Wheels of Steel
by Drew McPheron
Vroom! My power wheelchair is one of the things that’s significant to me.
I got it in 2002, two days after my 10th birthday.
When David, a wheelchair technician from the MDA clinic, brought my
power wheelchair inside the house, I was thinking, “Put me in the power
wheelchair this instant and let me cruise around a little bit.”
Instead, when my mom put me in the chair, David lectured me about how
the power wheelchair isn’t a toy or a weapon and not to go too fast.
While he was talking I was thinking, “Yes, I now am free and in control.
I can go wherever I want; I can be independent.”
Cool Kid
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Drew plays video games with his
friends, Brandon Rechtenwald (R) and Austin Shady
(L), frequently.
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Later that week I saw my friends and you could see their jaws
drop. Then I decided to speed around the gym and they joined in. After that I
figured out that they accepted me. I felt like the coolest kid there.
I found out that a power wheelchair helps you get friendly allies and
also deal with evil enemies. In fifth grade there was a girl, Shani (not her
real name), who picked on me for years.
One day at Bates Elementary, when everybody was getting up from the
carpet, Shani decided to lie down right in my way, so I couldn’t turn
around to get to my desk. I asked her to move and she didn’t. Then the
teacher asked her to move and she didn’t. So I just turned around anyway
and a small back caster wheel ran into her. She got mad but the teacher told
her, ”You didn’t move.”
I learned then that I could defend myself against bullies.
Another thing I found out is that power chairs sometimes can cause
more barriers. An example is when some of my classmates were going to St. Louis
for an optional field trip. I couldn’t go on the commercial bus because
it wasn’t accessible for my power chair, so I wasn’t able to ride
with my friends on the five-hour trip. After that I learned that I had to try
and avoid barriers, and try to live with it if I couldn’t avoid them. I
felt mad over that.
Discovering Hockey
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Drew McPheron battles for the ball
in a hockey game with friends Brandon Rechtenwald (L) and Austin Shady.
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When I was 10, my family and I went up to Chicago to an Abilities
Expo. While we were there, I learned that there’s a sport called power
wheelchair hockey. In this sport there are two teams in power wheelchairs. They
play with a Wiffle Ball instead of a puck and use plastic hockey sticks. Some
players have the hockey sticks strapped to their chairs.
The team at the expo let me practice with them and I learned that I
was good at it. I now do this as a hobby in our driveway. Having a sport out
there for kids in power wheelchairs makes me feel really happy.
In sixth grade, I found that making friends was a piece of cake.
Other boys wanted to be around me.
Some boys hitched rides on my power wheelchair by standing on the
plastic cover for the battery connections, but I stopped them from breaking it
by making a fast severe turn, throwing them into the lockers. Then the other
boys would cheer. This made me feel good, and fitting in made me feel like I
wasn’t in a power wheelchair anymore. They were treating me like a normal
kid.
These are some of my memories of why my power wheelchair is
significant to me and how it’s changed my life. It’s given me
independence, protection, hobbies and acceptance.
Drew McPheron, who was born in 1992, lives in Louisville, Ky. He
wrote this article when he was 12, as a personal memoir for his middle school
writing portfolio. The article later was read at a Kentucky state hearing on
Medicaid funding for customized wheelchairs.
Drew, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, enjoys playing street
hockey with friends and making PowerPoint presentations on the computer.
Although he’s right-handed, he drives with his left hand, so he can keep
his right free to do things. He found that playing video games helped make his
left hand more coordinated.
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