Physical Environment Assignment - Charity Lipham

I spent an evening with my friend who recently had back surgery to correct extensive ruptured disc issues and nerve pain down one leg.  She cannot walk up or down stairs and cannot remain seated for long periods of time without feeling increasing pain.  

First, I picked her up at her parents’ house where she was staying to recover.  I drove because sitting and driving is painful for her.  We went to eat at Chili’s as requested a high-top table so she could halfway sit down and half stand on her leg that doesn’t have nerve damage.  The area with high-top tables is also the closest seating area to the front door.  She can still eat like she normally does, so we enjoyed catching up and discussing her recovery.

After dinner, we wanted to watch a movie.  Going to a movie theater was not an option because sitting down for that period of time would be painful for her.  We headed back to her parents’ house so we could watch a movie where she could lay down with her back straight.  We also chose to pick something OnDemand so we wouldn’t have to make another stop to get a RedBox or something.  She had a mattress set up on the main floor of her parents’ house so she wouldn’t have to go up or down stairs.

Accessibility was a major concern when choosing where to go.  We knew Chili’s had no stairs to go up.  We also knew they had tables where she could stand if bending to sit started to hurt and where she wouldn’t have to slide into a booth.  We probably could have gone to see a movie based on how accessible they make them to handicap individuals (bottom level seats that don’t require use of stairs), but with her particular injury and recovery, she felt that having to sit up would be too painful.  We couldn’t go to my apartment to watch a movie because you have to take stairs up to mine, so we had to just go back to her parents’ house. 

My friend’s comfort was also very important.  She can still do a lot of things, but sitting too long or walking up or down stairs makes her pain increase.  Essentially every decision we made was for her comfort.  We chose activities that she could do without pushing herself too much.  It would’ve been most comfortable for my friend if I had just brought over take out, but she had been stuck at home since her surgery and wanted some different sensory stimulation.  Going to dinner allowed us a high degree of sociality, while spending time at her home allowed a high degree of privacy.  At the restaurant, we experienced more crowding and less control, since our table was our only space over which we had a territorial claim.  However, at her home, crowding was not an issue and she had complete control, which made her more comfortable.  Her parents’ home has a high degree of adaptability.  While her bedroom there is on the second floor, they were able to make a new room for her in the den on the first floor so there would be less activity associated with her recovery at home.