For Denis Delemont, going to work Thursday morning was a whole new ball game.
Delemont, the Collicut Centre supervisor, and 11 other prominent community figures swapped their office chairs for wheelchairs for a day for the third annual Chair-Leaders event.
“It was interesting, trying to get things done in the office,” said Delemont.
“It was hard to manoeuvre around and get even just papers from one place to another quickly.
“I didn’t really fit under my desk tray either.”
Hosted by the Alberta chapter of the Canadian Paraplegic Association in partnership with Motion Specialities, the Chair-Leaders event seeks to bring awareness to spinal cord injuries.
“It’s also held in support of spinal cord awareness month in May.
“With something like this, where participants get first-hand experience, it’s an eye-opener and it gets people talking, which is what we want,” said Wanda Seifried, client services co-ordinator with the CPA, Red Deer Region.
“We want to just build awareness so we can continue to all work together to break down the barriers.”
Being able bodied is something many take for granted, she added.
For Frank Bauer, the volunteer co-ordinator of the Central Alberta Refugee Effort, it was his first time in a wheelchair.
“The office was actually very accessible I was happy to find but when I went out to get a coffee at City Roast, I couldn’t get across the street thanks to curbs and construction,” said Bauer, still seated in his loaned wheelchair, sharing his experience with other participants at Motion Specialities Thursday afternoon.
“You get impatient by the end of the day — everything takes longer to do . . . It was a great experience; you really appreciate your legs.”
Some other participants included Twyla Lapointe from The Hub on Ross, Heidi Hastings from the Kraze 101.3, Todd Nivens from the Kerry Wood Nature Centre and Jeremy Graves from the Public Works Department with the city.
Graves said while his office had wide hallways, there were still challenges, such as heavy automatic doors closing on him and people walking into him when they came around their cubicle corners.
Jeff Dow, also a client services co-ordinator with the CPA, Red Deer Region, wants to see the Chair-Leaders event expanded next year.
“The barriers aren’t there just for people in wheelchairs; they’re there for people in crutches too, people on scooters, people with canes and walkers, the elderly,” said Dow, who uses a wheelchair himself after an accident in 2007. “I’d like to see more power doors, elevators and outdoor ramps in the future.”
rfrancoeur@www.reddeeradvocate.com