A week ago, after suffering a foot injury, which after five weeks wasn’t getting any better, I was advised by my doctor to take a week off work, rest and keep my foot elevated!
Well, if any of you know me, you’ll know rest isn’t very high up on my to-do list, but because I was in a lot of pain and knew I had to do as I was told, or suffer for far longer, I did just this.
I’ve often wondered what it would be like not to move around much and, believe me, it nearly killed me to sit still for hours. There are only so many magazines and books one can read and I’m not really a TV fan, but somehow I managed to get through the week.
Wheelchair shopping
On one of the days I ‘needed’ to go and look for a new dress, and to do some grocery shopping – so off Colin (my husband) and I went to Mall of the South, where we hired a wheelchair! I have to say this shopping mall really does cater very well for wheelchair-users, with lots of parking for people with disabilities, and hiring a wheelchair was very easy. You pay R100 deposit (which you get back when you return the wheelchair) and hand over your driving licence (a copy is made and then it’s returned to you).
Colin soon got the hang of pushing me and the walkways are wide with plenty of space, although occasionally I did feel he was pushing me too close to the people walking past. I didn’t like that I wasn’t in control!
Many of the shops are also wheelchair-friendly, although we encountered problems navigating through some of the racks of clothing in such a way that I could see everything. Thankfully I could still stand for a minute or two, but for those who are permanently in wheelchairs I could see there would be a few frustrations.
After a while of my browsing and Colin’s pushing, I found my dress – but by this time we were both exhausted so we went for lunch at Just Darling. This was also wheelchair-friendly, though it did help that I could sit on a chair at the table and we folded up the wheelchair, leaving it at the side of our table.
Not so easy
The next stop was Pick n Pay. Here is where we fell down. I was already holding my handbag and dress bag, and because we needed quite a few grocery items a basket wouldn’t have been big enough, so Colin pushed the trolley and I tried to wheel myself. Hahaha, it was quite hilarious and I couldn’t control where I was going properly. Once I got up to speed on a straight aisle I nearly took out a few shoppers, as well as a display of toilet paper. Thank goodness for our sense of humour! Looking for groceries was also difficult, as you can only see halfway up the shelves, so miss out on lots of items. Going through the check-out was another nightmare. There was hardly any space for a wheelchair and how could I be expected to reach the counter? I was lucky, because I had Colin who put all the shopping through and paid.
Next we had to get back to the lifts and our car. I was really tired of steering the wheelchair myself, but thankfully one of the staff who works at the mall advised me to push the trolley from the wheelchair and for Colin to push me. This worked really well.
At the end of our shopping spree, we went straight home and both fell asleep. Any of you who are unable to walk, you have my utmost respect. Being wheelchair-bound for a few hours was difficult enough.
Needless to say, it was fantastic to get back to work – even though I’m still limping a little – and once again be totally independent.
That’s it for this week. Shop till you drop!
Julie
For free daily local news in the south, visit our sister newspapers Alberton Record, Comaro Chronicle, Southern Courier and Get it Joburg South Magazine.
Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. You can also email our offices on cvdwalt@caxton.co.za, juliem@caxton.co.za or luckyt@caxton.co.za
Add us on WhatsApp today! Alberton Record: 060 644 5264 Comaro Chronicle: 079 427 8074 and Southern Courier: 079 404 5789.
