Being in a wheel chair definitely puts you in a neat pigeon hole, of unmistakably being disabled. It’s almost like having a neon sign above one’s head indicating to all and sundry that your condition is serious. On several occasions, I have had the unfortunate experience of being totally ignored whilst someone asks my husband “what would she like to drink?” almost as if I'm not here. Why not ask me, I'm right under your nose? And should I have the good fortune to be spoken to, I look in amazement when someone speaks very slowly annunciating every word carefully, speaking extra loud as if I am stupid and hard of hearing. I can assure you I am neither! I find myself in a strange but probably common situation, for in a wheelchair I am ignored, talked about in the third party and clearly labelled disabled. Yet without my wheelchair, I look like anybody else, and people don’t realise or take into consideration how serious my condition is.
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