If you are going to quote me, please include my entire post. I never said that it was about me. I stated very clearly that this was my perspective, (maybe you missed that). I stated my preference and my reasons. I wasn’t the one that said that people on the other side of the issue would have to be “crazy” to feel as they do. I was also explaining that I understand disability and using my personal journey to explain my position. I wouldn’t want to be your “hero”, and I am not trying to convince anyone that they shouldn’t have a throttle. I’m sorry that my journey through my recovery, such as it is, offends you.
I always felt bad for someone in a wheelchair, until I ended up in a wheelchair and realized that the wheelchair gave me freedom that I didn’t have on a hospital bed. Then the walker was another great leap forward, then crutches were even better. I realized that it was just a matter of perspective. When I went from the hospital to rehab, they asked me what my long term goal was. I told them that I hoped to keep my leg, to be able to piss without a catheter and that I could walk my dog again, (all of that was in doubt and a long way off). That was coming from a very active and adventurous way of life. My recovery will always be far short of where I was before the accident, (but I am grateful for what I have), and it will further limit me moving forward. If someone has a physical limitation that means that they need the help of a throttle to get out and enjoy life, then I am happy that they now have that opportunity. Until the time comes where I feel that I might need one, I will remain “crazy”, because that is the way that “I” like it. Others feel differently, and that is of course up to them.
I was debating the virtues of certain types of hang gliding harnesses with a friend. It was a friendly conversation, but it had no resolution. My friend’s girlfriend said to us, “If everyone loved Roses, what would a Daisy do?”. Debate resolved. I even wrote her quote down in my log book that day. I love that quote and I think that it applies here as well. How about this, I’ll keep my Daisy, and you keep your Rose. Just, please don’t ride your Rose through the Daisies only garden.