My wheelchair is like the Cadillac of wheelchairs; it goes up and down and back, and I can lay down in it.
I was too big to even contemplate exercise. I had to use a walking stick and a wheelchair to get around.
I've seen my mom confined to a wheelchair in the last three years of her life. Both her knees had given way, and there was no way she could undergo surgery at her age. Even though I was concerned for her, I didn't know at that time what she had to go through.
The people who criticise you will not be the ones taking care of your legs when you are in your wheelchair. People who never drove a car in these conditions, they just don't know.
As my friend said to me, when you have children, typically in a second marriage, when you're older and you get married again to a woman who would have children, you must always remember that you make sure the children attend a college where the commencement ceremonies are held in a facility with a wheelchair accessible ramp.
They see me wheeling around in a beautiful gown, and they realize you can look elegant, and you can lead a happy life in a wheelchair. I know I've helped handicapped people, because I've received many comments.
For me, the wheelchair symbolizes disability in a way a cane does not.
At my wedding, I was dancing so furiously that I fell hard on my kneecaps. The next morning, my knees were so swollen that I had to get a wheelchair at the airport to go on my honeymoon.
Throughout human history, some of our most influential inventors, entrepreneurs, and leaders have had disabilities. For example, Bill Gates, Sir Richard Branson, and Charles Schwab are all dyslexic, while scientist Stephen Hawking has used a wheelchair for decades.
Equipment sellers can pocket more than $2,500 every time they send a powered wheelchair to a patient and bill Medicare.
