Category: Travel Tips

Helpful tidbits I’ve learned along the way.

Flying to Italy in my wheelchair

youshouldgoanyway
Tuscany from the Shuttle

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.

Reflecting on Travel

youshouldgoanyway
Sydney Opera House

As I write this section I am sitting in my cabin on a cruise ship anchored in the harbor of Sydney, Australia. I just had a quick dinner while overlooking the famous Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge – probably the best view I’ve had while munching on salad. I can’t believe I used to get scared, nervous, and otherwise frightened into not traveling just a few years ago.

Prior to using an electric wheelchair fulltime, I wanted to travel but felt like I couldn’t do it unless someone else came along. I would struggle to walk through airports, get in and out of my seat on the plane, and then worry that the rental car I booked online would be configured well enough for me to be able to drive it.

I remember one trip I took to California just a few years after graduating from college. I was still walking – even without a cane – and flew into the San Francisco airport where I was going to rent a car and go visit some friends at my former campus. The plan was to sleep on beds or floors and save money whenever possible because I had to spend most of my money on a more expensive SUV rental so I could actually get in and out of the vehicle on my own. I remember it was a silver Isuzu Rodeo.

The entire flight out to San Francisco I was worried about how I would get to the car rental counter which was in a separate facility a few minutes from the airport. I knew they had a shuttle but I was not sure whether it had a lift or a ramp so I could get in and out of it. I also felt nervous because I hated explaining why I needed a special van or accommodations when I was standing there, apparently normal and healthy. If I wasn’t walking or trying to get up from a chair, you never knew I had anything physically wrong with me.

I arrived and got my rolling luggage and proceeded to the pickup area for the car rental facility. Once there, I was greeted by a rather robust lady with a walkie-talkie who was sitting half in and half out of her patrol vehicle. I went up to her and asked if there was a shuttle that was wheelchair accessible because I figured that would make it clear what sort of arrangement I was looking for. She proceeded to quiz me on who the shuttle was for and when I told her it was for me, it took a few minutes of explaining that I could not physically board the bus they had sitting there because there were steps in it.

Of course the act of pushing the button on her walkie-talkie and requesting the special van was probably the most strenuous thing she did that day – or at least she made it appear as such. But the van arrived a few minutes later and I was on my way. The rest of the trip after that was fine.

The point of this story is that there really wasn’t too much to worry about. But also, I have noticed that it is actually much less stressful traveling since I started using a wheelchair full time. There’s no need for explanation. It’s almost as if when I approach a counter and need assistance, the people behind the counter are already thinking about what they will have to do to help me out. In hindsight it may have helped to use a cane back when I was starting to have trouble walking, just so people knew I might need a little assistance.

Now, even as I boarded the cruise ship I am on today, I didn’t need to do anything special – the crew had it all figured out. I was clearly not the first person in a wheelchair to ever try and board a ferry boat that would take me to the cruise ship anchored in the middle of the harbor. Granted – it was a sketchy maneuver rolling over the thirty-inch wide walkway but I figured if they dropped me in the ocean, I’d probably travel free for the rest of my life!

I’ve been able to get over my fear of travel by doing just what scared me — traveling. I hope to post some of my travel tips here soon so it doesn’t seem like unexplored territory if you decide to travel yourself.