Saturday Submissions – With Caroline from Living With PoTS!

Hi everyone! I’m Caroline, I’m a 21-year-old student, blogging about life with a chronic illness. You can find me on Twitter , The Mighty , and at my blog Living With PoTS

Whilst not yet diagnosed, I’ve been suffering from PoTS symptoms for around 7 years, which have dramatically worsened over the last few years. My main symptoms are severe dizziness and fatigue when standing, as well as joint pain (which is probably related to some other undiagnosed condition). Recently, I made the decision to use a wheelchair for the first time, which was a pretty big decision and something I want to talk about.

I want to start off this post by saying that choosing how and when to use a wheelchair is an incredibly personal decision, and this is only my own experience.

 

 

Why a wheelchair?

Ever since I realised that there was a genuine health reason for me being in so much pain, and not felt like I was being lazy, I’ve been trying to work around it. Whilst I can manage my day-to-day life relatively well, trips away are a massive struggle. Last month, I had what should have been an amazing trip to London planned for my best friend’s 21st birthday, two whole days of sightseeing, shopping and shows. Obviously, with it being such an important birthday, I wanted to make sure she had an amazing time, and that me being tired and in pain didn’t get in the way.

Worries

It’s safe to say, I had a lot of worries about starting to use a wheelchair. The practicalities: how do you borrow one? How do you steer it? Where are the brakes? The stigma: what will people think when I ask for one? And when I’m able to stand up out of the chair? And personally, admitting to myself that it was something that I needed, on occasions, and that it wasn’t a big deal, that using a wheelchair for a special occasion like this wasn’t making a commitment for the rest of my life.

How did it go?

After chatting to a few friends, and browsing museums to find one that hired wheelchairs, I decided to go for it, and on arrival at the Natural History Museum I went to the cloakroom, signed a disclaimer, and 30 seconds later was equipped with a wheelchair. After a bit of figuring out how to fit me, my coat and way too many shopping bags in it, we were go.

I started off being pushed, but the lack of control really bothered me, so I decided I was going to push myself which worked much better (after a few incidents getting around corners anyway!). Whilst my arms were so sore the next day, I think that’s something I’d get used to.

Practically, it was better than I expected. People were on the whole really polite, happy to move out of the way, and no-one I noticed gave me any weird looks or anything. In terms of the museum it was hard going; I couldn’t see quite a lot of the displays, and trying to find lifts was mission impossible.

Overall though, it’s a big thumbs up for the wheelchair. Whilst it is not something I would want (or need) to use every day at this point, for occasions like this, where I’m trying to pack a lot of activities into a few days, it makes things so much easier. It means I can do so much more, without the repercussions of the next few days, and more importantly (for me at least), it means I’m not impacting on others as much.

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Thank you so very much to Caroline for providing todays Saturday Submissions!
Do you relate to how she felt?
If you use a wheelchair, did you find the initial transfer to using the device difficult?

Please leave a comment and let Caroline know what you think, be sure to check out her social media links above and make a new connection! 🙂

——— Wanna Be Part of Saturday Submissions?———-

All you have to do is tell us a little about yourself and write a blog post (Any Wordcount) in relation to your chronic illness, or how a relation/friend/patient with an illness affects or interacts with you, etc. all welcome!

You can include photos (preferably your own, if found online be sure to add links to where you found them)

Be sure to add links to your social media accounts so people can link back to you OR You can write it anonymously if you like just be sure to put your details in the email so I can respond to you personally 

You can send your submissions to: irishpotsies@gmail.com