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All seating is not equal

When flying, note that bulkhead seating typically offers more leg room. This can be beneficial for the physically challenged traveler, especially those requiring transfer assistance. Ask the gate agent for a seat change.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Thanks for stopping by! In my journal, I share my accessible travel experiences as they unfold. From the good, to the bad, to the downright ugly, I promise to provide an unfiltered perspective of my journeys. I hope you find it educational and entertaining! - Darren Brehm, AbilityTrip co-founder Click here to read all journal posts, or scroll down to read the most recent.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Guest Journal: “Facing Disability: a peer guide on living life after a spinal cord injury” by Thea Flaum and Annie Hambleton

A family dealing with a new spinal cord injury almost always finds themselves in a lonely place. There are few resources available, and often even fewer people who understand what they are going through. Every aspect of a family’s home and life must be reassessed, old holiday traditions and family vacations included. This is why FacingDisability.com was created to connect families suddenly coping with a new spinal cord injury with the voices of experience.

FacingDisability.com, a new website for families facing spinal cord injuries, has more than 1,000 videos drawn from interviews of over 100 people with spinal cord injuries, and their mothers, fathers, siblings, children and caregivers.  They were all asked the same 48 questions, and only the best answers were put on the website.  The FacingDisability “Questions” section covers topics on life right after SCI, such as “First Days after SCI” and “Going Home after SCI.”  Then people were asked to reflect on their lives now on subjects that include “Relationships after SCI,” and “Life after SCI.”  Almost every family had found a new normal.   Those who enjoyed sports or traveling still do, just in a new way.  With the help of adaptive equipment and specialized wheelchairs, people still venture on road trips, hit the slopes and fly to exotic places.

For example, Ginger Lane, who became quadriplegic at age 44, says, “Any time that I have a chance to travel, I either go to the west, in the US, or travel abroad, which has been phenomenal. I’ve been to Africa on safari; I’ve been to Indonesia; I have been to Europe a number of times; I’ve taken a cruise to Alaska and I took my kids on a cruise to the Mediterranean, where they had to haul me up 900,000-steps in Santorini. But, it’s something I’ve never said, “No.” If the opportunity, either I create the opportunity, or the opportunity is presented to me, I just say, ‘Let’s go.’”

Vic, who became paraplegic at age 41, still visits his secluded family lake house.  “We have a place that we love to go to, so we will do that…I’d like to get at least a few years living on the lake, have a boat, and just go out and do what I can on a boat.  Because we’ve rented pontoon boats, I can get through and work those pretty well.  I participate in bass fishing tournaments and such, which is kind of cool.” 

James, who became quadriplegic at age 27, started a new tradition with his wife after his spinal cord injury.  “One of the things my wife and I got into years ago—we were taking a trip, I think, around Lake Michigan, and we noticed all these lighthouses.  They’re all so beautiful; they’re in beautiful locations by the waterside.  And we thought, ‘Man, let’s see how many we can see.’ So, we started kind of building our trips around where the lighthouses were.  So we’d drive around the coast, ‘Okay, we went all the way around Lake Michigan.  Well then, there’s Lake Superior, that’s a pretty big lake.’  So then we drove on the state side of Lake Superior.  Well, as of today, we’ve probably visited 150 lighthouses in about 15 different states all down the east coast from Maine to Florida, and it’s been fun.”  Follow the link to watch other FacingDisability SCI stories.

Sometimes it helps to hear from people like you.  In the “People” section, videos can also be filtered by individuals with SCI, parents, spouses, sibling and children.  Searches can also be refined by level of injury (paraplegic or quadriplegic), gender of person injured and age at injury.

FacingDisability has more in the “Expert” section, is which is made up of over 200 videos of top spinal cord injury professionals answering questions on their field of SCI medicine.  The expert topics cover information on all the things people want to know right away, such as “Spinal Cord Injury 101”, “Transition from Hospital to Home” and “Sex and Fertility after SCI.”  There is also “Adjusting to Social Life in a Wheelchair” which covers answers to questions such as “What factors make adjusting to a wheelchair so difficult at first?” and “What are the initial fears about going out in public with a wheelchair?”

The website also has a “Peer Counseling” section, where people can anonymously connect with others who have “been there,” through an internal email system.  People can also use the FacingDisability “Forums” as another connection point, to discuss topics such as “What are some tips for traveling by plane with someone with a spinal cord injury?” or “What do you do for fun?”

