Ramps, How to Use.

Here’s a thing I never thought I’d be concerned with.

You know that little lip in front of the door of your house? The one that you might not ever think about because it’s likely like 2”, and you couldn’t possibly imagine it being any sort of issue?

Deadly.

I can’t yet hop that high. I know, it’s weird. You’d think it would be easy, even with a walker, but it’s not.

And, so, ramps. And not the oniony kind.

At my house, there are two. There’s one short one that leads from the driveway to the sidewalk, and then a longer, but less steep one, that leads to my front door.

What’s the difference? Glad you asked.

I’m not a physics major, but what I’ve learned is that the higher the curb, the longer the ramp needs to be, to have gradual momentum to get up. It sounds easy, but it’s not something I’d ever thought of.

Now, here’s something else I’d never thought of.

Other people live in homes where they don’t need ramps…and they also have deadly lips and curbs at their door!

What to do?

Well, luckily, the long ramp mentioned earlier is portable, and folds up, so you just bring your own ramp with you, and, voila! You can get into other houses.

If ever you’re going somewhere you’ve never been, I highly suggest tossing the ramp in the back of the car before you go. There’s nothing quite like being a guest in someone else’s home, and having to leave when you get there, or making a bunch of people carry you in the wheelchair to make you feel like a bad guest.

Now, here’s a mind-blowing thought.

The ramps aren’t that expensive. If you’re the kind of person who hosts others often, and you sometimes have guests who are disabled, you could consider getting a ramp for the front of your house.

I can tell you from the point-of-view of someone who needs them what an absolute hero you would be for doing that.

Now, stairs…that’s a whole other story. I have friends whose homes I think about, who live on a hill or whatnot, and I know I can’t visit them, perhaps ever, because of the prohibitive staircase, and that’s sad.

But that’s on me, not them. We can always get coffee at a restaurant or something.

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As always, if you have it in you, please give a thought to donating time or money to Hospice Austin. They do amazing work for people who are going through the hardest thing a person can face.

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