In our quest for insights into stress-free family vacations, we had a heartening conversation with Kathleen Downs, a 30-year-old social worker by training, a board-certified patient advocate, and a lifelong wheelchair user. Kathleen, who resides in a suburb of New York City, graciously shared her experiences, tips, and strategies for hassle-free travel as a wheelchair user.
Kathleen, born with cerebral palsy quadriplegia, uses a power wheelchair full-time and manages chronic neuropathic pain resulting from Tarlov cyst disease. She emphasized that while navigating travel as a wheelchair user can be tricky, careful planning can make it a lot smoother.
Traveling by Airplane
One of Kathleen’s major concerns when traveling is ensuring her power wheelchair remains undamaged. Many wheelchair users might agree that interacting with durable medical equipment companies for repair or replacement parts can be a challenge. Hence, Kathleen prefers not to bring her full-size power chair on a plane if she can avoid it. Instead, she uses a smaller, folding power chair for travel purposes.
Should one decide to bring their power chair, Kathleen suggests taking photos of the chair before getting on the plane for documentation purposes. This ensures any damages inflicted during the flight are adequately covered by the airline.
Also, some parts of the wheelchair like the seat cushion, headrest, and removable leg rests can be carried on board to minimize the risk of damage. Notably, medical equipment flies at no extra cost, which can be quite useful for wheelchair users.
When traveling with any type of power chair, you need to declare the presence of a battery, as airlines have specific guidelines regarding this. Furthermore, although not obligatory, it’s advisable to inform the airline in advance about your wheelchair to ensure they’re well prepared.
As a person with a disability, you’re eligible for pre-boarding, which allows you to get on the plane first. However, you might have to wait to get off the plane last as you need to wait for them to bring your wheelchair to you. For non-ambulatory passengers, an aisle chair can be requested for easy maneuvering in the narrow aisles.
Choosing a Hotel Room
Choosing a hotel room requires careful consideration of your specific needs. For instance, Kathleen requires a roll-in shower, which allows a zero-grade entry without any barriers. However, the design of most accessible rooms often means having to compromise on the number of beds. Usually, an accessible room with a roll-in shower comes with only one king bed, which might require a request for a cot or an extra room if you’re traveling with companions.
Interestingly, Kathleen has found that hotel beds tend to be quite high up, making transfers difficult and aggravating her neuropathic pain. Hence, she prefers hotel rooms with pullout couches as they are lower and result in smoother transfers.
Navigating travel as a wheelchair user requires meticulous planning and knowledge. Kathleen’s insightful tips shed light on how to make this process less stressful and more accommodating, ultimately ensuring a more enjoyable travel experience.
