TO MARK International Wheelchair day, wheelchair athlete and Southbourne resident Chris Nash has shared his experience of growing up wheelchair bound and the difficulties that come with it.

Chris’ life changed dramatically in 2010 ago when he was diagnosed with a chronic neurological illness which left him a permanent wheelchair user and with serious health complications.

Chris said: “I’ve not always been in a wheelchair, and I think that comes with positives and negatives.

"I feel injustices deeply because there are things I know I could do before that I can’t now, but it’s also made me stubborn, and determined to do everything I can, not just to improve access and opportunities for myself but for other wheelchair users too.

“When I first started to struggle with my mobility and ended up in a wheelchair, I was convinced that was the end of life as I knew it. I guess like much of society I saw a wheelchair as a backwards step, that it was simply a barrier to buildings, to opportunities and to life.”

Having previously had the ambition to run a marathon for charity, Chris said it was his parents who first helped change my perception when they told him about an advert they’d seen to participate in the Great South Run for charity.

Now an elite wheelchair racer, Chris became the first person to cross the finish line in the newly refurbished Olympic stadium, winning the wheelchair race at the Great Newham London 10k in 2015.

In the last few years especially, though, Chris says he has acquired a fresh perspective on his disability.

“Looking back, that moment, and that race, changed the course of my life because I no longer saw my wheelchair solely as a negative thing – I was still able to achieve things,” he said.

“For me that’s where the biggest shift has been the last few years. Where once a wheelchair was a negative it’s now an incredible positive.

“On the odd occasions when something does go wrong (a puncture or a faulty wheel) I am reminded of just how essential my wheelchair is whilst I await a fix and rely on others to do absolutely everything for me.”

BCP Council believe it is important to be aware of equalities issues and ensure these are considered as part of each and every council decision and process so that it is made for the benefit of all residents.

The council appointed Cllr Bobbie Dove as Lead Member for Equalities to champion this process.

Chris now campaigns for wheelchair friendly amenities across the Dorset area and further afield.

However when asked if he considers himself as an inspiration, Chris palmed off the compliment, saying he was just simple getting on with his life.

He added: “It staggered me when I first ended up in a wheelchair, and continues to stagger me today, how far we still have to go in making our society wheelchair accessible.

“I’m ashamed that much of this is things I never noticed as an able-bodied person, but now I make it my mission to bring as much attention to these issues as I can.

“A word that’s often used when talking about those with disabilities is ‘inspirational’. I can only speak for myself, but I hate the word.

“Most of the time it’s used to suggest that just getting on with daily life is some form of amazing achievement, which it really isn’t.

“The one amazing thing is not me, but my chair. I wouldn’t, and couldn’t, be without it.”