Borrowing this (paraphrased) line from Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, I have, on many occasions, questioned this of myself. It is also a question I have had asked of me on more than one occurrence. Firstly, I believe one needs to understand the concept of what is disabled. 

• • disabled (adjective) 
• (of a person) having a physical or mental condition that limits their movements, senses, or activities. 

Therein stands a dictionary’s description of what disabled is. It is at this juncture I must make absolutely clear, and I cannot emphasise this enough, that the word disabled, and/or being disabled, being classified disabled should never be considered unfavourably in any way. 

In order to fully understand what disabled is, one must, of course, first know what it means. Now opening this Pandora’s box of an ‘opinion’ on what disabled means is a contested concept. However, it is, just that, and/or in this case, my opinion. I consider being disabled a condition that makes it more challenging for me to do certain activities or effectively interact with the world and people around me (socially or materially). Being disabled also has shifting meanings in different communities. It’s even been referred to as an "embodied difference," but the term may also refer to physical or mental attributes that some, in particular healthcare professionals, view as needing to be fixed (a view I most certainly do not subscribe to in any way). Others say it can refer to limitations imposed on people by the constraints of an ableist society, or the term may serve to refer to the identity of disabled people. 

So, as has been noted, the word disabled has connotations that, in many ways, are subjective to each person it may be applicable to; that becomes a choice to that person alone as to whether they consider having the word disabled applicable to them. I, myself, have no compunction with being ‘classified’ as disabled because I do face challenges every day in relation to being a wheelchair user. It’s a fact. A fair majority of properties, buildings, amenities, parks, sports grounds and beaches I venture into or onto are not fully accessible to me. This is a challenge I face willingly (believe me I do), every day because I will not allow my wheelchair or my disability to define me rather it’s what I choose to do in my wheelchair that does. 

Prior to my first spinal cord injury (SCI), in 2006 – a cycling accident, I was extremely active; I ran, training for and completing marathons, cycled long distances for hours at a time, I played social tennis regularly, refereed football to a national level and even played and umpired social netball. Sustaining the SCI while cycling, due to an Achilles tendon injury, left me devastated, initially. Those first few months while in Burwood Spinal Unit (BSU) in Christchurch, New Zealand were tough, arduous in fact, in coming to terms with no longer having full use of my legs and the other challenges an SCI brings. Given a 20% chance of ‘some sort of recovery’ – standing, aided walking meant some soul searching was done. I decided early on to treat my SCI as just a severe injury and vowed I would do all I could to ‘push the envelope’ in terms of my recovery and rehabilitation, a process that never truly ends. 

Despite all my efforts, I remain a wheelchair user, although I managed to regain partial use of my left leg although, as yet, not enough to weight bear on it. I can, using a gutter frame and full leg knee, foot, and ankle orthotic or KAFO, perform my gutter frame shuffle (see photo). I have no movement in my right leg, hence the KAFO fitted to it. I can step with my left leg, with no weight bearing, take my weight on my forearms pushing the gutter frame forward, then by hitching my right KAFO encased leg I am able to ‘shuffle’ forward. I spend time at least once a week on this exercise regimen. Why? Because I can! I’ve been told by my first spinal consultant at BSU some years later that what I had achieved with this ‘gutter frame shuffle’ should not have been possible given the nature of my SCI. Not possible? I’ve made it a personal mission not to let what I cannot do stop me from doing what I can. 

So, as a wheelchair user still, I have attained a level of comfort and acceptance of my disability as a C6c quadriplegic, after my second SCI in 2019 – run over when out on my handcycle. I still put in the effort and perseverance to work to improve on my level of disability. If I manage to improve all the better, if not then my effort has been worth it because I’ve never let what I cannot do stop me from doing what I can. How do I know what I can do? The only way I’ll know is if I try. 

Therefore, after all this consideration am I disabled? I certainly have an obvious disability – I am a wheelchair user after all. Does that make me disabled? Yes, in so far as I am living with a disability. Does the label ‘disabled’ define me in any way? No, it does not. Sure, it enables me to have premium parking availability, designated public toilet facilities and a fantastic Mercedes van compliments of New Zealand’s Accident Compensation Commission (ACC), with hoist and hand controls so I can drive and be independent in that way. 

However, being a wheelchair user and living with a disability hasn’t ‘prevented me from getting out training on my Invacare TopEnd force RX handcycle, completing marathons both in New Zealand and overseas, and proudly representing Invacare as an Invacare Ambassador. It hasn’t prevented me from mentoring other wheelchair users, utilising weight training equipment at my local gym, swimming at the local indoor swimming pool – I’ve even completed a 2km ocean swim, plus working to improve my ‘gutter frame shuffle’. These are all activities that I have chosen to do, chosen to show and prove what I can still do. These activities are what define me. Not an adjective used to attempt to interpret my SCI. This same outlook is not mine alone, it does and can be adopted by anyone living with a disability, no matter the disability. 

In conclusion, this leaves me to ponder the question . . . Disabled – to be or not to be? YES! And bloody proud with it! 

About the author

Ian Walker is a C6 Quadriplegic Incomplete. Ian lives in Christchurch, New Zealand and has survived 2 separate spinal cord injury-related accidents over the past 14 years. He is a Motivational Speaker who talks about - how to face adversity, cycle road safety, living with a disability, and being a 1 percenter . . .

Ian also enjoys life coaching which he utilises through his business BMotiv8d, to assist those with a disability, (or without), who lack motivation, direction and/or confidence, those who feel disorganised or unfulfilled, and/or those who need encouragement or need to set priorities, on how to realise their true potential.