‘It’s not a part of me, but it is what it is’: the struggle of becoming en-wheeled after spinal cord injury

Monforte, Javier; Smith, Brett; Pérez-Samaniego, Víctor

Abstract

Purpose: Many people who experience spinal cord injury become long-term wheelchair users. This article addresses the process of becoming en-wheeled through the case example of a disabled man called Patrick. Design: An intrinsic case study informed by posthumanist developments was used. Within this design, Patrick and his manual wheelchair were the entangled participants of the inquiry. Methods: Interviews and fieldwork observation with Patrick were conducted. Qualitative data were analysed using the posthumanist notion of ‘assemblages’. Results: The results illuminate Patrick’s struggle of negotiating a new embodied selfhood that includes the wheelchair. Patrick engaged in ableist rehabilitation after spinal cord injury to recuperate the capacity to walk and break his connection with the wheelchair. After extensive treatment of his body, he reluctantly assumed his cyborg or posthuman condition. Conclusion: The analysis and discussion resulted in a theoretical frame that presents the notions of humanist and posthumanist enwheelment as two directions of a continuum. The paper offers a useful tool for understanding and addressing enwheelment plus other cyborgification processes. We advocate for its acceptance into the disability studies and rehabilitation practice repertoire.

Citation

Monforte, J., Smith, B., & Pérez-Samaniego, V. (2021). ‘It’s not a part of me, but it is what it is’: the struggle of becoming en-wheeled after spinal cord injury. Disability and Rehabilitation, 43(17), 2447-2453. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2019.1702725

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 5, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Dec 22, 2019
• Publication Date: 2021
• Deposit Date: Jan 9, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 22, 2020
• Journal: Disability and Rehabilitation
• Print ISSN: 0963-8288
• Electronic ISSN: 1464-5165
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 43
• Issue: 17
• Pages: 2447-2453
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2019.1702725
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1280250