A man calls to help me. And calls again and again. I can never get
to phone by the time his perfunctory messages have ended.Today he
wakes me at
10--- I had been up until 6 a.m. and says he will come by at 11.I
calculate the amount of time it will take me to get in and out the
chair, on and off the commode, washed and dressed, cover my eyes and
snuggle deeper. The door bell rings at 11. This wakes me
again. He never left a return phone number because, since he is the helper
and I the helpee- I am not allowed to know his phone number. The
Faith in Action coordinator calls and of course we talk because 1.
I am now awake and 2. He left a phone number.
I make an appointment to talk to the man at 3. We speak. He complains about how
hard it is to get a hold of me. I tell him, it isn't hard, you have
to speak long
enough for me to get to the phone-- I am paralyzed and in a
wheelchair. He wonders if the door bells
work. They do I tell him, but I nearly NEVER answer the door unless I
am expecting someone.
He quizzes me-- how do i handle all the folks I must be in touch
with? I should roll around with a cellphone on my lap. I have a cell
I tell him in my wheelchair bag. He asks for my cell phone. I do a
quick calculus of what i need and the road to get it and give him my
cell phone number.
10 minutes after we are finished talking he calls me on my cell to
tell me something I told him was so, was so ( car inspection before
registration).
When he calls it says RESTRICTED. I usually don't answer RESTRICTED
because it costs me money. But I answered because I knew it was him.
I tell him this. He admits that his daughter feels
the same way. And that next time he will call from his cell phone. Thing is
this will now reveal his number to me. However, his secret is safe with me.
I'm the paralyzed woman in the wheelchair in need of help. This is hell.
