One of the most helpful products I have ever used is a reacher tool. Also called a reacher or reacher grabber this tool was helpful when I was walking and is helpful now that I use a wheelchair.
Once I had trouble standing back up after bending over, a relative of mine got me a golden retriever reacher. This was so helpful for picking up things I would drop or picking up clothes off the floor or getting things out of the dryer. It made life so much easier.
I’ve used several different types of reachers and reacher tools and many of them are great. Some, not so much. So check out the links above to find some reacher reviews and recommendations.
In any case a great reacher can make independent living much more pleasant and definitely possible.
I didn’t start using a wheelchair until I was about 30. A the time I was still walking and the chair I was getting had a vertical seat lift that could lift me up so I could stand up more easily and still walk at home. Around the house I was walking fine. It was a comfortable environment. But when I was outside my house it was very difficult to get around with things like uneven terrain and steps. I had a manual chair that I would take with me outside the house but I always needed someone to help me and push me because if there was any sort of incline, I couldn’t push myself in the manual chair.
So I arranged to buy a demo power wheelchair at a discount with the help of vocational rehab and MDA and it was delivered to my house. Inside the house it was great — easy to move around and fun, like a video game. But I was scared to go outside. There was traffic and other people and dogs and dog poop. It seemed scary.
To get over this, I called one of my friends on the phone and I said, “Please ride along with me!” and I went outside my door. I rolled down the sidewalk to the street corner where the stop light was. My friend kept telling me there was nothing to worry about, and that helped. Finally I said goodbye to my friend and crossed the street.
Then I crossed the next street and the next and the next. Pretty soon I was at the grocery store and doing shopping. I was in and out in 15 minutes. I rolled back with 2 bags of groceries. I was there and back within an hour. I didn’t need anybody’s help and I didn’t worry once about falling or getting tired. It was great.
One summer I was traveling to Italy by myself to play in a tennis tournament and didn’t know a word of Italian. But I figured as long as I knew how to say “Hello,” “Thank you,” and “Do you speak English?” I’d be okay.
My plan was to fly from Chicago to Rome and transfer to Florence. Since I was unsure about traveling in a non-English speaking country for the first time I made sure my layover was at least three hours. In hindsight, this was the best planning I made on that trip.
You see, when I arrived in Rome, I was taken off the plane and brought to my electric wheelchair in the International terminal. The two Italians spoke English, and said they were taking me to the new assistance area for people who needed special help. As they said this, I remembered reading something online about a new service at the Italian airports to provide assistance to disabled passengers. So I thought I would be fine.
When I arrived at the assistance lounge, I am pretty sure the first words out of the director’s mouth were the Italian equivalent of “Mamma Mia!” which in hindsight would have been “Mamma Mia” so it was probably something even better. They all took one look at me and my chair and were wondering out loud something in Italian. The looks on their faces said that they probably had never helped anyone in an electric chair before.
“How much it weigh?” asked the man behind the desk.
I immediately had to convert pounds to kilograms in my head and said, “Ninety kilograms.”
“Ninety? No, no, no, really?”
“Yes” I said as he began inspecting the chair.
Now imagine the discussion that proceeded. I saw lots of pointing to the chair and arms acting out a lifting motion. One person jumped on the phone, another ran out with a handheld radio looking for someone named Francisco or Antonio or something ending in a vowel.
One nice younger girl tried to tell me in English that it was going to be okay and just wait. I don’t know if that did the trick, but for whatever reason, I was not stressed at all about making my connection. At this point I had two-and-a-half hours, and the staff seemed to know what they needed to do.
An hour passed, but they definitely hadn’t forgotten about me. Every now and then someone would come in and inspect my chair and try to push it even though it was locked in place because I had it turned off. One tried to lift it a little, but let out a loud grunt and sigh as he walked away without being able to make it budge. I just chuckled.
Finally someone came and said, “Come on, we go to the gate” and I followed him through security and downstairs where they queue people to take buses out to the plane. Within a few minutes, a special van was backed-up next to the curb and a ramp as lowered. I got on the van and they took me out to another truck. I got in the back of this truck, which was more like a delivery truck and they drove me out to the plane. Once at the plane, 2 guys got in the back of the truck with me and suddenly we were being lifted up to the plane door. At the door, they deployed this tiny ramp and picked me up off my chair, put me in a narrow wheelchair. The tiny chair rolled over the ramp and the guys put me in my seat.
I heard the truck lower and leave, and from me seat saw it coming around the other side of the plane where they raised it up again and I assume put my chair into the cargo hold.
Transfer complete. And I didn’t have to tell them anything. After all, it’s not rocket science – person and wheelchair both need to get on the plane. Figure out the rest later.
Make sure the hotel you are staying at has the type of accommodations you are expecting. I have learned by trial and error that “accessible room” has a very loose meaning. At a minimum this means that you can get into the room, and fit through the bathroom door. However, if you require a roll-in shower, make sure you specify this as well by saying “I need a shower area with a bench and no tub.” Some people think a roll-in shower still means a bathtub with grab bars.
The best way to make sure you are going to get what you want is to call the hotel directly. Often, the online information is not enough to go on. In fact, many hotels do not even specifically let you reserve accessible rooms on the internet because they are holding the rooms in case someone needs them. This is good because they are saving it for people with disabilities, but it’s inconvenient because you have to go offline to actually make the reservation.
There are occasions when I have not called ahead and the result is a mixed bag of unfortunate rooms and incredible upgrades. If a hotel happens to be somewhat full and you don’t call ahead you might not get an accessible room. However there have been times I’ve gotten upgraded to suites or other larger rooms when accessible rooms were not available upon check in. On one occasion the hotel gave me a whole extra room for a friend of mine because the only accessible room available had only one bed and we needed two.
So feel free to take your chances, but if you definitely need an accessible shower then definitely call ahead.
Another great stress reducer when flying with a disability is to figure out the best way to get from the airport to your hotel prior to traveling. Most cities have taxi companies with accessible vehicles, so you can easily call ahead to make arrangements. Often, the private shuttle companies will have a van or two in their fleets as well – but in my experience you still need to call ahead so they can have that particular van ready for you. Many accessible van rental companies will drop off the vehicle to you at the airport even if their office is not anywhere near the airport. Occasionally this comes with an additional fee, but is very convenient. You can also drop off the vehicle at the airport as well.
Several cities have great public transit between airports and areas near major hotels. The only thing to keep in mind here is that you want to make sure the transit options are running when you arrive. If you have a late flight make sure trains and buses aren’t done for the night. And if you plan on taking public transit to get to an early flight you want to check the schedules as well.
Personally I prefer making two plans. Plan A is to arrange private transportation or taxi and confirm this ride the day before your trip. Plan B is a public transit route, just in case your Plan A arrives late or not at all. This doesn’t happen very frequently but if it does, at least you’re not stuck.
You Should Go Anyway 
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