Physically disabled:struggle for survival?

Question

what are some of the challenges that wheelchair bound physically disabled adults who are living alone faces?

(on the basis of purely survival)

let us not consider recreational or social activity just yet

Answer 1

A PWD who uses the wheelchair is NOT wheelchair bound. The wheelchair gives the PWD freedom to go places. A PWD that needs a wheelchair but does NOT have a wheelchair does NOT have the freedom to go places.

Answer 2

I know many people who USE wheelchairs but none who are "bound" to them.  I suppose that for those who are bound, the struggle to be unbound would be one of the challenges.

Answer 3

I have a friend who was paralyzed at age 8 from the waist down.

I once asked him what the biggest struggles were for him. He told me there were three things that he still struggled with:

1) Acceptance by family and friends: people seem to have trouble accepting that just because he's in a wheelchair, it doesnt make him any different...he can do most anything other people can do, just differently. His parents still can't accept that their son isn't "perfect" and they probably never will.

2) Finding accessible equipment: He finally got a semi-truck that has a ramp and he can drive himself in now, but it took years and years to get that, and he also now has a small house that he designed himself. Before he had that house, he struggled most with things like cabinets that are too high, so they would remain empty, wasted space, and ramps and doorways that are too narrow...on ramps...his ramp at home is extra wide, but other places, he sometimes has to be very careful so as not to wheel right off the side. Doorways...many places, he has to wheel himself extra straight or scrape the inside of the doorway

3) Urinary tract infections: He didn't talk a whole lot about this, b/c it's a personal issue. But he said that he gets a lot of UTI's, and that a lot of people who are paralyzed do, and it is annoying and frustrating.

Answer 4

First off they are not wheelchair bound. Wheelchairs are used for mobility and support. They offer a person freedom.

Second, there are innumerable types of people with physical disabilities and the challenges they face depend entirely upon the nature of their physical disability.

Third, it is very dependent upon the nature of their home and their community that surrounds their home. Is their house set up to be accessible? Is there para transit services? Are their businesses needed for basic necessities within rolling distance.

Fourth, do their physical disabilities present medical issues? Can they address those medical issues alone?