BS: Wheelchair info

Subject: RE: BS: Wheelchair info
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 30 Apr 09 - 04:46 PM

Somewhere recently I recall seeing a note about a warning label on some medication that said "Do not use if your eyesight is not good enough to read all the instructions."

On a par with the elevators which have the floor numbers on the buttons in Braille for the blind, but with the control panel located where nobody is gonna find it without exceptionally fine vision.

Braille labels on the elevator buttons are almost universal in the US now, but only because the elevator manufacturers won't sell you a control panel without them. But recent reports show that very few visually handicapped persons are being taught to read Braille because of some theory that "it's not really helpful" and makes it "too difficult to blend in" with others. I think that means it makes the school administrators nervous to have them around - visibly?

John

Subject: RE: BS: Wheelchair info
From: Art Thieme
Date: 01 May 09 - 03:02 PM

If not for wheelchair ramps being the law of the land here in the USA, I never could've worn the hard rubber tire material off of my chair. Using that manual wheel chair all over town for the last 12 years before I, of necessity, needed an electric one, kept me exercising to the extent that I could, That helped me a lot, I am sure.

Donuel, you are correct. The narrow one is easier and provides more physical support for even a big guy like me.

Yep, "it's tight like that!!"----as the song says.

Art Thieme

Subject: RE: BS: Wheelchair info
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 01 May 09 - 03:44 PM

I think that means it makes the school administrators nervous to have them around - visibly?


School administrators don't wan tto pay for the expensive specialists to come into the school and provide tuition.

That's why mainstreaming ain't working. Because the schools don't have the resources to provide the specialist training needed.

Partial mainstreaming might work. Pupils could go to specialist school part of the week which works in concert with public school system to provide Individual Education Plans and training to PS teachers so they can implement the IEPs.

I imagine this is happening in some places. Well I hope it is.

Subject: RE: BS: Wheelchair info
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 01 May 09 - 06:20 PM

The article on the decline in teaching of Braille is at:

Fewer blind Americans learning Braille

Less than 10 percent of 1.3 million legally blind can read the raised dots
The Associated Press
updated 11:42 p.m. CT, Wed., March. 25, 2009

BALTIMORE - Jordan Gilmer has a degenerative condition that eventually will leave him completely blind. But as a child, his teachers did not emphasize Braille, the system of reading in which a series of raised dots signify letters of the alphabet.
Instead, they insisted he use what little vision he had to read print. By the third grade he was falling behind in his schoolwork.
"They gave him Braille instruction, but they didn't tell us how to get Braille books, and they didn't want him using it during the day," said Jordan's mother, Carrie Gilmer. Teachers said Braille would be "a thing he uses way off in the far distant future, and don't worry about it."

That experience is common: Fewer than 10 percent of the 1.3 million legally blind people in the United States read Braille, and just 10 percent of blind children are learning it, according to a report to be released Thursday by the National Federation of the Blind.

By comparison, at the height of its use in the 1950s, more than half the nation's blind children were learning Braille. Today Braille is considered by many to be too difficult, too outdated, a last resort.
Instead, teachers ask students to rely on audio texts, voice-recognition software or other technology. And teachers who know Braille often must shuttle between schools, resulting in haphazard instruction, the report says.

"You can find good teachers of the blind in America, but you can't find good programs," said Marc Maurer, the group's president. "There is not a commitment to this population that is at all significant almost anywhere."

Illiterate and unemployed

Using technology as a substitute for Braille leaves blind people illiterate, the federation said, citing studies that show blind people who know Braille are more likely to earn advanced degrees, find good jobs and live independently.

One study found that 44 percent of participants who grew up reading Braille were unemployed, compared with 77 percent for those who relied on print. Overall, blind adults face 70 percent unemployment.

[A little bit more at the link]

John

Subject: RE: BS: Wheelchair info
From: katlaughing
Date: 04 May 09 - 05:11 PM

I was reminded of this thread whilst listening to Frank Gardner being interviewed on BBC radio's Outlook program the other day. He is a journalist who was paralyzed and left for dead in Iraq. What he has done to resume his life is remarkable. He seems to be on the cutting edge of how to get around whatever one's abilities are. Here is a blurb about his new book Far Horizons.

Subject: RE: BS: Wheelchair info
From: Don Firth
Date: 04 May 09 - 07:24 PM

Thanks for the heads-up on that, Kat. I'll see if I can get a copy.

I remember hearing NPR correspondent John Hockenberry (now a correspondent for ABC) on the radio some years back, and over a period of time, learned that he was in a wheelchair. Then I heard he had written a book. I got it from the library. And it blew my socks off!! I bought a copy and read it again.

This guy has been places and done things that would scare the bejesus out of the vast majority of able-bodied people.

It's as good as any adventure story ever written. And it's all true!!

Moving Violations.

Don Firth

Subject: RE: BS: Wheelchair info
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 05 May 09 - 01:27 AM

Rereading some of the above I noticed:

I cannot get a scooter as we have no place to house it (1st floor flat).

