A few weeks ago, while Mr. Malcolm was having his very first spa day with Miss Lexie, I was wandering hither and yon doing errands. One such stop n shop brought me to Walmart Northside. I was dismayed! Yes, I was! Outside the interior set of doors was a hand sanitizing station. Only one problem. It was a bottle of sanitizer on a pole with a tube that ran down to the base, affixed to a foot pedal. A little foot action was required to dispense the sanitizer. Clearly, Walmart management didn’t think things through.
Folks in wheelchairs or on crutches, or using walkers or canes would be challenged by such lack of accessibility; the very people who need extra protections against COVID by virtue of their pre-existing challenges to daily living when it’s obvious disability or the implications of aging. Seniors are at particular risk of the impact of COVID.
I asked my friend if I could borrow her foot. Glad she decided not to kick me in the pants, as has been her silent wish for years. I’m a bit of a challenge with my off-the-cuff remarks; a pot stirrer from way back. There was a couple beside me, the woman in a wheelchair. Neither had interest in hand sanitizing. I thought that not only odd but unfortunate.
It saddens me that so many folks don’t seem to take COVID seriously and are actively contributing to the spread of the virus, invariably bringing it into their homes to sicken or kill their most vulnerable family members. People like me, who live with comorbidities, cannot afford to get complacent. The stress borne by parents of since birth disabled children is palpable. Their lives are isolated enough by virtue of the demands of caregiving. Extreme caution must be exercised when bringing in outside care help and to have to wonder where that person has been on any given day add to the stress. Children with conditions such as that with which I live are often prone to issues of the lungs, and in these COVID times, anxiety for parents is off the charts.
What is going to take for people to accept that they are part of the COVID solution in terms of dialing it back and loosening its grip on our daily lives? Are people so callous that they can’t allow themselves to think, feel and do outside themselves and their own little world to look after their neighbour, known or unknown. COVID life has laid bare the disparities amongst rich and not so rich, the poor and the very poor. Economies have taken a hit and many families are struggling in ways that most of us cannot begin to imagine. It’s time we stopped being so selfish and stopped believing the lie that COVID is not real and that thousands/day are not dying. They are and they’re not coming back. A small piece of fabric covering the nose and mouth could possibly have saved them.
From age 1 to 8, I wore heavy metal, waist high braces, stepping along with crutches. Think FDR. From age 8 to 12, I wore below the knee orthotics, still using crutches. I wore glasses, as I do today.
Today, there are no orthotics, but I still use crutches and still wear glasses, with increasing power with every eye exam. I also use a wheelchair at the mall, scooter for out and about along the road where I live and a walker for the largest room in my home that requires it for safety due to my balance issues. I’m dumbfounded that so many people are challenged by covering their nose and mouth for a few hours/day when they’re out and about and can’t socially distance. Imagine being a child having to drag around in ‘leg irons’ that weighed more than you did. That was me as a youngster. Today, I see grown men and women moaning about wearing a mask, knowing that the virus is real and that it is not a hoax and that millions across the globe have DIED. Many of those deaths could have been prevented if people hadn’t been so selfish. That’s the reality of things, people. Now, you have decide if you want to be part of the ‘correct course’ or do you want to carry on, ignoring that your behaviour negatively impacts everyone else around you. Decision time.
People in the workplace are to be commended for adjusting to how they conduct their business so that communities may continue to thrive in spite of the economic impact of COVID. The colourful masks on the faces of folks whose eyes still smile is a reminder for us all. We CAN do this. It’s a CHOICE.
Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with Miss Lexie, a rambunctious Maltese and Mr. Malcolm, the boisterous Havanese. She can be reached via email at Carla MacInnis Rockwell
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