If You've Never Flipped Your Chair at Least Once, You're Not Cripping Right.

 So, check out this video of Marissa Bode and Ethan Slater practicing their dance for Wicked.

What you don't see is Marissa flipping back during a rehearsal, which she copped to.  When I read this, I had a giggle, and immediately posted to FB, IG, and Threads: There would've been a moment of concern, but then, we'd be like, "Girl, you took a good bump!"  Any crip in a chair's flipped at one time or another.  If you have never, you're not cripping right.  LOL!

It's true, anybody who's spent time in a chair has flipped once, if not multiple times.  If you haven't, you're either REALLY lucky or REALLY sheltered.  Don't get it twisted, I'm not wishing anybody flip their chair, you could really get hurt if you're not prepared.  Unfortunately, unless you're playing a contact sport like Murderball (rugby) or basketball (chairs hitting just happens, sometimes hard) or just see it coming, it's gonna come from left field.

Yeah, some of those bumps look brutal, especially watching them get up slowly.  I also noticed watching the Paras this summer that each team had no less than a COUPLE DOZEN extra tires lined up behind them on a rack, because they WILL POP and axils WILL BREAK!  Those're hard bumps!

Joey and I talk about our bumps we've taken growing up from wheels coming off while walking the streets, missing holes in grass (we prefer to go through low-cut grass, or go REALLY slow through higher side by side, so if we fall, we only have one way to go) or uneven sidewalk, which I learned to walk in road shoulders young, because Midland's were so sketchy (still are in some places) in that they inexplicably cut off with no curb cut on the other end.

As a matter of fact, when I met Joey, she'd had such a bump and was nursing a broken ankle.  Seems she was going through some grass, and didn't see a ditch.  Unfortunately, she was going without her footrests, which CAN take a front flip, so he MIGHT NOT'VE fallen at all IF she'd had her footrests on.  Of course, this depends on how deep the ditch was.

Two bumps made a HUGE impression on me.  The first was my first day of my first year of camp.  I was 7.  I was getting situated in my chair when I sneezed before I could get my seat belt on.  Yeah, I FACEPLANTED ON CONCRETE!  I still have the scar.  I'm 48.

See the dip in my hairline?  Yeah, I even remember "Lightning Crashes" by Live was playing, because everybody was eating breakfast.  Back in the day, electric wheelchairs had to be charged in the Lodge.  Ever since, the seat belt's the first thing that gets BEFORE I'm situated.

The other time was I'd just gotten my chair back from the shop, so Noe and I were gonna walk around.  We cut through neighbor's driveway that led to the alley.  We just gonna hang in this carport thing.  Here's the thing, there was a TINY hump getting in there, no prob, done those lips before...EXCEPT WITH TIPPERS.  Apparently, the repair dude failed to put my tippers BACK ON after probably tipping the chair to fix what need fixing, SO I hit that lip just right, and went back with NO way to catch myself.

I remember Noe saying he was gonna get help...then, I was OUT.  I remember Mom and Dad helping me up and having a sprained neck for 6 weeks.

I've  had bruised ribs, matter of fact, I'm nursing some now, and, no, it's not from taking a bump in my chair, which comes with the territory of having a chest strap and having to sometimes stop fast.  No, this's because I USED to fall asleep with my laptop on my chest.  Anyway, the sprained neck was one and done.

One last Jason original:  I was gonna walk to the store for Joey, I believe.  I got two houses down when my chair dipped to the left.  How I didn't fall's beyond me, Joey, OR the repair dude, who'd NEVER seen a chair chassis SPLIT in his time fixing chairs!  Yeah, a Jason original.

Sound off with your bump stories, OR if you can beat my split chassis.