Once the pronouncement has been made. You have Post Polio. What do you do? The first thing that I did was to start making plans. I had no insurance. I was self employed. I had an old wheel chair but it was manual. They had told me that all my limbs were involved, that was a lot to take in. My Dad helped me get a used handicapped van and a used jazzy wheel chair. I don't think I could have done it without help. My son,Chris and I were doing Antique shows. We did the outside Brimfield Ma. Show. We step up in a tent. They did have outside handicap restrooms. Thank God for little blessings.
There are some things that are easier to do from a wheel chair than walking with crutches. This was amazing. I could do grocery shopping on my own. I did not need help carrying boxes. In the past I had a lot of baskets and bags, so that I could carry things from one place to another. Having a motorized chair and a vehicle to carry both myself and my chair actually gave me a lot more freedom. I had to give up visiting my friends who had steps going into their homes. We now meet for lunch or dinner out, and do our visiting there or at my house. I've had to make charges to accommodate being in a chair. The chairs work well unless they are not charged or something happens to them. If the chair is disabled you are up the creek without a paddle. Fortunately I had three sons, all of whom would help out their mom in a pickle. Chairs can be disengaged and pushed when necessary. I learned about this the hard way.
Shortly after having to use a chair full time I was able to get disability. Two years later I got medicare. This sure did help out with expenses. I was finally able to get a chair that was right for me. There still is no help with vehicles. A new handicap van runs between $50,000.00 to $70,000.00. I've been lucky finding two used vans so far. It seems that the handicapped parts go bad before the actual van goes. I end up fighting doors and ramps that don't want to close, and power seats that short out. Never the less I am extremely fortunate and happy to be able to have a handicapped van even with all the frustrations.
I love to cook and my kitchen is at normal height. I learned to use a kitchen work table to chop and mix on. I have an electric fry pan that I can use on my table. I dream of being able to design a kitchen for my needs. I think that I would lower the cabinets and have large draws that pull out rather than shelves. I have not been able to use the upper cabinets in my kitchen at all. I purchased an antique Chinese cabinet for my living area that I use to store my china plates, bowls, glasses,etc. This looks great and works well. The table is butcher block and looks good. I think I would like to incorporate more counter tops of this type with a shelf underneath. I.'d like a gas counter top range at table level, a built in oven, and a lower country kitchen sink that is open underneath so I can get close to the sink with a dish washer with drawers as well. I'm not sure what I want in a refrigerator and freezer.
I moved into a 55 and older community. Everything is on one floor. I had a ramp built for the entrance and a small deck with a ramp to the back yard. I was very fortunate that my backyard was already fenced in. So I could just let my two dogs out to do their duty.
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