Give a warm welcome to Alex Johnson.

He vowed to open the eyes of ten Tennessee public lawmakers one fateful day by daring them to participate in a “wheelchair challenge”.

It was a unique idea constructed by 14-year-old Johnson, an 8th grader bound to a wheelchair himself.

It’s easy to take our most basic tasks for granted each day. The ability to stand, walk, and easily go places is a special privilege.

It’s just as easy to forget that there are many out there confined to wheelchairs, unable to share the ease of mobility. What is second nature to us presents a challenge to those faced with a handicap.

Suddenly, the thought of navigating public transport, sidewalks, and stairs become a difficult task.

Johnson is well-familiar with these daily challenges. He was diagnosed early on with skeletal dysplasia, a condition that affects the growth of his skeleton. Due to his diagnosis, he’s been in a wheelchair for most of his life. A perspective he wanted to share with those around him.

It’s been said that to truly know someone you should spend a day in their shoes. Johnson took this advice to heart and created the “Spend a Day in My Wheels” challenge.

He encouraged classmates to spend an entire day in a wheelchair so they could see for themselves what it’s like to live with a disability.

The reception was positive, and Johnson was able to get many of his peers to accept the challenge and broaden their perspectives on the many issues faced by wheelchair users. Carrying this momentum with him, he took the challenge a little higher and dared some public lawmakers to try it out too.

Johnson disclosed to lawmakers:

“Until you actually sit in a chair, you’ll never fully understand.”

He contacted local lawmaker, Rep. Clark Boyd, who then went onto help organize a special event at the House of Representatives.

Boyd, along with nine other lawmakers, made the decision to spend the entire day in a wheelchair to see what life was like without the use of their legs.

The wheelchairs were provided by the Permobil foundation. The event was held to help raise awareness and shed light on disabled individuals.

They carried out their days as they normally would, attending their regularly scheduled meetings, but encountered mobility issues along the way.

Lawmakers confided that it was truly a struggle for them to navigate life in wheelchairs. Getting down narrow hallways was a task, as well as moving around conference rooms. Even opening the door was difficult from a seated position.

Rep. Boyd revealed how the whole event opened his eyes and shed new light on the matter:

“I expected it to be difficult, but I had no idea how frustrating it could be to just simply get around. It’s really been an eye-opening experience.”

He spoke more on the difficulties:

“Even in a building that is handicap accessible, still you bump into doors. You bump into walls. Some of the doors become very heavy for someone in a wheelchair. Opening a refrigerator door, doors seem to be a pretty big challenge.”

Johnson hoped that the experience would inspire and raise understanding about a wheelchair-bound life.

He hopes his challenge would create movement and help lawmakers make the world a more accessible place.

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Sources: Facebook, Clark Boyd, CNN, Spotlight