Yet as much as I understand my friend\u2019s wisdom \u2014 the joy that can be found in acceptance, in embracing limitations, and in exceeding or transcending the expectations that most people hold about disabled people \u2014 I can\u2019t let go of my sense of wonder and excitement at the human ability to walk. <\/p>\n
Years ago when I first contemplated a book, I wrote to my editor to tell him excitedly about my observation that there had been 100 million views of the IMAX film \u201cTo Fly!\u201d Perhaps I could expose people to an equally wondrous endeavor, \u201cTo Walk.\u201d Infants and infants\u2019 parents view it that way, I wrote. The injured and recovered who rise out of wheelchairs do. Walking is extraordinary to the researchers who\u2019ve spent careers studying the complex human biomechanics (and still don\u2019t understand it) and to the evolutionary scientists who have also yet to satisfy themselves with why man rose upright when his ancient ancestors did not. They describe man\u2019s first steps \u2014 the byproduct of anatomical mutations in the skull, spine and femur \u2014 as the most singular event in human history. I was constructing the book\u2019s arc and building to its assumed endpoint, walking again.<\/p>\n
But I am a hard case. The only wheelchair I possess I saved for my mother, now 90 and wisely thinking ahead. I went home with it when I was discharged from the hospital five years ago, and eventually I stuffed it in my barn, well out of my sight. The rest of my early assistive tools \u2014 crutches, raised toilet seat, walker \u2014 are gone. The tale of them strewn rudely across my driveway in a fit of rebellion was an early signature moment in my recovery.<\/p>\n
My best friend, Brad, the one who rushed to my address five winters ago to build my wheelchair ramp so I could be discharged to go home, never fails to smile at the rebellion story. It is about right for me, he knows. I\u2019m known for my fight. I can\u2019t help thinking what he will think when I finally take a seat.<\/p>\n
Todd Balf is the author of \u201cThe Last River: The Tragic Race for Shangri-La<\/a>.\u201d He has contributed to The New York Times Magazine, Harper\u2019s, Outside and other publications, and is at work on a book about his disability experience.<\/p>\n Disability is a series of essays, art and opinion by and about people living with disabilities. <\/em><\/p>\n Now in print:<\/em><\/strong> \u201c<\/em>About Us: Essays From the Disability Series of The New York Times<\/em><\/a>,\u201d edited by Peter Catapano and Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, and published by Liveright.<\/em><\/p>\n The Times is committed to publishing <\/em>a diversity of letters<\/em><\/a> to the editor. We\u2019d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some <\/em>tips<\/em><\/a>. And here\u2019s our email: <\/em>letters@nytimes.com<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n Follow The New York Times Opinion section on <\/em>Facebook<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Twitter (@NYTopinion)<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>Instagram<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Article source: https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/12\/24\/opinion\/wheelchair-mobility-disability.html?emc=rss&partner=rss<\/a>\r\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yet as much as I understand my friend\u2019s wisdom \u2014 the joy that can be found in acceptance, in embracing limitations, and in exceeding or transcending the expectations that most people hold about disabled people \u2014 I can\u2019t let go of my sense of wonder and excitement at the human ability to walk. Years ago […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[13],"class_list":["post-200543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=200543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200543\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=200543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=200543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}