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July 2005 Vol. 24. No. 7
Published by the Humboldt Senior Resource Center in Eureka, California. HSRC is a non-profit community-based organization offering services for senior citizens, multi-generational families and caregivers.
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Humboldt Senior Resource Center Back issues Table of Contents
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Traveling Handicapped Planning ahead makes it work by Ralph Nelson Until recently I never pictured myself traveling with a handicapped person. In this case it was my wife, Emma. A long-planned family reunion in Arkansas was scheduled, and her hip-replacement operation would follow shortly. Then an earlier opening in the surgeon's schedule became available. Would she be able to still make the trip three weeks afterwards? With care, it was agreed that she could. I was uneasy, but what could I do with a determined wife? Flights between Eureka and Tulsa, Oklahoma, require two hub-city changes. Being aware of the long airport concourses, we worked with United Airlines to provide an unhurried schedule. Earlier arrival times were traded for relief periods on the way. Our schedule included a layover day in Tulsa to recuperate from the long day of flying before our final driving lap to Arkansas. For the nine-day trip we settled on one large check-in suitcase, my carry-on suitcase and a smaller bag attached to Emma's walker. We reserved handicap rooms and checked into motels near airports the night before early departures. This provided an airport shuttle with minimum luggage handling. Emma used her walker where possible. We were, however, greeted by wheelchair attendants most of the way. In Denver the attendant took us in the opposite direction from our flight gate - to their handicap service lounge, where we relaxed on comfortable couches with coffee, magazines and TV. The hostess made sure we boarded our flight on schedule. One handicap perk, if one could call it that, was early boarding on flights. By the same token, we were last off. This didn't matter since we were in no rush to make the next flight. When Emma could not take her walker into an airplane cabin, it was always waiting at the door when we disembarked. Advanced planning helped make this trip enjoyable. Where there were problems, like negotiating unanticipated stairs, the concerns ended in the fond memories of being able to spend celebration time with the family. Ralph Nelson lives in Eureka. His e-mail is RalphNel@aol.com. |
Senior News