Stepping off a sidewalk curb. Running down the stairs in your house. Cutting fruit for dinner. Crossing the street to get the mail. What do these things have in common? They all have a physical factor of caution. Obviously, most adults don’t think twice about doing any of these things. Simple tasks become second nature as children grow into adults. When was the last time you actually thought about being cautious when you were running down a staircase to do something? Unless there are obvious sign of danger, most people don’t even think about the hundreds of risks they take in a day. Albeit, very small in most cases, every single thing we do has some level of caution associated with it. Some people are known to be more cautious than others. It’s no different when it comes to people with disabilities—some of us are way more cautious than others.

In a journal entry about a year ago, entitled, Dignity of Risk, I talked about the big risks I’ve taken in life. I explained that the big risks I’ve taken have taken have led to opportunities I’ve never could have imagined and have really shaped my life. While that’s 100% true, there are several things that I have to do very cautiously every day.   Most things that I have to be careful are that most people wouldn’t have to even think about.  Things as simple as turning on my wheelchair after I’ve been sitting at my computer desk working all are things that I have to really careful while doing because if I hit my phone off the mount, I couldn’t contact anyone until my next worker came. This has happened a couple of times before, and it’s a scary feeling. As minute as this sounds, another example would be when I feed myself lunch, I have to be very careful not only that I don’t drop the food, but I also have to be very cautious that I don’t choke myself. Until recently, this wasn’t a huge concern; however, within the last month or two, I’ve noticed that eating has become a bit more difficult. So far, fortunately, I’ve been able to clear my throat on my own by coughing, but, when I feed myself lunch, nobody would be here to help me if I were to actually choke. I have to be very cautious when I eat by myself.

Another thing that I have to be very careful about is moving around my apartment by myself. Yes, my apartment is accessible, but if a tire on my wheelchair would get caught on a doorway or something, I would literally be stuck until someone came to help me. Yes, I would have my phone so I could text people for help; however, depending on the situation, I could be stuck in the same spot for hours. Being stuck isn’t the only thing I have to worry about. A power wheelchair is like an automobile—things wear out and the you experience mechanical problems from time to time. This is what I’ve been experiencing recently. As luck would have it, the day before I was supposed to come back to my apartment after the holidays, an error message started flashing on my joystick. We called the wheelchair place, and they had us try a couple different things; none of which got rid of the error. They said as long as it was working OK, I should be fine to go back. It continued to flash, so a couple weeks later, I had a doctor’s appointment in Fondy and we arranged for my wheelchair to be dropped off at the shop so they could determine what was wrong with it. They thought it was the joystick, so a new one was ordered. Well, it finally came in and my wheelchair guy came to my apartment to replace it. Unfortunately, the error message popped up on the new joystick, so it wasn’t what they thought. Knock-on-wood, the chair is still working fine, but I find myself being even more cautious when I’m alone. I’m so afraid of getting stranded.

Other unique things that I find myself being overly cautious about are things that seem miniscule to most people. A simple task like restarting my computer can be risky to do when I’m alone. I have so many pieces of adaptive equipment that plug into my computer that when I have to restart, it’s always a gamble whether or not everything is going to work. If a piece of equipment isn’t working, I have to wait until someone is here to unplug it and plug it back in.

There are several things like that where if I attempt to do it myself, I risk the chance of doing more harm than good. In other words, if I attempt to do something myself, I risk messing it up. I’m constantly trying to balance being cautiously independent and risking messing whatever it is up to the point where I can’t proceed without assistance from another person. At times, it can be mentally wearing trying to be as independent as possible; yet, having to use an abundance of caution at the same time.

While most people likely don’t realize it, every single person uses some level of caution on a daily basis. Caution is a human instinct. People have a wide variety of caution. Some people are overly cautious; while others are riskier. Being a cautious person comes with pros and cons. On one hand, you may miss out on opportunities because you like to play it safe, but, on the other hand, playing it safe gives you assurance. Each of us has to find a balance of caution that she/he feels comfortable with. There is no such thing as a right level of caution. It’s an individual choice. I challenge you to test your level every once in a while—by doing so, it could lead to something you’d never dream of!

***The views expressed here are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of InControl Wisconsin, the Network or any of our sponsors.