Lady in Wheelchair trying to access the Health Club

Georgesgran

Sorry Avalon to be picky - but it was a lady in a wheelchair - not an ‘occupant’. This is close to my heart. See the person, not the disability.

Georgesgran I said occupant as it was general advice for pushing wheelchairs whether the user be male or female or a child. FYI my son was in a wheelchair as he suffered from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy from which he subsequently died so this is close to my own heart. I do not see the disability but the person and respect them. I will offer assistance or happy to help if asked. No need for your remark which I find rather offensive.

I do think that it should be part of an architect’s training to spend a week in a manual wheelchair, I’m pretty sure things would change once life in a chair was better understood.

People can be well-meaning, but have no knowledge. Last year I was in my electric wheelchair (strapped in), but I hit a an unseen ridge at the top of a slope and it tipped the chair backwards. My daughter managed to get her hand under my head as I went backwards, but I felt a jolt in my back and it frightened me..

It was fortunate that my daughter was there, as a concerned by=stander came over suggesting they would help by pulling at one arm whilst someone else pulled at the other in order to get me off my back and out of the wheelchair! My daughter did snap them they did not want me to have dislocated shoulders as well!!!

Few year ago, with three young g.children, one of whom was having a really nasty nose-bleed, one Lady who stopped to 'help', told her to tip her head backwards, to stop the blood going over the furniture (we were in an Ikea store) - I did comment that I was not wishing to have her choking on her own blood.

As someone who now uses mobility scooter and/or electric wheelchair anytime I am out, I am still horrified as to how many places just pay lip service to the idea of being accessible, and how many people still have the 'Does he take sugar?' approach to people in wheelchairs. It is my back that is the problem, not my brains.

It may have been well-intentioned but was completely out of order , he should have known better.

25Avalon

Aldom why wasn’t the wheelchair occupant wearing a seat belt?

Probably because her 90+year old husband forgot.
The accident occurred on a car park, a short walk into the restaurant where he was taking his wife for lunch. The wheels of the chair hit a pot hole and
catapulted Ann out of the wheelchair.

Well just like a pram you have to turn the chair around and go in backward

No good deed goes unpunished.

Sorry Avalon to be picky - but it was a lady in a wheelchair - not an ‘occupant’. This is close to my heart. See the person, not the disability.

I find this a lot with my DH who uses an electric wheelchair, with a manual wheelchair the person pushing the wheelchair can tip it slightly backwards, enough to get the front wheels over then the back wheels being larger and fixed will follow, electric chairs unless you get square onto the ridge the force can propel you out. But I agree sometimes the metal ridge by doors is just too high, I don't think people appreciate the full meaning of level access. Also tight corners are another bug bear , also kerbs . We recently went for a pub lunch with friends and there was a kerb from the car park ( with disabled parking) into the premises to access the dropped kerb you had to go into the road and use the drop kerb there but the road was on a bend and had traffic constantly coming around it. Not easy for an able bodied person. Next time you are out and about take notice of how truly accessible places are.

Aldom why wasn’t the wheelchair occupant wearing a seat belt?

It drives DD2 mad when people attempt to ‘help’ her without asking.
Would you grab the arm of a blind person and dash them across the road if they were standing near the kerb without some discussion?
Same sort of thing.

Another of DD2’s pet hates is people who rest their hands on her wheelchair in lifts, or other tight spaces. They wouldn’t rest their hands on a stranger, so why on a stranger’s equipment?

I’d say some should walk a mile in their shoes, but that would be in poor taste.

Far easier to pull a wheelchair backwards and safer for the occupant. Otherwise when he reached the raised metal edge he should have put his foot on the back bar to raise the front and gently lift over. If you’ve never pushed a wheelchair before you wouldn’t know this.

The wife of a friend subsequently died as a result of being catapulted out of her wheelchair.
The gym mentioned in the OP needs to reconsider its entrance. The entrance /exit should be wheelchair friendly.

I agree. I admire the fact that he obviously wanted to help her, but it would have been better to ask her how he could best help rather than just grabbing her chair.

But he meant well?

The road to hell can be paved with good intentions.