Circa 2010
I grew up with a group of girlfriends, many of whom have known each other since pre-kindergarten. Some of us met in the sixth grade and have continued to be friends ever since. We have been through a lot together—from my accident that caused my paralysis in 1996 to unfortunate deaths in our families. These are not just my friends, they are my extended family. Although we have been through our hardships, our fun times have kept us glued together, Megan’s wedding, in 2010, was one of those moments that bonded us all for life.
Megan’s wedding celebration featured a photo booth in which guests could take pictures as keepsakes from the wedding. All night, people asked me if I wanted to try to get in the photo booth. I always politely declined, instead watching as my friends took goofy pictures.
check this out
Though I tried not to think about it, the laughter of everyone taking pictures in the booth kept grabbing my attention. Finally, while out on the dance floor with some of my friends, I decided to give the photo booth a whirl. My friends were so excited by the idea, they wheeled me over to the photo booth before I could change my mind. My front wheels went perfectly into the booth. Unfortunately, my back wheels got stuck and I couldn’t get in!
I was determined to get some type of picture of me in this photo booth. So I told one of my friends, a bridesmaid named Julie, to “pick up my foot and hold it up. Then we’ll have a picture of my tattooed foot with all of you holding it.” As the girls began taking off my foot rests to get the picture of my foot, a curious and concerned groomsman asked us if we needed help. A fireman, he offered to pick me up and put me into the photo booth with the girls. I am a high quadriplegic and don’t like getting out of my chair, but the looks of “PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE” on my friends’ pressured me to accept the groomsman’s offer.
In a flash, a group of groomsmen came over and lifted me out of my chair and put me into the photo booth. All eyes were on us as the bride came running over to be in the picture. I sat in the photo booth with the bride and three bridesmaids, each of whom needed to hold me up due to my lack of trunk control. Everything was great!
check this out
And then, it happened. The bride had let go of me and I felt myself slowly start to tiiiiimber. When I was finally caught, Megan nonchalantly said, “Oops! Sorry, I forgot you can’t hold yourself up.” We all began cracking up and continued with our pictures.
After we’d received our photos, Crystal, one of the bridesmaids, wrote “This Is How We Roll” on the bottom of our photo strip. It was perfect.
by Angela Irick
In loving memory, Bill Sinder
