too long, too wide, too heavy!

Everyday living
1

Oh whoa! I exclaimed when the last word of my post was uttered.

This was Thursday, when me and sis were going to visit our very ill aunt in hospital.

We`d been in town for lunch and I decided to get a taxi, to save my hubby running me back and forth.

I approached a line of 5 taxis. I know you should take the first in the line, but the last one was the biggest. They all had a wheelchair logo on their back and side doors.

The driver told me to go ask the one in front of him.

I did. He said the same.

I did, He said the same.

So after asking the 5th I was still getting no joy.

Me.What is the problem here? You all have a wheelchair logo on you cabs. They all got out of their taxis, huddled together, speaking urdu.

They said they dont take electric wheelchairs.

Me.Well I advise you all to get a sign made and stick it next to the wheelchair logo, which says NO ELECTRIC`. And I am going to report you all.

With that, one of them radioed for another, more suitable taxi to come for me.

I was loaded into it and the driver asked me where I wanted to go.

Me. The hospital please. I am very ill. I have a severe case of Boudica!

He didnt reply.

pollx

ps. some week this has been for me, eh? Roll on Friday, when I go on my cruise!!! The Captain better be nice!

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who`ll steer then ? Oh, I will of course! Another feather to my bow!

pollx

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cabs in the city around here will have a wheelchair logo but a lot of the time they can’t be bothered so make up some reason to say no. some of cabs can’t take some wheelchairs tho due to the size/height/type of chair so it can happen but mostly its just laziness on the drivers part

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poll

i totally understand this-its so frustrating!

i too use a powerchair and quickly discovered that the ‘we are accessible and take wheelchairs’ actually means that that we will take manual chairs.

i have recently been trying to book 2 nights in windermere. ‘the disabled facilities’ hotels and b/b’s as advertised actually mean-there is just one step at the front door but… thats no use to me!

in the recent ms matters i was keen to read about wheelchairworld that was advertised in there. however on reading further its mainly about manual chairs-i could only find one experience about a powerchair (which was in edinburgh)

things are generally getting better re disabled facilities but there is still a long way to go-especially if your disability doesnt allow to manage ‘just’ one step!

ellie x

ps name change due to password issues. i used to love ‘dallas’ so msellie seemed appropriate!

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After this particularly ropey time I hope you have a brilliant cruise. M

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Hi Ellie, Im glad someone else finds this wheelchair accessible` thing infuriating.

Some folk say, theres only 1 step. Cant you get out of your chair, while we lift it in and then you can get back into it?

Argghh!

I`ve done a lot of surfing re suitable holidays. It cn be a real minefield/headache.

Have you found anywhere in Windermere? It isnt somewhere I`ve looked.

Do you also need a hoist? I do.

I am hiring the following for my cruise and it is costing £500!!!;

profiling bed and pressure relief mattress

portable hoist

shower chair/commode

self propel reclining/tilting wheelchair, as my electric one is too heavy for me to travel in and I cant transfer to a coach seat.

It`s damned expensive being disabled. I do get respite funding.

pollx

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Just 5 more sleeps to go Poll. Hahahahaha nearly there.

Sue x

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argh!

just wrote a reply and lost it! will do again tomorrow!

ellie x

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I laughed at the title of this post…I am all of those and thats withou my powerchair !

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Jackie I would love to downsize and will happily donate a couple of inches of my " long " to you :slight_smile:

Anyone need donations from my " too wide, too heavy " parts ?

Elljay

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My too wide and too heavy parts are already too wide and heavy ta.

Got my height/weight checked.

Weight is fine…height is about 3 feet too short…

pollx

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hiya

will try this reply again!

poll i dont need hoist quite yet but am not far from it i reckon. i can weight bare but struggle to walk any steps-even with 2 helpers.

carer and i are going to check the access for b/b and the train journey before i go with the kids. it was easier to get to crete than stay in the uk!!! airport assistance brill and hassle free. we are only going an hr and a half on train but i have got to start somewhere! i dont tick any regular boxes! a single woman going with 2 teenagers then add in the powerchair! not many folk cater for that very small minority. i will report back back after my trial run with the carer in june.

enjoy ur cruise!

ellie x

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Oh Poll you are having a time of it! Keep smiling through it all and sing the special song if your happy and you know it …

Much love

Jules

xxx

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altogether now…

if you`re happy and you know it…chuff the rest!

pollx

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Poll,

Just wanted to wish you a very happy holiday, we’ll all miss your chat.

Can’t wait to hear all about it when you get back. Have fun but behave yourself!!

Bon voyage

Jen xx

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Thank you .Jenn.

Pollx

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Hi msellie. My wife with MS used a Balder F280 powerchair, and a Motability VW van with a tailgate lift. We travelled a lot and I really do understand your frustration with accomodation from experience.

In this van we packed an Atlas portable hoist (brilliant) 8 x elephant feet to lift bed legs (on accomodation beds so the hoists legs would fit under) (brilliant), an Etac Clean shower chair with commode, a 3’ aluminium folding ramp together with the chargers for the chair and hoist and other gubbins, according to need! Oh and clothes and things. We were pretty much independent.

We travelled from Leeds to Lewis and ‘did’ the Outer Hebrides from topmost point to almost the bottom one via roads, bridges and ferries. On only one ferry did my wife stay in her chair in the van. She was in the best place by far!

There are brilliant facilities around, good ones too to balance the places you describe. Is there a directory like Tripadviser in the MS Society for all to add workable accomodation to?

I designed and gathered our gear together to remove as many previous problems as was possible. It was all field tested and worked as a package.

I now wish to sell this gear, in part or whole, to someone who could use it to their advantage. It has been very carefully used and is in excellent condition, it is priced at a fraction of the new price.

Not the van however which I returned. It was the best investment I have ever had a share in. Motability enabled our independence and we used it to the full. A locking mechanism was fitted to the chair and to the floor of this van, all my wife had to do was drive into this automatic system. I recommend it greatly.

The Balder chair was the only chair to succeed when we challenged suppliers at the Peterborough Show to enable her to get low enough on the raised lift and transfer into the demo VW van without decapitated herself! One salesman said ‘can’t she tilt her head to the side to get in’!!! Yeah!! So we obtained the Balder, a chair to raise one to talk eye to eye level, to allow one to sleep flat and comfortably, to tilt one to almost any position and, importantly, to travel up to 25 miles on one charge (brilliant).

Power chair, portable hoist, shower and commode chair, ramp and blocks! It certainly took out a number of hastle factors for us. We did get some strange responses from folks but who cares, their problem hey!