Being wheelchair bound was a lot harder than I expected, it was hard to maneuver around and hard to talk to people. One of the big things that I noticed was the way people looked at me was completely different than when I was walking around normally. I noticed that I got a lot of pity smiles and less people talking to me that normal. Being in the wheelchair was a difficult experience for me, and things that I had always taken for granted became very difficult. One of the things that I found to be the hardest was simply walking through doors, it was really a struggle to be able to get the door open first off and then be able to wheel myself through it as well. I now understand why the handicap buttons hold the doors open for so long because it took me almost all that time to actually get through the doors.
I also found somethings to be near impossible like using the bathroom and coming up a hill, these things were very difficult and helped me to understand more of what its like to be in a wheelchair. Since I was in the wheelchair I have also noticed that I have had more of a desire to help others that are in wheelchairs. I am also trying to find a balance because I know when I was in the wheelchair I was a little embarrassed when someone asked me if I needed any help, because I wanted to be able to do it myself. While I'm sure I do not completely understand what it is like to be in a wheelchair I feel like I can more fully understand what it is like and I also think that I gained some insight into how to more effectually help my students with orthopedic impairments.
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