Rollycat: Travel notes

[mdlbear]

Just a couple of random notes for folks traveling with wheelchairs:

• Carry a couple of bungee cords where you can get at them - rental cars aren't properly equipped. Get the kind with wire hooks; you can't always count on finding a big enough space for a plastic one.
• A PT Cruiser has enough room for a wheelchair -- just barely. You have to stand it up in the back. A suitcase that tapers from bottom to top makes an adequate substitute for a bungee cord.
• Avis, and presumably other car rental agencies, will drive you from the car-return place to the departure area. I wish they'd mentioned that before we got completely unloaded.
• You can get three people, some luggage, a walker, and a wheelchair into a PT Cruiser, by piling most of it into the back seat. I wouldn't want to try it with four people.
• A wheelchair fits comfortably in the trunk of a Honda Civic, but not in the trunk of a Lincoln towncar. Go figure.
• A walker can be handy. Take a cheap one that folds reasonably flat.
• It's possible to manage one rolling item while pushing a wheelchair. If you have two checked bags, make sure they stack, either vertically or horizontally, so that you can roll them as a unit.

... and a couple for home-owners contemplating guests -- or family members -- with limited mobility.

• Hand rails go a long way toward making your porch steps navigable.
• The Big Green Monster has very wide porch steps -- wide enough for a small walker. Win. If only we'd remembered on the way out...
• You can make a good wheelchair ramp out of 3/4-inch plywood. Screw 2x4 cleats to the bottom to hold it in place on the stairs. Use a water-based polyurethane varnish; deck finish if you can find it. Don't bother sanding -- you want it rough for traction.
• There are high toilets suitable for tall people and people with arthritis. Much easier to get off of. (Also more expensive. There are things you can use to raise the seat, but they don't look as good and I'm not inclined to trust them much. Might be worthwhile for hotels that you're driving to, though.
• Grab bars within reach of the toilet and bathtub are extremely helpful, especially if you can't afford the more expensive accessible versions.
• In new construction, remember that interior doors should be wide enough to accomodate a wheelchair or walker -- at least 30" and preferably 36". Wish we'd thought of that 20-odd years ago...

Comments

[kshandra]

A PT Cruiser has enough room for a wheelchair -- just barely.
...
You can get three people, some luggage, a walker, and a wheelchair into a PT Cruiser, by piling most of it into the back seat.

The key to both of these (and I'm sorry it didn't occur to me to mention this sooner) is taking advantage of the 60/40 back seat. With the seats folded completely down, it's astonishing how much fits in Barnum. You figure I had to put two suitcases, a 30-gallon storage tote, a 70-quart cooler, eight flats of soda, and a wheelchair in her for BayCon last year....

[mdlbear]

If you're saying that the back seat folds down in two unequal segments the way the back seat of my Civic, thanks! That would do it.

[kshandra]

Yes - and it's a double-fold, so you wind up with a single depth across the compartment.

[mdlbear]

Cool!

Seats up, it still has less space than my Civic.

[gmcdavid.livejournal.com]

I forwarded these to a local friend who has what appears to be MS (The doctors are being reluctant to commit to that diagnosis, but that's another story). She occasionally does need a wheelchair or a walker, and was very appreciative of the practical suggestions. Thank you!

[mdlbear]

You're welcome! We've been learning a lot the last few months.

[harmonyheifer.livejournal.com]

If my husband or son-in-law are willing to disassemble my electric cart, which is a big one, and play tetris with it, we can fit it and the four of us in Carrie, my PT cruiser. It is a lot easier with Harriet, Patrick's Honda Element. In fact we have found the Element to be one of the most handicapped friendly cars of the many we have used since I became disabled.

Moving toward Universal Design is something that everyone should think about when they do any kind of renovation or repairs in their home even if they are young and healthy. Sadly that can change in a heartbeat for anyone, anytime. A good example of little choices making a big difference is when I pulled out all the mish-mash of flooring in my house and put ceramic tile throughout. Now there are no thresholds between rooms for a wheelchair or walker to hang up on. Replacing a broken toilet with one in the ADA height, almost no difference at all in price, and to a causal observer, just a toilet, but if you have an injury or disease like arthritis those extra inches can make all the difference in the world. Bathroom improvements that make shower stalls more acessable, a bench built into a shower stall, convenient for even those who aren't handicapped, and grab bars that look decorative instead of institutional. Door handles that are latches instead of knobs, stuff like that. Sometimes it is just as simple as rearranging furniture or swapping a master bedroom to the first floor so if you ever end up unable to get up the stairs...

I have spent decades figuring this stuff out for my patients in some poorly designed hospitals and nursing homes, and retirement apartments, so I had kind of a head start on all this. My daughter never goes anywhere she think I might someday go without scoping out the mobility issues, curbs, benches for resting, elevators, public transportation, that kind of thing. She made our trip to New Zealand a lot less stressful than it could have been by doing a lot of research before we even planned our itinerary.

This stuff is a huge amount of work. Mobile people who have never been dependent have absolutely no idea.

[mdlbear]

Thanks for the tips. I'm starting to look seriously at the Element as one of our next cars, and I'm probably going to install an ADA toilet in the front bathroom as well. Unfortunately, neither bathroom has wide enough doors for a wheelchair. Bad planning a quarter-century ago when we were designing the remodel.

[harmonyheifer.livejournal.com]

Don't beat yourself up over not being able to see twenty five years into the future. People tend not to think far enough ahead when remodeling. It is a common failing. The other thing is, no one likes to think about being disabled, even people with family histories that might put them at higher risk. We live in a society that worships youth and fears illness and death. My perspective is a bit unusual, having been surrounded by people with disabilities my entire career. When you have taken a couple million people to the toilet in the middle of the night, struggling with a too small doorway and a too large walker or wheelchair, you tend to think about stuff like this. In the words of Adrian Monk, it is a gift, and a curse.

Oh, and bless you for being such a supportive spouse. I honestly don't know who suffers more with disability, the disabled person, or the supportive spouse. Some days it has to be a photo finish. I know Patrick would agree with me on that.

[mdlbear]

I tend to agree -- I'm really not cut out to be a caregiver, but here I am, making the best of it.

Many thanks not only for the tips but for the encouragement.