Important disclaimer: I'm not saying I'm planning a vacation, so don't get excited... I'm just saying if I was it would be a pain in the butt.
Temporarily Able-Bodied People Planning a Vacation:
I assume this is how it works, anyway.
TABP1: Let's go to Utah!
TABP2: Okay! Would you rather drive or fly?
TABP1: Idk man, both of those sound relatively convenient and unlikely to result in serious damage to very expensive and hard to replace items I need to live independently.
TABP2: Right on! Let's fly, because I know if I need to pee on the airplane I can get in and out of the bathroom.
TABP1: Sounds good! Where should we stay?
TABP2: Oh it doesn't really matter. We could crash on a friend's couch because we never have to worry about whether we can get in and out of someone else's house, or we could stay in literally any hotel without calling the front desk with a list of specific questions about the doorways, beds, and shower.
TABP1: Man, our life is so convenient!
People With Disabilities Planning a Vacation:
To be fair, the TAB friend probably sounds smarter than this. They know the struggle.
PWD: Let's go to Utah!
TABP: Okay! Would you rather drive or fly?
PWD: Well, if we fly, I have to do extensive research and contact both the airports and the airline multiple times making sure they can accommodate me.
TABP: Really? Why's that?
PWD: Different airports have different rules about taking wheelchairs on planes. I'll probably have to prove that the battery isn't going to explode in mid-air, and I'll have to talk to at least three different people to be allowed to use my chair in the airport until we board the plane.
TABP: That sounds like a pain in the butt.
PWD: Oh, that's just the beginning. I'll also need to type instructions on how to take apart and move my wheelchair, and how to put it back together. When we get to the gate, I'll have to dismantle the controller myself and take it with me on the plane so the bozos don't break it.
TABP: Oh wow.
PWD: THEN to get on the plane, I'll have to depend on a flight attendant to push me in an aisle chair that I can't possibly move on my own. If I need to use the bathroom during the flight, the attendant can push me to the bathroom door, but even if the chair fits inside she isn't allowed to help me move it inside the bathroom. So I'll probably have to avoid eating or drinking anything for at least 12 hours before we go.
TABP: This is starting to sound complicated.
PWD: Once the flight lands, I'll be the last person off the plane. If you were thinking about a layover, forget it. If all goes well, the flight attendant will help me off the plane and my chair will be waiting for me, still working properly and ready for me to put the controller back on. That's unlikely, though. There's a slight chance nobody will help me off the plane at all and you'll have to help me crawl. There's also a good chance my wheelchair will be lost, disassembled, or broken, so I'll have to check ahead of time to find out if the airport will provide a temporary chair to use while we work that out.
TABP: Let's drive.
PWD: Sure! That just means we have to repeat the fun of finding a truly accessible hotel room in at least a couple extra cities.
TABP: Aren't all hotels required to have accessible hotel rooms?
PWD: According to the ADA, they are, but what a disabled person considered "accessible" is usually pretty different from what the ADA requires. Even two different people both using wheelchairs might need different things. And of course not all businesses obey the ADA.
TABP: Oh boy. Here we go again.
PWD: So first, we'll need to make sure each hotel has an accessible room available. Many hotels only have one accessible room, so they can book pretty fast.
TABP: Okay, so we just have to find hotels with accessible rooms available.
PWD: That's step one. Next, we'll have to call each one and ask to speak with someone who's familiar with the accessible rooms. I'll need to ask some really specific questions, like how tall the toilets are and whether there are grab bars by the toilet and shower.
TABP: Aren't toilet heights and grab bars part of the ADA?
PWD: Yes, but a lot of the time those things still aren't done very well. Sometimes hotels will fulfill the grab bar requirements by putting grab bars by the sinks or on the other side of the room -- nowhere near the toilet and shower where they're needed.
TABP: That's ridiculous.
PWD: No kidding. Then I'll have to ask them how wide the doorways are. Twice now I've stayed in hotels where the doorways aren't even wide enough for my wheelchair to fit through the bathroom door. I'll ask them to have someone go down and measure them for me while I'm on the phone so there's a better chance they'll give me something accurate instead of making stuff up.
TABP: Is that everything?
PWD: Nope. While they're in the room measuring, I'll have to ask them to measure the bed height. The ADA doesn't specify anything about bed heights, so they can be pretty crazy. Most hotel beds are way too high to transfer from my wheelchair to the bed without help. I can ask them to remove the risers or take out the springs and put the mattress right on the bed frame, but if they refuse, there's nothing I can do about that. Sometimes I get a room with a couch just in case I can't use the bed at all.
TABP: This sounds almost as complicated as flying.
 |
This picture was taken on about the 3rd day
of striking out on accessible hotel showers.
The hat was very necessary. |
PWD: Not really. Worst case scenario, I can't shower for a night. At least the hotel won't break my $10,000 wheelchair or leave me stranded on a plane. Anyway, speaking of showers, I'll also probably ask the hotel to send me a picture of the shower in the exact room I'm booking. Ideally for me it'll have a tub -- other people need roll-in showers, so the best hotels have either option -- but then I'll need to find out what kind of shower bench the hotel offers to see if it's one I can use. Some hotels just stick a wooden chair in the bathtub, and some only have one shower bench so if you're not the first disabled person to check in you're out of luck for the night.
TABP: What kind do you prefer?
PWD: I personally like the ones that are attached to the tub and flip down. They're easy to use and don't slip around. As long as it's tall enough to transfer from and goes all the way across the tub, I can use it. Since we'll be staying in a lot of different hotels, it might be easier to just bring my own in the car. It'll take a while to put it together and take it apart to go in the car every day, but better that than not be able to take a shower.
TABP: Wouldn't it be easier and cheaper to just stay with a friend?
PWD: Only if we have any friends where we're going who live in a completely accessible home. I don't just need to get through the front door, I need to be able to get to and use the bathroom there too. I don't have any friends in my OWN city who live in apartments I can visit, so I really doubt there's anyone I can stay with while we're visiting.
TABP: Wow. I'm tired just thinking about this. Going on vacation doesn't sound very relaxing anymore.
PWD: Oh, it's worth all the inconveniences. I've learned that I have to plan ahead and micromanage things a little, but I've also learned to be adaptable and laugh things off. All the little crises that can happen are just part of the adventure. It's nice to daydream about a convenient life and it would be great if the world was wheelchair accessible, but I've learned to love the little challenges. Just as long as nobody breaks my chair.
