Well, as promised the top five ways to make a wheelchair driving Grace happy.
1. Don’t be afraid to hug her, Grace has decided there are two type of huggers in the world. Those that are afraid she might break and give hugs she can’t feel, or make the attempt to hug her but actually end up with their arms around her chair. And secondly, the big huggers. Those are the people that actually give a good old bear hug, these hugs last at least 30 seconds and make her feel that if they could, the hugger would pick her up and spin her around. She appreciates most hugs, but the old bear hugs are the best. She’s frail but she won’t break.
2. Sit by her when you talk with her. It’s always nice when Grace meets someone that just has a seat across from her and starts talking. Can’t be much to a conversation that you carry on with someone’s crotch, and taking a seat next to her is nice too, but her neck and back are fused so she seems extremely rude by not turning to make eye contact.
3. Talk to her as if she’s her age. She may be petite, but by all means she’s able to have a intelligent conversation as well as any other seventeen year old ( I know a lot of people don’t think any 17 yr old can, but just sit with one sometime, they’re quite fun).
4. Don’t exactly know how to explain this without just saying it. Hit her once in a while! You know most teens give each other a smack on the arm now and then. Grace is like any other kid, she needs that type of interaction. Anyone that actually knows her probably wants to belt her one now and then anyway. She’s witty and can get over on the best of us.
5. Probably the biggest compliment you can pay Grace is to be close enough to her to actually forget her medical conditions, when someone says they forget she’s in a wheelchair it makes her day. It’s hard sometimes to see past a chair, they’re still unusual for most people to see, and they sometimes are big and cumbersome. That chair is such a blessing, without it she would be bedridden, have absolutely no independence, but it’s not what defines Grace. She is so much more because of all she’s been through, yet those experiences aren’t all she is. She really is just like the rest of us. She’s loving, emotional, grumpy, and probably one of the funniest people I’ve ever met.
If you don’t know Grace you’re missing out. But she’s not the only kid that’s been through too much in their life. Don’t be afraid to get to know someone that is different. Doesn’t matter what makes them different, there’s a real person in there, a person that needs to be loved just like you do. Sometimes a smile and a bear hug can mean way more than you know.
