would probably work out a few strategies to make life a little easier. I still have quite big tyres on the wheelchair wheels that I 'wore' to Australia, and that certainly helps.
But with a platform lift between me and the street, and a balcony and flight of stairs between me and the back garden, I have lost the ability to just 'step outside'.
So I find my wishlist growing ever longer. As well as dreaming of an open plan home with level access throughout, I would like to be able to roll out into a garden, cup of coffee in hand, and stare at a few trees. Please.
Mind you, staring out of the window into the back garden revealed that I am not the only one who appears house-bound at the moment...
Leave a comment