Doctor Visit

[xela]

I started trying to write this on my iPhone in the back of the chair car (legally an ambulance, but you get to stay in your (thoroughly tied down) wheelchair) on 128 on my way here. But iPhone keyboard + riding in the back of what is, after all, essentially a truck in traffic on 128 = FAIL. Not as much fail as the front office staff once I got here. I needed to use the restroom, and asked whether they had any handheld urinals — items that have become a fixture in my life over the past few months, and that I was sure anyplace that regularly deals with mobility-impaired patients would have a stock of. And the front desk staff freaked out. (I'll fill in the details of the freaking out later. But at this point typing with my laptop actually in my lap, in a wheelchair no less, is getting seriously uncomfortable. And it's now 13;37 13:58 — the wifi went batshit when first tried to post this — on a day I made a point of arriving a half-hour early for my 13:00 appointment. So I'm done with the typing for a while.)

Comments

[sammason.livejournal.com]

Much empathy about wheelchair-accessible cars/taxis. Did yours place you facing forwards or backwards? Both designs exist over here but some of the taxi drivers prefer the backward-facing designs because they're safer.

I agree that you can't do much in a wheelchair while the car's moving. I just chat with the driver and watch the view, whichever direction I'm seeing it from. Trying not to feel too upset at the ghost-sight of my former self striding along those roads.

Also empathy about people freaking out at the mention of pee. Incl people who should know better. Can you carry a handheld urinal in your bag? Mine was cheap from a chemist's shop (pharmacy) but I never get around to using it, because it's more awkward for a woman to use one of those than it is for a man.