In this time of uncertainty and fear, I thought I would give you a story of joy and hope:
Imagine this. What would happen if you gave a two-year-old (nearly 3) a motorised vehicle? Well, in all likelihood, they wouldn’t be able to reach the pedals and they probably couldn’t even reach the steering wheel. But also, I highly doubt that they would even understand what was going on.
Well when I was that age, I got one! Well, kind of. Not really. I was given my first electric wheelchair, and according to my dad, the moment I was put in it, I cried! Don’t know why… I was probably sat on the seatbelt or something.
Anyway, the first movement I took in that wheelchair was the equivalent of me taking my first steps. It must’ve been a strange moment for my parents. Their only child (not for long) in charge of a strange machine at the age of two! With all this being said, it did only go four miles an hour.
In the first six months or so, I did some stupid things! As any other two-year-old would.
The amount of scratches that we have in our house from that time is ridiculous! You cannot go into any room without finding the mark of baby Ben! In this training period, my dad decided to take me on a trip to the pub so that I could get used to it. (I’m sure he thoroughly enjoyed this). The first trip took me approximately 45 minutes. This would be understandable if it was a long journey. The pub is two minutes away.
One thing I did, was… you might call it exploring? I wanted to be like any other child my age. So, I decided that I wanted to drive into a sandpit. At the time, I did not understand the concept of gravity… I landed on my head.
Another thing I did is sweet but sad all at the same time. I made it my mission to climb up the stairs in my house. So, I parked in front of the bottom step and pushed the joystick forward. I pushed and pushed and would not let go. Of course this was going to work. Why wouldn’t it? Then my motors stopped (obviously). My chair had to be reset and I think the motors burnt out as well.
That was the moment I realised that I wasn’t a normal kid. I was the kid who couldn’t do everything that everyone else could. But instead, I had something else. I had wheels for the legs! Who wouldn’t want that?!
So why am I telling you all this? Why on earth am I spilling the beans on some idiotic times in my early childhood? Well, it just goes to show that whether a child is walking or in a wheelchair, they both have the same thoughts at that age. Meaning, that disabled people are no different to anyone else.
Stay safe!
Keep on rolling!
B
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