Taking it all in Stride - Senior Joey Dickinson rolls with life

Senior Joey Dickinson had two problems: the bus and his bladder. He’d already been holding it for over 10 minutes; so when the bus finally turned into the school parking lot, he sped off to the bathrooms. At high speed, he whipped into a stall and did his business. 

That was when he heard giggles.

He opened the door and, looking past the two young freshmen girls, he gaped with horror at the women’s bathroom sign that hung behind them. “Oh, this is the wrong bathroom. Whoops,” was all he could say. Then he wheeled out of there as fast as his chair could go. 

This occurrence is one among many that Dickinson has hilariously found himself in. Almost every time, however, he has a great clap-back or some joke to make out of it. “It doesn’t matter later, forgetta ‘bout it,” he explained. “It’s actually something I tell myself in most situations -- not just embarrassing moments -- but also hurdles in life you’ll have to get through later.” 

Dickinson isn’t just your average cup of Joe or normal kid on the playground. Dickinson has an extremely rare disability called Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita (AMC). With the symptoms present prior to birth, AMC causes hindered movement around almost all joints in a specific part of the body, and in this case, Dickinson’s legs. This will keep him in a wheelchair for the entirety of his life.  

“Back in first grade, I had a different wheelchair [he gets a new one every five years], and I refused to wear my seatbelt and keep my feet on the footplate,” said Dickinson. Moving around and defying rules is completely normal among all children; however, Dickinson publicly suffered the consequences. “We were waiting in line for lunch and I started moving,” he said, of the first grade incident. “My foot got caught on my front wheel, it flipped me on the ground and my wheelchair fell onto my legs. It was a fairly defining moment in my life.”

Needless to say, after that point, he followed the recommended guidelines of buckling his seatbelt and keeping his feet on the footplate -- a decision that has served him well since that incident. -- but has not kept him completely devoid of embarrassing moments.

Another time that is etched into his memory was when his mom had to drag him -- literally -- out of a bouncy house at Splash Island. “Once I got in, my mom and I were in there, and when it was time to get out, I didn’t want to,” Dickinson explained. “My mom had to drag me out while I was kicking and screaming.”

Of course, embarrassing moments can haunt teenagers for years; however, Dickinson doesn’t really concern himself with long-term consequences. These situations have shaped him into who he is as a person and have continued to fuel his outgoing personality. “I don’t really resent them because they end up teaching me lessons later on,” Dickinson said. These quickly-taught lessons have included words/phrases not to say in public, as well as picking up on social cues. From a young age, Dickinson was able to tap into his sense of humor and establish lifelong relationships with several of his peers. “I am very proud of my ability to quickly react in a humorous way,” he said. “If I didn’t make a lot of the impressions that I did, then everyone would know me as just the kid in the wheelchair. At least I can be known as the funny kid in the wheelchair.”