Wheelcair Bound

In this modern day and age that we live in it really blows my mind to see written or here spoken the phrase wheelchair-bound. Saying that someone is bound to a wheelchair implies the person is tied chained or somehow fastened to the wheelchair. The correct phrase would be that someone uses a wheelchair. In all actuality a wheelchair is a vessel of technology that allows a disabled person to get around and be more independent. One day I asked my doctor to write me a disability letter he actually referred to me as a wheelchair-bound man. It astounds me that professional individuals such as doctors, lawyers and journalists still use this phrase.

One day while I was in physical therapy I heard a physical therapist say that electric wheelchairs made people lazy. This could not be further from the truth electric wheelchairs allow an individual the versatility to perform a lot more physical tasks, than your manual wheelchair. This statement was obviously made from someone who never had to use a wheelchair. As a wheelchair user I can honestly say that I have accomplished many goals while using an electric wheelchair.

I sure hope in the future I do not continue to hear or see outdated terminology such as a wheelchair-bound person. As far as an electric wheelchair  being the cause of someone being lazy, I would have to hear that statement come from someone using a wheelchair for it to have any weight. People in the medical profession should be held to a higher standard and should be more aware of the things they say  and write.