New Wheels for Mum

Mum has never liked wheelchairs. All these years she has put complete faith in her pair of sturdy legs to carry her everywhere – around airports, shopping malls, supermarkets, the lot. However, her two faithful companions in recent times have shown signs of a breakdown; they are crying out in pain when she walks too much or they simple won’t budge when she wants them to. Finally, she has had to admit that they’re becoming as old as she is and she has no choice but to opt for assistance especially when traveling.

To make things easier for her, we decided the other day to buy a wheelchair for her. Wheelchairs nowadays come in attractive designs; I guess the idea behind it is to make their passengers feel better and less helpless. Choosing a suitable one was quite a difficult task. She had to be comfortable in it and she had to like the colour! We finally settled for one with cream and black tartan upholstery. It looked smart, had a safety belt and was lighter than most models, thus easier to push.

Getting it into my small car posed a problem. It couldn't fit into the boot and in the end we had to put it on the back seat. When we arrived home, we invited Mum to take a ride in her brand new “Rolls”. It was meant to be a surprise gift and she was surprised. As we expected, she was most reluctant to accept it and looked at it suspiciously. Finally, after some persuasion, she sat down in it and we wheeled her up from the porch to the front door of our house. It was a short “inaugural” ride (amidst grumblings) and she got out of it as quickly as possible!

Call it pride or vanity, Mum also refuses to use a walking stick. She claims it gets in her way and makes it difficult for her to walk. She has a few friends who share the same opinion but they have cleverly resorted to carrying long umbrellas which serve as walking sticks in disguise. Being seen with a walking stick I gather bruises the ego. No one wants to be thought of as “old”, this I can understand but if a person is truly old or handicapped and needs the aid of a stick or wheelchair, why feel embarrassed? Unfortunately Mum doesn’t see it that way.

Meantime we’re putting her new wheels to good use. Sorry, folks, no photo! Mum will kill me if I post one here!!