The second challenge my professor gave us was to spend a short amount of time being physically challenged. Due to my incoordination, I spent 48 hours with a physical disability of my right ankle. I was confined to sitting or walking with crutches which limited my range of mobility. I was forced to adapt my environment to suit my disability. These are some of the limitations that I faced during my time of being physically disabled.
I first encountered the limitations of my own room. Living in the dorm I had a very limited space to move around with the crutches. They were constantly hitting everything in my room and caused me to fall many times. I started to believe the crutches were more pain than they were worth because they hindered my movement and speed as well. I had to take the elevator because I was unable to use the stairs safely.
Next, my ability to drive due to the fact I could not use my right foot to push the accelerator or brake pedals. This limited my trips away from campus to only when I could ride with a friend. This put a damper on my activates and exercise routine.
My biggest obstacle I faced was being an active member of my sorority. Due to the fact I was unable to walk without the crutches, I was unable to interact in meetings without staying seated. I was bound to the chair that I was in. This made me feel outcasted and abandoned when I saw my fellow sisters actively up and involved in our chapters fun.
Similar to the previous problem mentioned with my sorority I was unable to help with service projects. We were demonstrating instruments to girl scouts and I was unable to hold my bass and walk so I was a burden on a fellow sister as they had to carry my bass as well as their instrument. I felt like I was slower than and not as capable as my non-disabled friends.
In the end, I learned what it was like to be physically handicapped and the struggles that one might face in daily life. I have a better understanding now for these type of clients and will use this knowledge to my advantage in future clinical settings working with these clients. I hope that everyone who reads this takes a moment to view how their surroundings would have to be changed to accommodate if this was ever to happen to them.
A few months have passed since this experiment took place. I now live on the second-floor landing of my apartment complex. There are no elevators. No ramps of any sort. Door facing is not wide enough. There are only challenges and I only fear the day that someone moves in and this limits their way of living.
