TRAVEL

Wheelchair

LIFE

For those of us who love to travel, a wheelchair doesn't have to be an impediment. It just takes a bit more planning, and attention to execution. Before traveling, I start making an itinerary on my computer weeks or months before departure. It usually consists of several categories: Flights, Transportation, Nurses, and Important Numbers. It helps me organize my planning, and then is easily printed off on the day I leave, to give me everything I need right at my "fingertips." It is a good idea to call and confirm arrangements such as transportation and nurses, a couple of days before leaving.

Flights

Flights are fairly easy these days with the advent of websites such as Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, and Priceline, etc. Just be aware that some airlines, such as Southwest, aren't listed on those sites. Consumers can, however, go directly to the air carriers' sites. Sometimes the airlines' web sites offer rates below those quoted on the above sites. They also offer different rates over the phone ... sometimes better.

Airline travel is obviously better if we can fly nonstop, or at least without having to change planes. Some airplanes are "not accessible." That is, the airline is not required to get us on and off ("hand-carry"). Mostly it has to do with whether they have existing lifts or aisle chairs to accommodate people in chairs. But if we are traveling with people who can get us on and off, we can access small planes. For those who haven't flown "disabled" before, what happens is we need to be transferred from our wheelchair to a regular airplane seat. Usually that involves an intermediate transfer to an "aisle chair." See the Wheelchair LIFE section on Transfers.

There are strict FAA rules about how and where passengers can be seated, and what is allowed onboard. Most often, wheelchairs are not allowed to stay in the cabin (folded chairs are allowed on some of the largest planes. Normally, wheelchairs get put in the belly of the airplane, with the cargo and luggage. The airlines are not allowed to charge more for traveling with adaptive equipment such as a wheelchair. The baggage handlers – also known as skycaps – aren't always 'nice' to wheelchairs. It's probably not intentional. They're under pressure to load and unload airplanes quickly. They might adjust the angle of a manual recliner (not a problem), take off parts, or sometimes they smash it to get it to fit. It is a good idea to consider tipping the skycaps about five dollars to take care of our chairs. I know it seems like extortion, but it may be an even wiser investment if traveling with a power chair. Airlines don't particularly like power chairs, because they have potentially destructive battery acid. But the Air Carrier Accessibility Act (ACAA) requires Airlines to "accept battery-powered wheelchairs (except where baggage compartment size and aircraft worthiness considerations prohibit doing so), including the batteries, whether wet or dry cell. Airlines must package the batteries in hazardous materials packages when necessary, and provide the packaging. Airlines may not drain batteries." Carriers may not charge for providing accommodations required by the rule.

Under the ACAA, airlines "are required to provide assistance with boarding, deplaning and making connections (they need not hand-carry a person on board a plane with less than 30 seats whose physical limitations preclude the use of existing lifts, boarding chairs, or other devices)." A nice summary of the ACAA can be found here. More complete regulations can be obtained in Portable Document Format (PDF) here.

A god trick I learned is to remove the airplane seat cushion, and replace it with my wheelchair cushion. This allows me to sit more stably in the seat, with thighs nearly parallel to the floor. It also provides protection against pressure-sores. You can read more about it in the Wheelchair LIFE section on Airplane Transfers. It may also provide some travel assistance or new ideas. Some overlap occurs between these sections because the information does not fit neatly in just one or the other.

Transportation

Transportation in destination cities is also fairly easy, if booked or researched far enough in advance. I usually rent an accessible minivan when I fly into another city. They can get fairly expensive (around $100 a day, plus delivery charges) but they offer great freedom and flexibility. We can rent wheelchair accessible minivans in just about every major city in America (with or without hand controls). For an extra fee, most companies will drop off and pick up the vans from the airport (or elsewhere). Wheelchair Getaways, Wheeler’s, and Accessible Vans of America are all companies from which I've rented vans. Most of the retailers are individually-owned franchises, so generally we deal with the owner. We need to plan in advance, reserve the van, provide flight, driver, and insurance information, together with means of payment. Most, if not all, of this can be done over the phone, through the Internet, or by fax. It works quite well. The Wheelchair LIFE section on Transportation provides some additional ideas. The key is to investigate early, if at all possible.

Some cities, Chicago and Las Vegas, I know from first-hand experience, are very good in terms of accessible taxicabs (New York ... not so much). Unfortunately, these cabs don't have EZ Lock systems (see EZ Lock in the Wheelchair Life Transportation section), because wheelchairs come in a variety of sizes and configurations; thus positioning the EZ Lock post is different for every chair. But generally the cab drivers are pretty good about working the tie-downs. Before you travel, call some cab companies or get online, to see about availability, and scheduling accessible cabs. If you need accessible transportation for longer periods of time, or will be driving outside of the city you're flying into, renting a van may be your best option.

There's also the possibility of accessible public mass transit in major cities. Washington, DC, for instance, has a pretty good subway system that is accessible to wheelchairs. Many buses are required to have wheelchair access too. I haven't traveled by train (other than subway and airport tram), so I don't know if that's practical. I would guess the ADA requires accessibility for rail transportation.

Nursing & Aides

For me, finding good, competent, and reliable nursing help is the biggest challenge when I travel. There is a nursing shortage as the baby boomers get older. There are a number of ways we can try to find nurses and aides in cities to which we are traveling. Nursing agencies (in some parts of the country they're called "home health agencies") is generally my first option. You can search online by city for these agencies, at one of my most-used sites Any Who.Com. Or you  can call the local Chamber of Commerce in the destination city, and ask if they wouldn't mind copying or scanning a page or two from their Yellow Pages, and faxing or e-mailing them. Then call some of the scheduling coordinators at the agencies, and explain what is needed (the buzz-word is "private-duty," but that is not the word in some parts of the country).

Some agencies will require a doctor's order. Some will require and evaluation and assessment prior to service. Some don't require either. You can also try to hire nurses and aides directly, by placing ads on websites like Craig’s List, or by calling nursing schools for leads, or other contacts you may find. The only problem with hiring direct is they are not pre-screened, and there is a risk having no backup. When I hire direct, I include a few home health/private duty nursing agencies on my list of important numbers, just in case.

A couple of other things to think about when traveling are these: Be sure to pack an emergency kit for the unexpected. Things like additional leg bags and leg bag straps, cleaning supplies, etc. Things you might need quickly, or that might not be readily available at retail stores in destination cities. When traveling by airplane, it is wise to watch liquid intake prior to flight-time, and to 'drain' right before boarding. Catheterizing or draining a bag mid-flight is not easy (or fun). In the event it can't be avoided, the airplane "sick" bags will hold liquid, and work fairly well for discreet disposal (this I know from experience).

Another consideration when flying is what to check, and what to carry on. I used to always carry on my little emergency kit in case of a clogged catheter. But because I've not had a clogged catheter in over 10 years, I no longer worry about that. But, in the surprisingly-rare event my checked baggage doesn't arrive with me, I do try to carry on necessities that would not be easily replaced at my destination. Things like my heater, CPAP machine, and mask. Don’t bother packing CPAP machines nicely in your carry-on luggage, by the way. Due to heightened security measures (and a bit of knee-jerk overreaction) they will require that CPAP machines be taken out and inspected. This doesn't make much sense to me, but I'm not in charge.

For helpful guidance regarding rights and responsibilities when flying, check out this FAA website.

Lastly, an organization called Accessible Journeys has a website here. Their site says "Since 1985, wheelchair travel has been our only job."

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