Today was the push chair/ special stroller/ adaptive seat fitting of my daughter. However, what you want to call it is still a pediatric wheelchair. It is more painful than you can imagine. After all, a wheelchair is a sign of disability. And it serves as a constant reminder of her traumatic birth and cerebral palsy.
We were in a room full of pediatric physiotherapists, occupational therapists, seating specialists and wheelchair brand representatives at Hope AMC pediatric therapy center in Dubai, trying to give my daughter the best and most comfortable solution for her needs.
All I could hear was background discussions between the pediatric specialists about how to give her the most comfortable cushioning, taking care of her pelvic tilt, controlling her dystonia. But all I could think about was “Wheelchair AGAIN”. My daughter will soon be seven, she has cerebral palsy and will most likely be bound to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.
Then, I took a closer look, she was happy and comfortable in her new seat and to be honest it looked nothing like a wheelchair. It had all those cool color ranges, and we are blessed that those solutions exist nowadays. So, I took a deep breath and joined the specialists in the discussion of how to choose the best seat. It is a trick for parents of a child with special needs, learned quite well when the grief starts to pull you to focus on something positive in that specific moment and there was plenty.
There was a beautiful wheelchair, a beautiful angel on it, a caring team of pediatric therapists in a beautifully set up pediatric therapy center. So, when life gives you lemons go ahead and make lemonade.
