Out alone in my power chair

More than 21 years ago when I lived on my own in a condo with caregivers, I sometimes felt I was never, ever alone. My sister suggested that I go out in my power chair in my immediate condo area alone and have my caregiver check up on me 15 minutes later. I was a little leery of being all alone, but because of the freedom I would feel, I decided to take a chance.

One day, I told my caregiver, Anne I was going to take my dog Gucci for a walk around the condos, and it showed her which way I was going. I headed toward the creek which is far from the road. My dog was not tied because I could not attach her comfortably to my power chair. Things went well until Gucci dashed away and headed towards the creek. She went on the creek side of a townhouse, and I didn't know what was on that side.

As I went around the side, I noticed that the soil had eroded and there was a sheer drop off to the creek. I somehow felt that the original developers had not made allowances for that much erosion. So, I was minding my P's and Q's. As I pushed on my joystick I felt some resistance on my right rear wheel. There was a sudden jolt which dislodged my left hand pushing the joystick. As I pushed forward on it, my power chair spun to the right. All of a sudden, I was at a dead stop facing toward the creek. Downhill about two feet was a new tree that was too narrow to have stopped me if my chair had started drifting that way.

It was a beautiful, sunny, 70° Sunday. . I was afraid to try to back up or turn because if I did it wrong, or my hand slipped, I could end up rolling down the hill frontwards or the chair could angle sideways and tumble down the ravine.

I don't think I've ever been quite so scared in my life. I realized I was about 100 yards from my home and no one knew I was in trouble. I sat there and wondered if I could yell loud enough for anyone to hear me. I was trying to remember all my Girl Scout training. I decided to call for help in a steady voice without screaming. I certainly did not want to frighten anyone away from helping me.

I can't remember if I prayed, but I probably did. I kept my eyes on the creek and called for Gucci every now and then. I could hear her collar name and license tags jingling jingling, and new she was close.

I don't know how long I sat there. But it had to be more than 15 minutes. I wondered if Anne had looked for me and found me out of sight. Then, I wondered what she'd do if she could not see me. I was feeling pretty helpless when, I heard voices. There was a mother and her adult son together down by the creek. The sun appeared to be intellectually challenged. I yelled for help louder, and they heard me.

When they got to me, I started to tell them what happened. My mouth was so dry from fear, I could hardly speak. I told them that I accidentally hit a rut and the jog caused me to turn and be heading in the wrong direction. I explained to her how her son could assist me to make sure I did not accidentally cause the chair to flip. He very carefully held onto the chair while I backed up slowly. I told him to hold tighter when I turned. As soon as I was far enough away from the ravine, I told him he could let go. I explained how grateful I was that they had come along and assisted me out of my predicament.

When I did get back to my condo, with Gucci trailing behind, Anne was just walking out through the garage. She had fallen asleep and wondered where I was. She was surprised when I told her what happened.