Skip to main content

Is my wheelchair historically accurate?

Today, I went to Rose Hill Manor's World War II weekend. I love that era of history and so does one of my oldest friends, Brooke. We used to stay up and watch old 1940s movies, we took a WWII class in high school, and we've made countless Hitler memes. So today we went to the reenactment and toured the museum. 

My sisters and my friend Erin work at this Museum and were dressed up to work the festival. 

                                    <-Look! I'm standing!

While most of the park was wheelchair accessible, it was not exactly wheelchair friendly. The paths between tents and exhibits were gravel, and the chair did not move easily through it. Likewise, every park or field or yard in Frederick County is ridden with hills. Wheelchairs don't like hills. Also, the top floor of the manor house, built in the 1790s, was not accessible. (Come on 18th century architects, why weren't you following the ADA?!)  

Being the stubborn person that I am, I parked my chair and, slowly and carefully, walked up the steps. Brooke and Mandy helped me with each step and I had to take several breaks because there were so many and my heart was not handling it too well, but I did make it. When I reached the top, I sat down and took my HR, 114 bpm. Not too bad. 

**I will say, Rose Hill's bathrooms were very manageable in the wheelchair. Flat and wide door frames, handicap stall with a door opening out, sinks high enough for the chair to go under but low enough for a sitting person to reach, etc. Well done. 

One of the hardest things I find about going around doing things like this is staying hydrated. Everyone should try to drink 2 liters of water a day, especially in the summer. But the fact of the matter is, 2 liters a day is nothing for me; I am still dehydrated with that amount. I aim to drink 5 liters of water everyday, in addition to a morning tea and afternoon smoothie. When I'm out and about in unfamiliar places, it's hard to get access to water and remember to drink it. It's hard to find places to refill my water bottle or stop wheeling to drink.

After our day at Rose Hill, Brooke and I went to Panera for a late lunch. I've been having some issues with my appetite but the delicious flatbreads and pastas at Panera were irresistible. Still, the city water in most restaurants is so gross to me. I hate the taste of any chemical treatment or flavoring, but hydration trumps taste. 

All in all, today was a successful day, even if it strained my arm muscles. 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My first trip to Johns Hopkins

Hello outside world! It's the end of Day 2 in Johns Hopkins and I just got my laptop so here's the update.  After my lovely weekend with my friends, I spent most of Sunday relaxing on the couch. My BP was not great (78/49) and I spent a lot of the afternoon working to raise it (If I ever liked Gatorade, I don't anymore). After dinner I felt very ill. I got nauseous, with very little energy. I could feel my BP dropping so I spent the evening in the wheelchair. my vision went blurry and I couldn't focus on anything. In the middle of a conversation with Ally, I fainted in my chair. My family worked to pick me up out of the chair and lay me flat to try to regain consciousness. I was out for about 3 minutes and then spent another 20 minutes going in and out. When I tried to get up to use the bathroom after resting, I fainted again. I couldn't stand or walk or hardly sit up.  So we went to the Emergency room at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center on Monday morning....
Post a Comment
Read more

Vanderbilt Dysautonomia Clinic

When I got my POTS diagnosis in July, I applied to the Vanderbilt Dysautonomia Clinic to try to find some answers. Since Dysautonomia is a field of medicine that is underfunded, under-researched, and fairly new as a diagnosis, there are not a lot of specialists, research clinics, or POTS-literate physicians. The clinics and specialists that do exists are swamped with patients and the wait-list is months long. I applied in July and my appointment was March 10th. My incredibly supportive parents drove me out to Nashville last week for my appointment at Vanderbilt Dysautonomia Clinic with Dr. Robertson. We spent the night with my aunt and uncle in Franklin and then arrived at the clinic Thursday morning at 7:30. First I had a blood volume test. This consisted of using an IV line to take blood samples, administer a radioactive substance into my line, and then take more blood samples in 6 minute intervals. The purpose of this was to measure how the radioactive substance was diluted in ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Another road

I haven't posted on my blog in a very long time. I promised myself when I started this blog that I wouldn't neglect it. When I started it in the depths of my illness, when I was the sickest I'd ever been, I found that blogging was therapeutic and cathartic but it was also hard. So I promised myself that no matter how busy or tired or stressed I was, I would make time for my blog. I knew it was good for me. But I made another promise. I promised myself that I wouldn't let my blog become an echobox of self pity or whining or complaining or self-indulgent gloominess. I was going to write from a place of honesty but I was also going to write from a place of hope. Lately, these two promises have been in competition with each other. During my winter break I celebrated my first Christmas with my illness. My first New Years. I had a hard time balancing my health and my strong desire to celebrate and live normally. I'm still having trouble accepting my new normal, espec...
Post a Comment
Read more