Tue Nov 7 2023, 11:00 News Read 165 times
HAAFTEN • Remco van Lohuizen suffered a spinal cord injury thirty years ago, and has been in a wheelchair ever since. There are still many hurdles to overcome.
He has a nice job, does volunteer work, sings and plays badminton. He recently also became a member of the Toegankelijk West Betuwe platform. But once upon a time he had other plans for the future.
“I was only seventeen when I suffered a spinal cord injury. I studied electrical engineering and then joined the Navy. During the sports day there were all kinds of inflatable courses, including a mud bath. It was a competitive element, so everything happened at speed. A net was stretched over the mud pit at a height of forty centimeters, which we had to crawl under. The quickest thing was to dive in all at once and let yourself slide through.”
Broken neck
“But then things went wrong. I slipped in the mud pit and got caught behind the net. I knew immediately that something was wrong. I couldn’t move anymore. Afterwards it turned out that I had broken my neck. I almost drowned in the mud pit. Fortunately, the situation was quickly identified. They emptied the tank as quickly as possible. I was still conscious. “Get help, get help,” I shouted. I was very calm myself, but in the back of my mind I thought: ‘it’s over now’. But at that moment I was able to completely surrender to the situation.
Learn everything again
I had surgery and had a long rehabilitation process. I had to learn everything again. Eating, dressing, showering and also driving a wheelchair. Then I retrained as a structural draftsman and then started working at KPN. I have now been working there for 25 years.”
‘Everything is not yet wheelchair-friendly’
“I notice that there are still many things that I encounter. I have a hand bike myself and I sometimes encounter difficult situations along the way. A sidewalk or sidewalk that is difficult to get to, the transition of different types of roads, tree roots that come through sidewalks. As a wheelchair user you can use all parts of the road, from the public road to the sidewalk. But everything is still not wheelchair-friendly.”
Membership Platform
“That is one of the reasons why I became a member of the Toegankelijk West Betuwe platform. We want to create more awareness among the municipality, organizations and residents in order to work together towards better social and physical accessibility for people with disabilities in West Betuwe. Both outside and inside. I think it would be nice to make a meaningful contribution to that.”
Choir member at The EZvoices
I am also a choir member at The EZvoices in Haaften. I also notice that I sometimes run into things. During a performance it is difficult for me to get onto the stage, there is rarely a slope. Then I have to pull on four men and ask them to lift me onto the stage. I also understand that it is an economic decision for a company to come up with something about that. If a ramp is too expensive, they could also ask a carpenter to make something out of wood. You have to make do with what you have.”
‘This is my thing’
“But I am very happy with my participation in the choir. From the first moment I joined the choir in Haaften The EZvoices, I thought: ‘This is my thing’. It gives so much energy to sing together. And it is also good for my fitness. In addition, you are also pleasant among people, it is also a very social club. It’s fantastic here.”
More awareness
“I started reading more information about accessibility of buildings. And I notice that the government’s policy standard is sometimes still too open. Only advice is given, but it is often not even adopted in practice. In other countries, such as Italy, this is much more carefully considered. There should be more awareness, especially at the top.”
“And we should have more influence with whoever approves a project. I am committed to making our municipality accessible. I certainly benefit from that myself. I wish everything were more accessible. From buildings to playgrounds.”
“I notice that I pay attention to many more things now. If I see that something could be improved, we will immediately take action.”
Platform accessible West Betuwe
• The Platform is committed to making all buildings and outdoor spaces more accessible to everyone.
• People are concerned with issues surrounding physical and social accessibility.
• Interested in participating? View on toegankelijkwestbetuwe.nl.
2023-11-07 14:41:17
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