For most working adults, going on vacation is something they look forward to. Im no different. For people with disabilities, travelling can have some unique challenges.

Growing up, I was very fortunate in that my family traveled a lot. Ive been fortunate enough to have been in about 40 out of the 50 states in the US and Ive been to Canada and Mexico a few times.

Traveling when you have a physical disability can present many different challenges. From simple things such as finding an accessible restroom to dealing with places where there are only flights of stairs, traveling anywhere when youre in a wheelchair can be pretty interesting.

I have both a power wheelchair and a manual wheelchair. I use my manual chair when we go to relatives houses (because theyre not accessible) and when we fly some places. When I was a lot younger, we used my manual chair a lot more than we do now because it was a lot easier for my parents to move me around because I was smaller, and I was young enough that freedom wasnt an issue. Now, when I have to be in my manual chair for any length of time I cringe. When Im in my manual chair, Im completely dependent on people to push me everywhere. As much as its an inconvenience though, I wouldnt have been able to go to half of the places Ive been without it.

Though thanks to the ADA, accessibility in the US has immensely improved over the years, its far from still perfect. One of the areas that still needs improvement is airline access. Most airlines have accessible jet ways now, but wheelchairs still cant fit on the plane. The aisle chair they provide to get onto the plane is so small and little, that most people in chairs can hardly sit on it. Generally people in chairs, like myself would much rather be able to take their chairs right onto the plane, and get buckled down there. Theres also the issue of getting an accessible van if the person wants to bring their power wheelchair. Its nearly impossible to find a rental place that has a van with a lift. Thats why when we flew when I was younger, I always brought my manual chair.

However, a few years ago, I discovered a friend from college always flew with her power wheelchair. I approached my parents with the idea of flying to Las Vegas with my power chair. Vegas is a perfect city to fly to with a power chair because you dont have to rent a vehicle. Everything is pretty accessible and accessible cabs and buses are readily available. We flew there with my power chair a few years ago, and it was awesome! It was so much easier on my parents not to have to push me everywhere, and I obviously loved the freedom and independence it gave me.

Recently, we flew to Vegas again with my power chair. I was so excited for this vacation. It had been awhile since I had been away, and I was really looking forward to being able to use my power chair again out there. That excitement quickly ended as soon as I started driving my chair off the jet way in Vegas. Something was messed up with the joystick (the controller). When the airlines put my chair in the storage, they werent careful and likely grabbed the chair by the joystick wire. It would go a couple feet and then abruptly stop. It progressively got worse throughout the day. My parents and I soon realized that this wasnt going to work all week.

Fortunately, we were able to rent a manual wheelchair from the hotel and buy belts to hold me in. We called the airline to report the damage, and they had a wheelchair repair company come get my chair. They ordered a new joystick and had it overnighted. For some reason, however, the repair company was unable to program it. They returned my chair with the new joystick in a bag. We had to drag it all the way back through the airports when we returned home with it not working properly. As soon as we got home, we took my chair to our wheelchair place, and they had the joystick hooked up and working within a matter of hours. While the airlines did pay for the wheelchair repairs and the rental of the manual chair, it wasnt much of a vacation for my parents or I. I felt extremely bad for mom and dad because they had to push me everywhere in that extreme heat. They felt bad for me because I basically lost my independence for the week, and they knew how much I had been looking forward to the trip. We made the best of it though.

We wrote a letter to the airlines explaining the trouble we went through. Were waiting on response back. The guy from the wheelchair place in Las Vegas told us that airlines set aside three to four million dollars per month for wheelchair repairs like these. Now, what does that say? I think airlines need better training on how to handle special needs equipment. They need to understand that medical equipment is not just more luggageits items that peoples lives depend on!

I think it may be awhile before I fly with my power wheelchair again, but, hopefully, someday I will. Regardless of the challenges, thanks to my wonderful parents Ive been to a lot of places and experienced more things that many people will never be able to. And for that, Im very grateful!

What travel experiences have you had? Share them with us.

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