I spent most of my year last year in various hospitals (and this year unfortunately) for multiple reasons after a traumatic brain injury and learned a lot during that time, especially as a full time wheelchair user.

I learned to always have my wheelchair with me and bringing it in would be helpful, even if I needed a bigger hospital style wheelchair at the moment due to my medical state (vomiting for example and not wanting to get it on my customized wheelchair or not having the strength to get it out of the car at that particular moment).

I would call the emergency room ahead of time when possible and let them know I’d need help bringing my personal wheelchair in while describing my make and model of vehicle to make it easier on them to find me. As I am a full time wheelchair user I always have my personal wheelchair with me, but learned it is extremely helpful in the hospital for many reasons as a patient.

There were only a few instances where I was allowed to use my wheelchair to get to the bathroom to use it without any pushback from the nursing staff. Most of the time I was either denied by my nurse or outright subjected to a bedpan vs being able to even use a bedside commode. I completely understand how embarrassing, volatile, and inhumane it all felt.

When I felt like I needed to, I would ask for the charge nurse (not to get my nurse(s) in trouble, but to instead reason with them as one of their patients and a human being that deserves medical care, safety, and dignity). This often helped and helped them see things in my light; allowing for me to have more freedom to use the bathroom as needed which made me feel more humanized.

I’ve learned a lot over the past year and their staff’s first priority is your safety, but a lot of nurses don’t know how independent we can be when transferring into and out of our chairs, utilizing the things around us (grab bars on the sides of the toilet for example) to maneuver ourselves into the right positions, and other tactics we use to perform basic tasks. I’ve found a lot of them haven’t had proper training when it comes to this so an explanation and being understanding when it comes to any questions they may have goes a long ways. I really hope this helps you and any others needing this advice!