When Stairs become your worst enemy

Over the last few years I have faced many challenges related to the progression of my Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy. In recent years stairs have become a major issue now I can still climb  them just in my own unique way which usually results in me avoiding stairs all together to avoid the embarrassment. Going downs stairs is even worse and lately my biggest fear has been falling down a flight of stairs since my legs have become a little bit weaker. Sadly even stepping off of a curb can be risky and lately it seems my legs are having a little bit more trouble than they use to.

Now the place where this has become a major issue is at the local movie theatre you see in the past my wife and I would always show up at the theatre about a half hour before the movie was scheduled to start. We would do this since it helped me avoid the embarrassment of a climbing stairs in front of a large crowd. In recent years going to the local theatre has become a major problems for me and most times I am very reluctant to go to the movies since it usually results in me being put in a somewhat embarrassing and sometimes dangerous situation. My biggest fear comes when the movie ends first I have to struggle to get up from my seat then next comes the worst moment when I have to go down the stairs exiting the theatre every time I worry that one of my legs is going to give out resulting in me falling. Thankfully I have been very lucky and I am happy to say that I have never fallen while exiting the theatre but with all the problems I have been facing lately concerning stairs my wife and I are seriously considering going to another theatre that is much more accessible. I always tell my wife about how disappointed I am in our local theatre and that I cannot believe that a theatre built 5 years ago wasn’t designed to properly handle the needs of everyone living with a disability. Sure they have seating at the very front of the theatre but you can ask anyone who uses a wheelchair and they will tell you that this is the worst place to sit since it can be a major struggle to just look up at the screen. And I am thankful that theatres include seating for those who use wheelchairs but some theatre’s are doing a better than others. At our local AMC they actually have four theatres that have accessible seating near the top of the theatre this really help to make my movie going experience much better since this area can be accessed by using an elevator located close to their main entrance. Sadly not every movie I go to see is played in one of these four theatres that is why my wife and I are considering going to a theatre in another city to watch movies since this other one is all one level and has no stairs at all.

With the progression of my Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy I understand some things in my life are going to change. Another form of frustration for me lately comes when ever I am visiting family or friends you see for some reason many of the new homes being built in my area all have 4-5 steps leading up to the front entry. This makes what is suppose to be a simple visit into a major ordeal resulting in stress and sometimes reluctance in visiting peoples homes. As many of you can understand this is a major issue especially in the winter since slippery steps can make walking very risky for those of us living with Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy. Sadly this past winter my wife and I had a Christmas party to attend and like usual I am faced with a challenge I wasn’t really prepared for you see this party was being held at a new home and what am I greeted with a full flight of stairs leading up to the front entry. Now I am not talking about 4-5 steps you see this home was built with 10-15 steps leading to the front entry so you could imagine my frustration and fears. Thankfully I was very luck that this time I didn’t face any issues climbing up or down these stairs. Now over the years I have learned while living with Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy that at times there will be many surprises and challenges when it comes to stairs.

Sadly there are times you just aren’t prepared for I actually remember a time at work once when the fire alarms went off and we all had to exit the building at the time I was working on the third floor which meant I had to climb down six flights of stairs to exit the building. This situation didn’t leave me very happy since for the rest of the day I had to deal with having very weak legs which always increases my risk of falling. As you can understand with the progression of my Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy stairs tend to become your worst enemy so these days I avoid them as much as possible. And I know in the distant future I may need to start using a mobility scooter so I hope one day that I will be able to own a home that is set up to handle all of my specific needs. If I am ever lucky enough to own a home of my own it will definitely be a bungalow that wouldn’t have any steps leading to the front entry. This would solve so many of the problems I am already facing since owning a home with no stairs would allow family and friends to just come over to my house and visit me meaning I wouldn’t have to miss out on any family functions due to my inability to climb stairs. And I know no matter what happens when it comes to the progression of Becker's Muscular Dystrophy things are going to change and there isn't much I can do about it I just have to accept these changes and somehow find a way to be ok with the fact that stairs are going to become a major problem for me in the next few years.