In Sickness & in Health: The trials and tribulations of wheelchair chic

Last year, Rebecca’s husband Nick was hit by a car and seriously injured. Here, in one of a series of columns, she writes about the aftermath of his accident

Rebecca Armstrong
Sunday 11 October 2015 18:25 BST
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A woman pushes a man in a wheelchair through a city park
A woman pushes a man in a wheelchair through a city park

I was looking through some photos with Nick the other day, showing him pictures of all the things that he can’t remember (being in three different hospitals; my mum’s dog, Daisy; last Christmas). It reminded me of some things that I’d forgotten, such as how, for months, Nick didn’t wear clothes. He wasn’t naked, mind – he wore a series of hospital gowns – but I didn’t consider him to be dressed. When he moved to a rehab ward in the third hospital, I was finally encouraged to bring in some “real” clothes. Because he was so immobile, everything had to be extra large, and because his continence was even more rogue than it is now, I had to wash everything at a high temperature and tumble dry it to kill bacteria. I hit the clothing department of the local mega Asda and bought a bunch of T-shirts, shorts and tracksuit trousers. It was hardly Savile Row, but a big improvement on the borrowed, bumless gowns.

At the care home when he lives now, there’s a laundry (glory be), and he has a full-sized wardrobe. Inside is the supermarket stuff I bought more than a year ago, plus some of his T-shirts from before the accident. There’s the suit and shirt that he wore when we renewed our vows last month – that the shirt is still there and intact is remarkable, as when a carer and I undressed him after the ceremony, I was so tired and the shirt was so tight that I thought I might have to cut the damn thing off him. There’s also a snowboarding jacket that I’d put on him backwards when we went outside last winter, and blankets for when Nick refused the back-to-front coat look and I had to swaddle him.

Now, though, Nick is going out more than ever and I’d like him to wear clothes that are warm, easier to get on and off, and that look cool. Checking out wheelchair clothes online, there are plenty of capes and coats that will keep out the chill (including a kind of fleece-lined sleeping bag that will come in useful at the pub near my parents house which is impossible to get a wheelchair into. I’m seriously considering buying a outdoor heater, too, so we can have a local pint outside come December). None of the ones I saw on my first trawl, though, were what you could call cool. (“What the hell is that?” Nick asked when I showed him one vast poncho that I swear could be used as a three-man tent.)

I kept looking and found a US company called IZ Collection. It’s definitely not cheap, but nothing designed for people in wheelchairs ever seems to be. Put “disabled” in front of any product or service and watch the price rocket. On this occasion, though, it looks like the unofficial wheelchair tax might be worth paying. Having given up on the idea that Nick will ever be able to wear jeans, the specially designed pairs on this site look promising. Garments that fasten at the back will make it much easier to get Nick dressed, and he’s very excited about a leather jacket on the site that I’ll be able to put on him without, I hope, the usual sweating and swearing. It will certainly be a nice change from supermarket chic.

I’m fundraising for my husband, who needs a mobility vehicle and has had his funding cut. See the campaign at gofundme.com/NickGrangeVanSolo

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