Helping a disabled person in a crisis

When you are in a wheelchair, all sorts of things can happen to you.

Often they are good, but sometimes, there are challenging ones which require special strength and wisdom for one to overcome. 

Last week, a friend of mine (a paraplegic woman) made a trip to the local supermarket. It was during the late afternoon where shoppers were busy walking in and out.

My friend, who has been using a wheelchair for nearly 30 years since an accident, was accompanied by several other disabled chums. One was also a wheelchair-user. The other walked with crutches and the third person was blind.

They all belonged to a handicapped centre together with my friend. They were out to buy provisions for their charity home.

The group had no idea about the adventitious situation of terror they were about to confront, especially my friend.

There was no car park reserved for the handicapped when my friend drove them there in her car. Instead, they only found a ramp at the entrance of the building.

One glance at it, and they could tell it was miserably constructed. It was clearly made for the supermarket's goods, rather than for shoppers in wheelchairs.

Other than the ramp, there was no way to access the building – only the stairs used by the able-bodied.

My friend decided to try it out first before letting any of her friends have a go at it.

That was her biggest mistake that day.

No sooner had she started wheeling herself up the ramp from the base when her wheelchair suddenly toppled backwards because of its steepness.

The accident sent the back of her head crashing onto the floor. Everyone around her heard the loud thud of that happening.

All she saw were stars, and people spinning around her.

Passers-by rushed to help her get back into her wheelchair.

However, they didn't quite know how to handle such a crisis involving a wheelchair-user.

So they ended up carrying her legs and arms and going in different directions. This caused more damage and pain with muscle and ligament tears and sprains, rather than assuage the situation.

My friend was finally wheeled into the supermarket as her disabled friends looked on in bewilderment.

Inside, the management staff were wearing guilty faces. They offered her a glass of water, instead of first aid.

Instead of apologising for the bad ramp, one of the higher-ups offered her a 30% discount and told her she could shop at their supermarket that day, in an attempt to appease her.

Needless to say, my friend was in no mood or any position after that to go shopping!

The reaction, after that, in the emergency area of a government hospital, was practically the same. The "not-knowing-what-to-do" response once again reared its ugly head.

Shockingly, the emergency staff had no idea how to carry my friend out of the car (someone drove her there), even though they were told that she was a paraplegic.

They brought a hospital wheelchair right up to the car and then expected her to get out of the vehicle by herself and into the wheelchair.

My friend had to suffer further agony and indignity when a stretcher was finally brought out and she was carried onto it. 

The same ignorance also happened in the X-ray room where she was handled in a very impersonal way, with little or no regard for her feelings. She told me she was moved and tossed around and kept squinting and screaming with unbearable pain.

Only the doctor who finally attended to her did all the right things. He spoke to her softly, gave her an injection to relieve the pain and later examined each X-ray thoroughly.  

Here's my take of the incident and what should have done in such a situation:

* Disabled facilities a must: all local councils should make it their responsibility to provide disabled friendly facilities everywhere. Diligent and meticulous care must go into building them right, according to all the proper specifications.

Gradients in wheelchair ramps should always be gentle with grab bars on the right and left, for those with walking difficulties to hold onto for support. Technical experts should monitor them closely and test them out from time to time with users with disabilities.

* When unsure, ask: helping disabled persons in a crisis is the right and noble thing to do. However, before doing it, always ask the disabled person how he wishes to be carried, or receive assistance. Keep in mind the answers may be different from one person to another, which is why asking them is always the golden rule.

*  Train, refresh and retrain: it is inexcusable for frontline emergency staff in a hospital not to know the difference between a paraplegic and a non-paraplegic. They should know at once what to do when the disabled turn up as time is of essence. When medical procedures are being done, patients'permission must be asked and they must be told what is happening to them during the process. The lack of it only shows incompetence on the part of the hospital management.   

PS: My friend – thank God – is recovering from her nasty ordeal. – August 17, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.