DEAR GENTLE READERS,
I have heard that quote for virtually ever. Still not tired of life not even wheelchair life. The buses are user friendly though always allow loads of time. Sometimes the first bus already has a wheelchair user or a baby stroller/buggy. Occasionally the ramp doesn't work. But eventually a bus arrives and the ramp extends from the back door and in you go.
Everyone is helpful and curious, especially curious.
We have been to museums, theatres, shops, restaurants, the not-so-mean streets of the West End and even as far afield as Borough in the south to Maida Vale in the north.
Do be careful, look both ways - twice. Always be on the lookout for dropped kerbs/curbs as they are not always right on the corner. Sometimes the kerb/curb has been forgotten and you have to recalculate just like GPS. It would be very nice if the Tube could be adapted but that has only happened in the newest stations/lines.
Someone is waiting for the computer so Cheerio!
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Saturday, March 21, 2015
LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP
I'm taking the leap. Since I was 19, a very long time ago, my friends and family have said I should write about my travels. But don't you have to have a point-of-view or do something dangerous or take spectacular photographs or be all by your little lonesome?
I was born with a skin disorder called EB to those close to me. It's real name is epidermolysis bullosa.
Or to those in the dermatology world EB simplex of the Weber-Cockayne (not cocaine) subtype of EB or variation on a theme. This was diagnosed by the fine folks at the Rockefeller Research Hospital in NYC. But that came much later.
As a child, I just knew that when I wore shoes or walked or ran or danced, I got blisters. Big ugly raw blisters. Sometimes the size of a quarter or even larger ones that would emerge from underneath my toes, work my way through and expand on top of my foot. I learned to puncture them myself. No cure, no relief.
Just don't walk, don't take PE, don't move. That's just not my style. So every year in the spring, I would sign up for dance lessons or tennis lessons and after the first go-round, the blisters would appear.
By the next day, I would be climbing the stairs to my bedroom on my knees.
Please don't feel sorry for me. I don't feel sorry for me. We all have imperfections and medical issues of one kind or another. No one used the words handicapped or disability. What's odd about mine is that most people can't see it. They are hardly going to be taking a gander at the bottom of my feet. Interestingly, most dermatologists have never seen it other than in derm textbooks.
Sometimes in museums there would be a wheelchair I could borrow. Sometimes my dad would carry me on his back. Many years later, in the 80s, we learned that at Florida amusement parks you could rent a variety of mobility scooters, scoot-mobiles, battery-operated wheelchairs. Still it never occurred to me that this was a lifestyle-choice.
Much later, I learned you could rent wheelchairs at conventions and in the big cities. It wasn't until 2 years ago that I asked my dermatologist if she would write a prescription to request my health care provider to supply one. Little did I think this would happen in a million years or not without a long, drawn-out battle of letters from me and supporting letters from the doctors.
Lo and behold, I came back from spring break, where I had rented a scooter for the week, and there was a message on my phone asking me when and where our local medical supply store might deliver a bright red GOGO Traveller Elite. That was a red-letter day in more ways than one. Since that day in 2013 I have been experimenting with ways to travel both locally and overseas.
There are obstacles, but for the most part, folks are kind and helpful. Curious, too. Let's see what this next trip holds because it is a 4 country month-long trip in Europe.
Questions and comments are welcome.
I was born with a skin disorder called EB to those close to me. It's real name is epidermolysis bullosa.
Or to those in the dermatology world EB simplex of the Weber-Cockayne (not cocaine) subtype of EB or variation on a theme. This was diagnosed by the fine folks at the Rockefeller Research Hospital in NYC. But that came much later.
As a child, I just knew that when I wore shoes or walked or ran or danced, I got blisters. Big ugly raw blisters. Sometimes the size of a quarter or even larger ones that would emerge from underneath my toes, work my way through and expand on top of my foot. I learned to puncture them myself. No cure, no relief.
Just don't walk, don't take PE, don't move. That's just not my style. So every year in the spring, I would sign up for dance lessons or tennis lessons and after the first go-round, the blisters would appear.
By the next day, I would be climbing the stairs to my bedroom on my knees.
Please don't feel sorry for me. I don't feel sorry for me. We all have imperfections and medical issues of one kind or another. No one used the words handicapped or disability. What's odd about mine is that most people can't see it. They are hardly going to be taking a gander at the bottom of my feet. Interestingly, most dermatologists have never seen it other than in derm textbooks.
Sometimes in museums there would be a wheelchair I could borrow. Sometimes my dad would carry me on his back. Many years later, in the 80s, we learned that at Florida amusement parks you could rent a variety of mobility scooters, scoot-mobiles, battery-operated wheelchairs. Still it never occurred to me that this was a lifestyle-choice.
