“What I Didn't Expect as a New Wheelchair User at the Women's March”

In this community post on The Mighty.com, a website for and about people with disabilities, a newly physically disabled woman talks about how her experience at the Woman’s March in Sacramento helped her feel better about maneuvering the world in a wheelchair. When, Charis Hill was a college athlete she tore her ACL on a soccer tournament in D.C and had to use a wheelchair to get around museums. This experience scarred her as she remembers feeling like a “planter box in people’s way.” Charis’ deteriorating health due to ankylosing spondylitis led her to once again need a wheelchair. After what happened in the museum years ago she was rightfully nervous to go to such a large event, the Woman’s March, in a wheelchair. At the march Charis was pleasantly surprised by how accommodating people were. People were constantly making sure that they were not in her way and she even gained the confidence to roll away from her friends to the ADA section. Though not all marches were as accommodating as this one, Charis points out that what she experienced shows how far we have come in terms of accessibility and acceptance.

Read the full post here