mrchad9 wrote:Does he use handicapped parking spaces? It seems inappropriate to be taking them if you are capable of following up with an eight mile approach to a technical route.
I don't know, does he use handicapped parking? I'm not about to assume he does.
I was offered the chance to be declared officially handicapped, but I declined for fear that it would affect job opportunities.
Neurological traumas may have side effects that are not easily understood by many folks. I feel the least handicapped when I am climbing mountains; I can focus on a problem at a time, and use my cerebrum to make up for the missing part of the cerebellum.
The week after I climbed Telescope the long way (11500' accumulated gain in 10 hours), I was given an emergency work task that nearly brought me to tears. "All" the task involved was keeping 10 windows open on the computer console, cutting and pasting among them, typing quickly, and doing easy spreadsheet calculations-- under lots of deadline pressure. After 10 minutes of this my right hand would begin to spasm, and I'd accidentally close a window or hit some ghastly key combination, and wipe out the last 5 minutes of work. I grinned and bore it for 2 weeks, got way behind (never was behind before), and was miserable. All the cerebellum work would cause me to lose the ability to talk early in the day, and people wondered if I were drunk. Finally I pulled the "handicapped" card, and got the company medical to put restrictions on my work. The doctors asked me why I waited so long.
I know rhyang had problems with focus after the 1st accident. He could be very competent at some climbing tasks, but descending talus would stymie him.
Oddly enough, the grocery store is one of the places where I often wish I had a flashing neon handicapped sign. I can't sign my name, or pull out my credit card, quickly enough for the people in back of me. I can't open those !@#$&^%* plastic bags without a minute of scratching. I have to concentrate intensely when I pick up and turn over eggs to see if the shells are broken.