We have used Lin's scooter almost exclusively at the WVA festival, and it's obviously not too practical to to try to live in a 23-foot camper with a scooter inside. And the weather tends to include a fair amount of rain, sometimes sleet and snow, an occasional tornado warning, etc.

Our solution to providing some "environmental protection" for the scooter while it sits outside at the festival is --

--- DISGUISE !!!

A cover for a medium to large barbecue grill, readily available even at Wally World (and probably at lots of lumber yards) is an almost perfect fit for her 3-wheeler, and sitting on the patio in it's rain suit it looks almost like a barbie-kew grill.

Of course it would depend a little on what kind of neighborhood you live in.

Most of the scooters I've seen do have an "ignition switch" with a key that can be removed, although on some the "key" is so rudimentary that a broken popsickle stick would probably suffice to turn them on. Most mobility chairs appear not to have a "lock" of any kind, on the assumption that someone's always sitting in them I suppose. Auto parts places have "disconnects" you can use to connect/disconnect a battery to give some protection against someone "unauthorized" turning on and taking off with a chair, but it would require some (fairly minor?) installation to get the keyhole in an easily accessible place on the chair.

John

Subject: RE: BS: Wheelchair info
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 05 May 09 - 05:41 AM

John, while the BBQ grill cover is a brilliant idea, sadly I do not have an area around our flats that would be secure enough. Neighborhood kids tend to use the garden as a park, even though they do not live in the flats and there is a proper park with play equipment and plenty of green space for playing field very nearby.

These kids are between 9 and 13 years old and I think fearful of using the park as the older feral kids hang out there, typically drinking, smoking, bullying, etc.

While I wouldn't say the kids here are bad, they are not very respectful of property, kicking balls against the building, riding bikes and scooters between parked cars, playing hide and seek in the entry halls (we have 3 halls).

The real worry is there is a nocturnal group (probably the older kids) who make it their business to do as much damage (including arson - about 20 incidences in the last 4 months) as possible. So outdoor storage is impossible, even if the lease holder would let me put up a shed.

Another problem is the metal theives. If someone saw what they thought was a BBQ grill in open garden they would have it to sell the metal for scrap. But upon discovering the scooter - what a bonanza! Likely it would end up somewhere for parts to be sold on ebay.

Kat and Don those books look intriguing.

Subject: RE: BS: Wheelchair info
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 05 May 09 - 07:11 AM

On an errand today I noticed a large sign at a used car lot that might be of help:

"UNATTENDED CHILDREN WILL RECEIVE A LARGE LATTE AND A FREE PUPPY."

Scary enough for me, but I suppose those who don't attend to their children would probably demand their choice of breed for the puppy and in three months your neighborhood would be full of abandoned feral (hungry) dobermans and pit bulls.

(Which might, of course, impact the feral child population - but someone's bound to object.)

I understand the problem, and as the saying goes - "been there, done that, and somebody stole my teashirt."

John

Subject: RE: BS: Wheelchair info
From: CapriUni
Date: 05 May 09 - 02:27 PM

Last Friday, May 1, 2009, was the fourth International Blogging against Disablism Day.

Among the over 200 entries, this year (I posted my round-up of favorites here on Mudcat), this one here is one I wish all people would read, whether or not they use a wheelchair, or know someone who does -- especially if they are just now starting to think about chairs, and the issues surrounding them.

On Wheelchairs and Safety.

Subject: RE: BS: Wheelchair info
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 05 May 09 - 05:30 PM

gee i would like to post that sign at our flats.

great info Capri

thanks

Subject: RE: BS: Wheelchair info
From: CapriUni
Date: 05 May 09 - 05:56 PM

Heh. Maybe you could arrange that with your manager, VirginiaTam.

(and you're very welcome).

Subject: RE: BS: Wheelchair info
From: gnu
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 01:18 PM

Didn't read it yet...

Design study of wheelchair ramps sujbect to ice and snow. Source : CMHC.

Subject: RE: BS: Wheelchair info
From: EBarnacle
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 01:56 PM

There was an article on NPR a few weeks ago about an interesting approach to the ADA. In California and some other states, quite a few people are earning nice incomes by suing places of public accomodation which violate the ADA. Not only do the violators have to fix the problem, they have to pay the individual for pain and suffering, even when it is emotional rather than physical.

Subject: RE: BS: Wheelchair info
From: gnu
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 03:09 PM

That's terrible... to an extent. The lawyers gotta get paid. They can't eat verdicts. If the awards cover fees and a "bit of a fine", I have no problem with that as it will help enforcement of the rules.

Subject: RE: BS: Wheelchair info
From: CapriUni
Date: 02 Nov 10 - 03:08 AM

I remember that, EBarnacle -- it was a piece on This American Life -- the episodes on "Crybabies."

If the civil rights of Disabled Americans had been given more respect at the time, then perhaps the law would have been given more of its own teeth, instead of relying solely on civilians with a litigious bent to do all of the enforcing.

