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Most people assume ones using wheelchair are not able to move by themselves but it is not always true.
Every wheelchair users have different situations.
I am able to move my right leg slightly and I have very powerful arm power so I can get on a long leg chair like this. (See picture above)
I usually impress people when they see me doing this.
In restaurants, most restaurant staffs will assume I want to sit on my wheelchair instead of sitting on the chairs in the restaurants so they usually pull the chair away.
However, again, it really depends on each individuals.
I enjoy more when I sit on chairs in restaurants.
In my work place, I sit on regular chairs when I am at work, too.
Wheelchair is a tool for me to get around, it is not a chair to me.
Because each individual has different preferences, it is always best to ask instead of assuming.
Wheelchair is not a luggage that I carry around with me.
I don’t feel very comfortable when restaurant staffs “inform” me that they will “keep” the wheelchair and will return it to me when I finish my meal.
It is better if they can inform me the reasons, too.
I understand when I enter a very small restaurants.
Except for that, I really hope they can explain before taking my moving tool away from my reach.
A wheelchair to me is probably like a pair of shoes to you (in some level).
Would’t it be weird if you were informed to take your shoes away when you sit down in a restaurant?
I wish they can “ask” me instead of “informing” me.