He was at a door that had swung shut behind him effectively locking him out. The door had a push bar on the inside which would have allowed anyone to help. The trouble is the anyone was me. I couldn’t get to him. The stockroom was full of boxes and barriers which made it completely impossible for me to find a pathway to him. I was sitting in my wheelchair as he was gesturing, with increasing anger, for me to come and open the door.
I pointed to my chair and then to the blocked passageway. He didn’t care he wanted me to come and let him it. It was cold. It was damp. There was no one around but I knew that some other employees were in the area somewhere. I had started loudly calling for someone to come and help. No one came. The area must have been fairly well soundproofed.
Now he’s outright angry, furious that I wasn’t coming to let him in. I felt horrible. I began to look if I could move or shift things to make a passageway. I tried but it was impossible, and even slightly dangerous, I didn’t want stuff falling all over me.
Finally I heard the voice in the distance of the person that had brought me here to wait for them to try to find something for me. I shouted as loud as I could for “HELP!” He came running to see what was wrong and immediately saw his angry co-worked stuck outside behind a locked door. He immediately went to rescue him.
The door opened but the anger did not subside. He stormed passed me as I tried apologize and explain, because somehow I thought it needed explanation, that it wasn’t clear, that I couldn’t get to him because the pathway was blocked. He didn’t even look at me, he just made a gesture brushing all what I was saying away.
I was left really upset.
I wanted to help him but couldn’t. That is one of the most difficult feelings I have as a disabled person. Sometimes I’m in situations where someone needs something that I can’t give. In an emergency I’m the one who needs not the one who helps. That’s an ugly feeling. I would have loved to help. But boxes and barriers kept me for being able to. My ability to help, the thing that I really try to do, was compromised.
I don’t know if he thought I could magically jump out of my chair and come and help. I don’t know if he thought I was lazy. I don’t know.
But I am disabled.
And I couldn’t help.
I should be able to let this go but I’m having real trouble with it. What he needed was simple. So simple a child could do it. But I was not able to do even the smallest thing.
I hate this feeling.
Deep down I have to ensure that this feeling doesn’t translate into anything more that it is. And that will be my work for the next several weeks.