Much later, I learned you could rent wheelchairs at conventions and in the big cities. It wasn't until 2 years ago that I asked my dermatologist if she would write a prescription to request my health care provider to supply one. Little did I think this would happen in a million years or not without a long, drawn-out battle of letters from me and supporting letters from the doctors.
Lo and behold, I came back from spring break, where I had rented a scooter for the week, and there was a message on my phone asking me when and where our local medical supply store might deliver a bright red GOGO Traveller Elite. That was a red-letter day in more ways than one. Since that day in 2013 I have been experimenting with ways to travel both locally and overseas.
There are obstacles, but for the most part, folks are kind and helpful. Curious, too. Let's see what this next trip holds because it is a 4 country month-long trip in Europe.
Questions and comments are welcome.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
BABY STEPS
Day 2 of the Wheelchair Diaries.
Baby steps...
I am not only learning about blogging but also learning about my wheelchair. So, here goes ... the scooter arrived yesterday between the time I came home from my little volunteer job at the Goodwill bookstore and the time we took the gas grill out of the garage for a farewell steak dinner.
He was going to rent me a SmartScoot for the trip but none were in stock at this time so instead he very generously proposed loaning me a TravelScoot for my European adventure. It shipped within a week and weighs just 30 lbs (w/out the battery). The battery is charging as we speak, so to speak.
Back to the ranch, after our fine family steak dinner, the three of us (TnTnI) sat in the entrance hall and assembled the chair. Then my son took it for a spin in the kitchen and family room. What a hoot.
Lucy, the family bulldog, was curious and confused. She didn't bark but she cocked her head to one side as if to say 'what next' and 'will you be taking me for walks on the mobility scooter'? The answers are that I am taking it to Europe and, yes, when I return we will go for walks together.
At least she didn't want to piddle on it. Good dog, Lucy!
I also purchased a rolling duffel bag from CAMPMOR
so when I am not riding the it can be folded up and put into a canvas carrying case and transported via car, bus, plane, train, or boat.
Today, I am heading to Target with the hopes of buying a few little accessories. It might not qualify as 'pimp my ride' but I want to have an air horn, cup holder, reflectors, bike lights, clamp buster, gloves with a gel grip, canvas pouch for the bike lock, handlebar grips, and international adaptor for charging the battery. That is the most important accessory.
I intend to ride it through the Miami International Airport to the gate. The ground staff will stow it on the Virgin-Atlantic flight to London much as they do baby strollers, car seats, or push wheelchairs.
I'll be interested to hear from folks who are curious but have never attempted international travel with a mobility scooter as well as those who have gone before me with tips for the journey ahead.
Eastward Ho!
Baby steps...
I am not only learning about blogging but also learning about my wheelchair. So, here goes ... the scooter arrived yesterday between the time I came home from my little volunteer job at the Goodwill bookstore and the time we took the gas grill out of the garage for a farewell steak dinner.
VERY exciting indeed. It is a brand spanking new TravelScoot. I worked out a plan with a fine fellow in Sparks, NV, Mr. Don McLarty, who runs Sierra Mobility Scooters, 775-376-8491.
He was going to rent me a SmartScoot for the trip but none were in stock at this time so instead he very generously proposed loaning me a TravelScoot for my European adventure. It shipped within a week and weighs just 30 lbs (w/out the battery). The battery is charging as we speak, so to speak.
Back to the ranch, after our fine family steak dinner, the three of us (TnTnI) sat in the entrance hall and assembled the chair. Then my son took it for a spin in the kitchen and family room. What a hoot.
Lucy, the family bulldog, was curious and confused. She didn't bark but she cocked her head to one side as if to say 'what next' and 'will you be taking me for walks on the mobility scooter'? The answers are that I am taking it to Europe and, yes, when I return we will go for walks together.
At least she didn't want to piddle on it. Good dog, Lucy!
I also purchased a rolling duffel bag from CAMPMOR
so when I am not riding the it can be folded up and put into a canvas carrying case and transported via car, bus, plane, train, or boat.
Today, I am heading to Target with the hopes of buying a few little accessories. It might not qualify as 'pimp my ride' but I want to have an air horn, cup holder, reflectors, bike lights, clamp buster, gloves with a gel grip, canvas pouch for the bike lock, handlebar grips, and international adaptor for charging the battery. That is the most important accessory.
I intend to ride it through the Miami International Airport to the gate. The ground staff will stow it on the Virgin-Atlantic flight to London much as they do baby strollers, car seats, or push wheelchairs.
I'll be interested to hear from folks who are curious but have never attempted international travel with a mobility scooter as well as those who have gone before me with tips for the journey ahead.
Eastward Ho!
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