Riding+In+Clyde

Here are some excerpts from what some of you have written about the experience of using Clyde for a day. If you don't see something you wrote, feel free to email Tilly with your Clyde writing.

“The most fun thing I did the entire time I was in Clyde was going on a walk… We just went around the block, but it was seeing the whole world from a new angle. Exhilarating. I sweated up hills and rocketed down them... The hardest part was actually nothing I could control. It was how I was so vulnerable to other people, and how I had to trust them that they would help me. I hated having to do that.”

“...it was much easier for people to just start pushing you somewhere and sometimes “stop” didn’t work. I lost quite a bit of control of myself.”

“One thing that I did that I didn’t think I would be able to do was reach my locker. I was pretty surprised, but if I reached my arm as high I could I was able to push up the lever and open my locker! I felt proud that I could do something that I didn’t expect myself to be able to do.”

"This morning, during carpool, I was talking to... a freshman, and she said that when she saw me on the way back from acting, one of the boys in her class commented on how there has been a lot of crippled kids at school lately and how it was making him depressed."

“I would really find it—all that attention—at least for me, embarrassing. Even though they wouldn't be trying to, I would feel like all those people trying to help me were really rubbing the fact that they could still walk, among other things, in my face. And when they offered to help me, I would just feel even more helpless...”

“It was much easier to get places. I know that sounds inaccurate, but not only is it faster to going down hills and across level terrain; People moved out of the way so I could get through.”

"I had assumed that it would, of course, be tiring because you have to push yourself, but I didn’t realize //how// tiring it would be. Most of the time, it wasn’t that bad, but it was especially hard when I went outside and had to push myself then. On the way back from PiBites, I made the mistake of going through the woodchips. It was especially hard going through them because the wheels kept getting stuck and it made it much harder to push."

“It was very interesting; the looks I got from people who didn’t know that I was just trying the chair out made me feel very self-conscious.”

“Also, when people offered to help me, I didn’t know how stupid I looked to deserve that kind of comment. I also felt like I was blocking the way a lot. People would try to get past me, and I couldn’t move fast enough for them. Using a wheelchair long term would be hard for me because I play soccer and volleyball. I know that there is wheelchair soccer, and that there is a sitting version if volleyball, because we played it last year, but I couldn’t help missing how I used to play those sports.”

“If I was put in a wheelchair, I really don’t think I could do it. My whole life is based around sports, school, and family. I would have to drop one of the biggest things in my life. I would join wheelchair leagues in a second, and I would invent (or play if they have it already) wheelchair ultimate.”

“I think I would have to get a new house! But I could make it work. My house is visitable, so if we could convert the porch into a bedroom...”

“Another thing I was expecting was to love being in a wheelchair the whole day. I didn’t because it was hard getting past things. I think it would have been more fun if I were outside all day. There would be more room for the wheelchair, so I wouldn’t have to worry about bumping into things. Flat surfaces also work better. The sidewalk next to the green is slanted, slightly, sideways. I kept having to push more with one arm then with the other. It was hard to do that. I also got bored of sitting around in classes all day. It was like I was sitting in a regular chair! There wasn’t anything fun about the wheelchair when you’re sitting still. I mean, you can roll back and forth, but that isn’t as fun as rolling around, freely. But it was fun when I was rolling around freely.”

“I expected to really, really want to get out of the chair by about noon, but I really didn’t.”

“I had to go up a big hill, which was extremely hard. I moved so slowly, I almost started to doubt that I would make it back to the classroom. Two high school girls came up to me as I was going up the hill and asked if they could help me. I said no, because I thought it would be pretty weird if some high school girls that I didn’t know pushed me back to the junior high, but I was happy they asked. It made me feel like other people cared about me.”

“One of the things that was harder for me was opening doors. I couldn’t hold the door open and push myself through at the same time. Also, another hard thing was trying to reach things that were high up. I couldn’t see anything that was in my mailbox, and I had trouble getting stuff out of my locker. I felt so short! Also, I had trouble picking things up off the ground. I dropped a paper clip and a pencil, and I had to get someone to get them for me because no matter what I did, they always seemed to be out of reach.”

“It was actually very comfy! It was like sitting on a couch! The only part where I was uncomfortable was when people pushed me. That was sometimes fun... but, it was very sickening when you did not know who was pushing you.”

“I think that when you get paralyzed, and then the only means of efficient transportation you have is by using a wheelchair, you try your best to get really good at that… When people say, "Can I push you up this hill?", they're not only taking the pity that shows that you're inferior, but they're saying that your not capable of doing it, so they should do it for you because they're capable--because they, unlike you, are not paralyzed.”

“[I was not able to] get to my seat in orchestra. It was very hard to get down there, and when I did, they had to stop the whole orchestra and move chairs to let me in.”

"Since it was Grandparent’s Day it was very different than any other day. There were people all around me, nearly every moment. They each kind of stared at me for a few seconds, making up their own story of why they think that I was in the wheelchair in the first place, and then they would avert their eyes. That was a little annoying, but worse were the people who were oblivious or just downright ignored me (intentionally). There were a few people who would have just walked right over me if I hadn’t steered out of the way, nearly flipping myself out every time."

“I guess one thing that was easier was moving quietly and not tripping…”

“One thing that hadn't crossed my mind—I have no idea why—was the elevation level... It wasn't so fun…having to make my way through the sea of really tall teenagers who were moving in the opposite direction as me… I kind of felt like everyone was annoyed with me... this was probably not the case, but I felt like people—especially in the hallway, and when I couldn't reach something—I felt like they saw me as another thing that was in their way.”

"My room is also on the top floor, so I would have to either install an elevator or ramp or move my room to the bottom floor."

“I would have to floss in my room! …I have braces, so I need a mirror to floss, and the ones in the bathrooms would be too high for me in a wheelchair. All in all, getting around my house would be a hassle.”

"...they made and designed the building [to be wheelchair] accessible. By going outside of the building, I realized that the same did not apply to the rest of the world. As soon as I left the junior high with you, I could tell it was not going to be easy sailing. I had to be much more alert and focused on what I was doing. I had to pay much more attention to my speed and my surroundings. There were so many bumps in places, rocks in random spots, and people in large, high up cars that made it hard to see me when I was in the road."

“I also got stuck in some places, which I hadn’t really thought about. I would have to make people move their chairs and backpacks, just so I could get by. It was sort of annoying and I felt bad that I had to make people move all of their stuff.”