Tremulous Tetra

Been in a wheelchair 31 years. Right from the beginning, I kind of pretended, not sure that's the right word, I wasn't in a wheelchair. I sort of went into denial. And that's not always a bad thing. No depression. Just got on with life, in a very jolly way, determined not to be (the stereotype in my head, 24 years of age) the miserable cripple. Kind of played that role for 31 years. Moaning and complaining, really gets on my nerves. (That's my baggage, not saying I'm right to judge anybody.)

Got into politics, Socialist worker. And then again, one of the great things about being involved in politics like that, was that when you got heavily into discussion with somebody on the street (for example) about politics, the wheelchair would disappear, and you would be engaged with as just another person.

So my whole methodology, persona, and working in anything I did, was to try and avoid being a wheelchair user. (I can move my arms, but thy hands are paralysed, and my triceps don't work. So pretty high level of paralysis) I would do street sales of the newspaper. And I would kind of go into an acting mode. Or maybe just denial again, about my being in a wheelchair. Obviously the wheelchair was give me some advantages, in catching people's ear, sympathy et cetera. But I was very good at stopping people, engaging them, and selling them newspapers. Regularly, in fact most weeks used to sell more than anyone else on the sale.

One of the great ways to get people on your side, to help you, which I obviously need a lot of I am so paralysed, is to be open and friendly, to use humour wherever possible, because if you get people laughing, you get people helping. Could quite easily get 15 or 20 people to help me on the way to a map, Saturday for example. Or help me in some perilous situations. It's funny out someone always turns up.

After several years in socialist worker, I got involved with a group called The Direct Action Network. A group of disabled activists, who gave me a much better understanding of disabled politics. They are quite a radical group, with radical viewpoints of disability, discrimination, and how you oppose it. And it is partially because of them, and partially because I have more independence now that I've ever had, I'm much more likely to deal with the topic of disability. Or if am on a forum like this, mention the fact, where was previously I have been on forums and gone 10 or 15 years without mentioning the fact.