More Than Just A Set of Wheels (Stacey Bruan)

According to the AARP, it is estimated that only 5-15% of people who need wheelchairs actually have them. That means that spanning the globe and its seven continents, as many as 350 million people are lacking the support, accessibility and mobility that these devices provide.

In the year 1967, Joni Eareckson Tada became one such of these persons who required a wheelchair. After misjudging the shallowness of the water in Chesapeake Bay, Joni became a quadriplegic at 17 years of age. Following years of struggle and rehabilitation, she founded an organization called Joni and Friends.

Since the year 1979, Joni and Friends International Disability has been dedicated to assisting people affected by disability and those around them. One of the organizations means of doing this is through their program called "Wheels for the World". As according to the program's mission statement, this project "provides FREE wheelchairs to children and adults affected by disability around the world".

As can be extrapolated by the immensity of that goal, this is not a single link chain of delivery but instead it is a step-wise process. Overall, it can be defined by the following steps: drop-off, transportation, restoration and distribution.

Initially, donated chairs are dropped off at specified locations. These chairs are given for a variety of reasons. Sometimes the donor's condition has changed and they require a different chair or no chair at all. Sometimes the donors outgrow their chairs. But regardless of the reason, the chairs are collected. Following collection, the chairs are transported to shipping ports. These ports serve as hubs where each piece of equipment is routed to a different restoration centre.

Currently, "Wheels for the World" operates restoration shops at correctional facilities across the United States. Inmates are trained to restore the chairs to "like-new" conditions. After each of the individual wheelchairs have been mended, they are shipped internationally to various distribution centres. Interestingly, the Kingdom of Thailand is one of these sites.  Though their movement spans the geographical range of the country, Chiang Mai is one site within the country where dispersal occurs.

In fact, on November 11, 2014 I was on hand at an event that occurred at Payap University's Faculty of Nursing. At this event, there were 3 special guests in the spotlight. Two of these guests were selected cerebral palsy children from Hope Home and the third was a foster child affected by Dushenes Muscular Dystrophy.

In a room filled with occupational therapists, physical therapists and mechanics, each child was fitted with a new wheelchair. Firstly, this process began with a subjective interview with the therapists gathering information about the condition and lifestyle of each child. Questions posed ranged from range of motion to the arrangement of each child's home. Progressively, as increasing amounts of information was acquired, the focus was shifted to a more objective view. During this time, measurements were taken. For example, these tabulations included hip breadth and chest width. Subsequently, it was these numbers that were used to determine specifications such as the size of the seat and seat back. Lastly, once all sizes were gathered, the appropriate chair was then selected and the mechanics then altered each chair to fit the child as best as possible.

Though simply owning a wheelchair is imperative, having a proper fitting wheelchair may be exponentially more important. A proper fitting wheelchair can slow the rate of degenerative conditions, prevent scoliosis, eliminate pressure sores and many other secondary disturbances. However, a wheelchair is important for more than just its role as a sponge for medical jargon.

The query of "what does a wheelchair mean to a person" is impossible to intricately answer. Each individual is defined by a unique set of circumstances and variables that would cause infinite variation in their responses. Nevertheless, from an observational perspective I can generally state that a wheelchair means so incredibly much.

A wheelchair can mean that a child previously unable to feed without being physically held, now has increased independence and self-actualization by feeding in the chair. A wheelchair can mean that a child heavily impaired by hypo sensitivity now has an environment that accommodates learning. A wheelchair can mean that a previously confined child now has the tool necessary to experience adventure and personal discovery. Overall, a wheelchair is more than just a set of wheels. A wheelchair provides hope for a fulfilling future.