For the most part, Lynn and I are homebodies. He just doesn’t handle traveling very well so we rarely leave home. His already ever-present exhaustion is made significantly greater when he travels and it usually takes a full day to recover afterward; therefore, we rarely do any short trips since he spends the time at our destination recovering. Because of this fact and the fact that their home is not wheelchair accessible, I have not made the five-hour trip “home” to my parent’s house since around 2008.
I grew up in one of those rural areas where everyone knew everyone else and more than half of the neighbors were related in some way. My cousins and I used to all get together annually for a family reunion; however, since Lynn developed MS, we haven’t attended. I’ve really missed seeing them all and figured I would never see them again due to our travel issues, but my parents and brothers have come up with a plan for us to get together in a few weeks. I’m really looking forward to seeing all my relatives but planning a short trip is as challenging as planning for a long one so I also dread it in many ways; especially since Lynn will not have a recovery day before he has to attend the reunion events.
In planning for this trip, my first order of business was to find a hotel nearby that was wheelchair accessible. That’s not as easy as it sounds. Many pronounce themselves to be handicap accessible but when you start asking questions, all “accessible” actually means is that they have handrails to use in the bathroom. That is totally useless for my purposes because he couldn’t reach them anyway and he can’t transfer himself to the toilet so they serve no purpose. Instead, my “search” criterion was for a roll-in shower. I figured if a room included a roll-in shower, then the room planner might have a clue as to what was needed for someone confined to a wheelchair.
The first place I booked had the shower but the room had two double beds in it and the picture of the rooms looked really crowded. Too much furniture in a room makes it nearly impossible for him to turn his wheelchair around so I began to look for something else. The one I booked yesterday has a single king-size bed, a roll-in shower, a small refrigerator and a microwave in the room, and wide doors. Mentioning the 32” doorway is a plus since that’s an indication they know what they’re talking about. I’m still a bit concerned because there was no actual picture of a handicap-accessible room so I still wonder how much space there might be for him to turn around in. I guess, if necessary, I can have maintenance move out furniture if I need more room for the wheelchair.
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Donna, I hope your visit with your family is worth all the hassle.
Sent from my iPad
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