New Wheels

My one wheel went flat when we flew back from St. George a couple weeks ago and Whit has been pumping it up every morning. The leak is slow, but annoying, as you can imagine. It's harder to push and a lot harder to turn.

I guess that's what I get for not "scaring" the flight staff of the airlines when they take my wheelchair down below. Usually we take a picture of the chair just as the airline worker comes to get it so that he knows we're serious when we say "be careful" with it. I only haven't taken a picture of my chair in front of this guy (whoever takes it below) twice: on my very first flight when they broke off the brake and severely damaged the rim, and this last time when the tire went flat.

We're flying to Florida to speak at a Women's Conference this weekend and for sure we'll be photographing the chair...just to scare the person. It's dumb, why won't people just understand that super expensive and extremely necessary?

Oh well. As long as we know the "tactic" that works.

But for today, I have a different set of wheels on from a wheelchair someone gave me. The rims are metal, which is hard for me to push because I can't grip them. But Whit, my genius husband, got some rubber rims that just snap on and viola! I have new wheels, fully pumped, with rubber rims! The rubber on the rims is amazing and I've been cruising all over the house. I turned right and it was easy! I went straight and it was easy! I went over a little ramp in our house and, guess what - it was easy!

I;ve been paralyzed for 7.5 years and this is the first day I've ever had rubber rims on a manual chair - I don't know why I didn't think of this before. It's 100 times easier than the wheels I've been using because, even though the rims a re "rubber," they're a smooth, hard rubber, not a sticky, soft rubber like these magnificent pieces of sticky beauty.

Love them.