Meredith Boone I was working at a large Aveda Salon a few years ago, which attracted a very diverse group of people. I remember being especially thrown off when I went to greet my next guest, John. He was in a wheelchair. I remember I started to panic a bit on the inside...How was this going to work? How do I shampoo his hair? Do I need to help him transfer from chair to chair? I kept my composure and let him tell me how I could best assist him. For some odd reason I looked at him with pity that first instant, but he quickly changed my thoughts about people and wheelchairs. He was very pleased with his haircut and soon he became my regular client. After a while it seemed that the wheelchair was not defining as it initially had been. He was just John. John who loved to cook; who had the most startling blue eyes and coal colored hair; had a normal dating life; was a patent lawyer and on the side loved to be a magician and put on magic shows. I ended up leaving the salon to get married and move on with life as a military wife. Six weeks after we were wed, my husband was paralyzed in an ATV accident and was told he might never be able to walk again. It was like a horrible nightmare. However through the darkest of times I would remember my client John. He would shed a little bit of light... a little bit of hope.... a little bit of reassurance that just because my husband might end up in a wheelchair that didnt mean that we couldnt have a normal life together. My client, John EMPOWERED ME and helped me keep hope alive in my heart when it seemed life was just trying to squeeze it all out! I will be forever thankful for my career in this industry because of the amazing people we meet and the impact they have on our own lives FOREVER!!!! Fortunately, for my husband his injury was not a complete fracture of the spinal cord and about a year plus of extensive therapy he has the ability to walk and move his arms again. We are still living a normal life (whatever that means)
Posted on: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 22:31:00 +0000
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