When a wheelchair bar snaps

A few nights ago I was going to dinner. In my head I was making plans for the weekend and figuring out my meeting schedule. I have a lot going on right now and it gets stressful. Getting out to get some air helps me gain some perspective. I was in my own little world and as I was rolling up to the restaurant my thoughts turned to home and my dad's checkups. I've decided to reach out to my mom for some piece of mind. Then I heard a cracking sound and everything changed. The metal bar my back support is snapped on to broke along the clasp. It's funny when you think about it- my wheelchair is so essential to my everyday existence and yet I take it for granted. I don't give it a second thought. It's just a tool that I use and I assume it's always there. And then it breaks down on me. You can call it malice of inanimate objects. A silly little piece of metal has the power to derail all my plans. It doesn't take much to turn my world upside down for a bit and in an instant. Without my chair fixed I can't really move around safely. As the whole thing swings when I lean back the center of gravity has moved and I struggle for balance. A few years ago the same thing happened. My friends took it to a motorcycle shop to have it welded. We thought it was titanium like the rest of the frame, and we needed to find someone with specialized equipment. As it turned out that bit was actually aluminum. You may think it's strange that a part that takes on so much of my weight is not made of something stronger, but then this type of inflatable back support was an upgrade. It came with a standard back made of fabric mounted on the two rods on each side. Last time they fixed it by putting a piece of metal through the pipe and it lasted in good form a few years.

Only recently it started to look miserable and bent. It was only a matter of time and I guess the time was last weekend. It's going back to the workshop and hopefully it can get fixed again. My friend took my chair from me last night so he can drop it off after work and I've spent all day getting around crawling on the floor. I guess it's the life's way of telling me I need to clean my apartment.  I'm writing this as I'm on my stomach on the floor typing on my netbook. Everything else had to be put on the back burner until my chair returns. I get to slow down and watch Netflix without feeling guilty. Life decided to take a break on me. I could have had been sad about all the things I can't do and how immobilized I feel. But instead of letting this shatter my world perspective I'm taking a break on it and get to play hooky. A day or two like this is fine with me. Longer than that and it will start getting annoying, but for now my schedule is scrapped and my calendar's on pause. I guess it's true what they say: life is what happens when you've made other plans.