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

[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.