Hilary Lister, 36, who is only able to move her head, eyes and mouth, will spend the next three months sailing round the British Isles in a specially adapted boat she controls using a 'sip-and-puff' system of straws.
This woman is a real go-getter. I love the story -- until I get to this line:
Mrs Lister was a sporty child who captained her school's hockey swimming and netball team, but by the time she was 15 she was confined to a wheelchair.
Does this woman seem confined to you? Do these guys seem confined to you?
A wheelchair is a mobility device. It makes no more sense to say that a quadriplegic is "confined to a wheelchair" than it does to say that a driver is "confined to a car" or an equestrian is "confined to a horse".
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Well if a driver couldn't *leave* their car then yes calling them confined to their car is pretty reasonable.
ReplyDeleteControlling an entire seaworthy boat through a sip and puff is pretty impressive.
-Tlaloc
The people I know who use wheelchairs don't consider them "confining", any more than an amputee considers a prosthetic leg "confining" or a person with a hearing aid considers it "confining".
ReplyDeleteI'd say that woman's wheelchair is liberating, not confining.