Learning the Hard Way
I remember when I got my first Electric wheelchair. My mum and dad had to buy my first two chairs themselves because the waiting list for a wheelchair on the NHS was so long.
I was driving it around a few streets to get used to it. I felt like I was getting the hang of it — until I went full speed up a curb and the whole thing tipped on its side. Luckily, someone was nearby and helped pick me and the chair back up.
That’s when I realised: maybe slow down before the curb next time.
The Day I Fell Flat on My Face (Literally)
Get Kyle Ramsden’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Me, my brother Wes, and our cousin Jamie were waiting outside Laura’s house — she was the first girl I ever went out with. We were only young, and I hadn't seen her for a while because we went to different schools.
While we were waiting outside for her to get ready, my brother Wes was standing on the back of my wheelchair and thought it would be a good idea to spin me around in a circle at full speed. Jamie was sat on the armrest, laughing and saying he was about to fall — and all of a sudden, he went flying off straight into a lamppost.
That still didn’t stop Wes. He thought it was hilarious — we all did — until the next minute I went flying out straight onto my face.
I was still lying on the floor with my face flat against the pavement and my legs caught behind my footplate. Wes started knocking on everyone’s door trying to get someone to help lift me back into my chair. Eventually, someone came to help.
Once I was back in the chair, Wes and Jamie said I had a massive egg on my forehead and a graze all down the side of my face. I told Wes to go and explain what had happened. I definitely wasn’t going back to that front door — I must’ve looked like a right idiot. After that, I never saw Laura again.
