Pam Dickens, born with spina bifida, was very active using crutches for most of her life. But three years ago, she underwent surgery which resulted in a spinal cord injury—and the need to use a wheelchair.
This resulted, Pam says, in her feeling “really down” and just “laying around” in bed for a year. Finally, she enrolled in a mindfulness meditation course. There she met Ruth, a classmate, who asked her to come for a walk/roll on a nearby paved trail. Reluctantly, Pam agreed. Soon she and Ruth were meeting for a one-mile trek four times weekly. Pam discovered she enjoyed the companionship and the outdoors. Always a nature lover, she listened to the birds and the nearby creek, noticed the leaves change, and didn’t mind bundling up in cold weather. The friends began meeting more often and going further—soon they were meeting four times per week and going from 3-8 miles per trip. They realized their commitment to this shared activity when they reminisced and discovered that they had traveled together a minimum of one mile at least four times per week for one year without missing one week!
Last spring Ruth moved away and Pam still misses her friend. However, she has three new friends who hit the trail with her at least once a week each. Living in North Carolina, she finds that there are very few weather-related barriers that prevent her from sticking to her routine. Pam says social support contributes greatly to her recipe for physical activity and good health. Wheeling regularly helps her to maintain a healthy weight, breathe better, and manage depression. Even if she is tired before hitting the trail, she says she feels energetic afterwards, and that people tell her that she looks healthier since she began her wheeling routine.
For Pam, the experience of being “confined” to a wheelchair has been transformed by her determination to experience nature and find new ways to enjoy it!