Finally, FacingDisability.com has a “Resources” section made up of over 300 of the best spinal cord injury resources.   Each one has a description and information on “Where to Start.”  Under Active Lifestyle, you can find resources on traveling and adaptive sports programs in your area.

FacingDisability.com was founded by the Hill Foundation of Chicago, by Robert Hill and Thea Flaum.  Their mission is to provide Internet-based information and support for people with spinal cord injuries and the members of their families. Connecting with the life experiences of others who have been there before helps people find the strength and support to face their new lives ahead.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Guest Journal: “Featured Traveler: John Birdsall” by Carrie Bailey

There is no adventure John Birdsall won’t tackle. Whether it’s skydiving in New Zealand or traversing little known locales in Iceland, John meets each challenge with unparalleled enthusiasm. I was fortunate to find John at backpacker’s hotel in Wellington, New Zealand, and received an education on traveling with a disability that opened my eyes to what a true adventurer can accomplish if he is willing to make the effort.

After watching a video of John’s ninth skydiving excursion, he explained that some of his greater accomplishments during his travels were not overcoming a reasonable fear of heights, but ensuring that his plane ticket was honored and accessing bathing facilities. John travels alone. He uses a keyboard to communicate and hauls his chair everywhere he goes and believe me, John goes everywhere. Of course, there are the few people along the way who say he’s “a nutter” to explore everything the world has to offer on his own, but John leaves the naysayers in the dust.

During his most recent trip around New Zealand, John shipped an adapted van from his home in the United Kingdom and traveled 7,000 miles across the beautiful landscape featured in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He slept in his van at campsites and spent many evenings in backpacker’s hotels where he could be found chatting with the locals and travelers from around the world.

The backpacker’s hotel where I met him had already been “kicked into shape” by this practical no nonsense adventurer, but it took time. John worked for his accommodation. When he first arrived in Wellington, he “had to go to the swimming pool for a shower.” He found the people in New Zealand were friendly and helpful and the changes he proposed went well. Being a charismatic and confident person, he wasn’t afraid to ask for what he needed and the hotel eventually built disabled access showers. While the Wellington backpacker’s was the first establishment he worked on, he said he liked “kicking arse.” Travelers can now enjoy the ramps, disabled access showers and other features the hotel has to offer. Another New Zealand hotel manager and friend of John, now consults him whenever he opens a new backpackers. With a little diligence and ingenuity, John’s been able to not only travel a beautiful country, but also leave his mark on it.

At times, John has been met with resistance. Nearly missing flights, airline attendants have refused to help him unto the plane claiming it posed a liability. He needs a lift. In the same way that many able bodied travelers occasionally need assistance loading and unloading from the plane, his request during his flight to New Zealand was easily met, but by a willing passenger rather than someone employed by the airline. John’s approach to these situations seems to work. Whenever he encounters travel and hospitality staff that might better be employed as roadblocks, he sidesteps them.

It’s good he does. Even the major cities in New Zealand are often lacking in wheel chair accessibility features, especially within the trains and buses, but John found that help was often available. The joke about Kiwis, the residents of New Zealand, is that they can do anything with an 8-inch wire as was true in the pioneer days. In John’s case, the wire wasn’t necessary. He was able to board trains and travel the land simply because there are people willing to lend a hand and he was willing to ask.

I learned a lot about the spirit of adventure from John. It’s not just a pleasant feeling we get while on vacation. It’s an approach to life. Though I travel with a disability, I’ve been discouraged more times than I care to admit and not only on the road, but when managing my health care, employment and education, too. However, adventure isn’t about what we can’t do. It’s about what we can. Whether we follow trailblazers like John or make our own path, go down the street or to the other side of the world, we can always travel in the spirit of adventure. And, of course, skydiving is completely optional.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Guest Journal: Frontier Airlines did what? by Melissa Hayes

The recent incident on a Frontier jet involving a passenger with quadriplegia clearly demonstrates the ongoing issues of travel for the physically challenged population and brings to light the lack of consistency in approach.

Here is a link to the story.

There is a significant knowledge gap across the globe today on the needs of the physically challenged traveler. The fact that the pilot did not come out to assess the situation demonstrates the lack of understanding and awareness of the acute issues travelers face.

It is disappointing to see these stories continually brought to light and the lack of understanding and enforcement of basic ADA practices meant to defend individuals rights.

How many of you have faced similar challenges?

What do you think can be done?

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