Because Access is a civil right -- it goes straight to the First Amendment the American Constitution, and its provision guaranteeing our right to Freedom of Assembly. It's nigh impossible to join your fellow citizens at a rally, or town meeting hall if you can't get in the building.

One of my online friends is a Disability Rights activist in Canada, working toward her Masters in Disability History, and she made what I thought was an excellent point, the other day:

We don't consider providing doors into the front of a building to be doing someone a favor, or an act of charity. So why do we consider it a very special favor to provide a ramp? Ramps are how you get inside.

Subject: RE: BS: Wheelchair info
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 02 Nov 10 - 06:03 AM

An update:

Lin has finally received her "disability benefit" from Social Security. Time from first application to final approval was almost exactly seven years, during which time her condition was unchanged. The "judge" at the final hearing did not mention her condition, but gave her a twenty minute lecture about how "nobody would be disabled if they quit drinking coffee." (Lin did not drink coffee before the hearing, except on extremely rare occasions but now has a cup almost every day.)

At the final hearing, we were informed that "Social Security Regulations" prohibit paying more than three months in "back benefits" from the time of the final judgement. All of that went to the lawyers we had to hire.

Our latest experience: On the way to renew vehicle tags I parked in a handicapped parking space directly in front of the tag office. Lin exited our vehicle on the right, into what appeared to be a 9 foot wide handicap access lane. It turned out that the access actually was a 36 inch wide ramp, with smoothly blended contours into a 5 inch high curb, with NO VISIBLE INDICATION of where the ramp was. All surfaces were as-poured grey concrete. She tripped on the curb, fell flat on her face, broke her glasses and her left wrist.

Although every other ramp in the shopping center where the tag office is located has clearly marked boundaries on usable surfaces, indicating at least general knowledge of good standard practices, and the ramp at the tag office is clearly not in compliance with the Federal Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA - 28CFR Part 36, specifically paragraphs 4.7.7 and 4.29.2) we are told by attorneys that "Wichita Building Code does not require ADA compliance, and there is no possibility of successful claims against any responsible party."

Her insurance probably will pay nearly all the cost for treating the broken wrist, but she has no insurance for her broken glasses. Since her disability award (and her age) require her to switch to Medicaid in a couple of months, which does provide limited vision coverage, that $400 is an expense we wouldn't have had without the accident.

Since she needs constant assistance, at least until she recovers some use of the hand (you can't fill an insulin syringe one-handed, etc.) it's inadvisable for me to leave her alone for more than brief periods, so all progress at "anything else" is at a halt for at least three months(?), depending on her rate of recovery.

Regarding our "mobility devices:"

I believe I've finally gotten the controller out of Lin's broken scooter, and may be able to get a replacement. Price has not been determined.

The substitute 3-wheeler has proven to be almost totally inadequate for her WVA festival use, as it gets stuck in 3" grass and can't cross a garden hose or fat extension cord. I got some improvement by replacing a couple of 3" wheels with 4" ones, but clearances don't permit much additional modification.

The "big chair" that I've used is still working reasonably well, but at the last loading into the pickup truck it pretty much ripped the winch hoist out of the truck bed, so the hoist has been removed and replaced by an Anthony (hydraulic) lift-tailgate. ($2,600, if anyone's interested) The lift gate has been generally handy, but will require some "accessories" since neither the electic chair nor the scooter will make it over the "breakover" onto the tailgate. A couple of short "pad ramps" should solve that.

For the last festival, we found that the covered 10-foot trailer I bought for our recent move made a nice "garage" for the mobility vehicles, and I wired a receptacle into it so I could plug the trailer in and have power inside for overnight recharging. Both devices do have trouble with the ramp angles, but I think I can work the problem to improve that. It's not a matter of how steep the ramp is, but the "breaks" in angles at top an bottom "high-center" the scooter/chair. If there's no change, by next year I'll plan to have a support to raise the trailer tongue about four feet in the air so that the ramp at the rear will be fairly flat.

Both of the operable mobility aids probably need new batteries, and the dead one will if/when I get it repaired; but that's something "for later." The series charging (two 12 volt batteries in series - 24 volts) I believe contributes to early battery failure, so I'm looking at rewiring them to charge in parallel and run in series. The real problem with the rewiring is finding the space for a "neat" modification that's sufficiently idiot proof for the inevitable "helpers" to handle.

I have found the mobility chair that both Lin and I really need for the festival, but it lists at about $10,000 not including seat or batteries and I don't think Medicare will help with two of them.

I have heard, from at least one source, that Medicare has a "one per lifetime" limitation on mobility scooters, so the one you buy has to be the one you use forever. I'm looking for confirmation on that limitation, since it does affect what we might want to do next.

A Google search for "all terrain wheelchairs" was recently fairly productive, and might be of interest to several here, but it's mostly a source for ideas for us at present. There are lots of choices, from 15 pound hand propelled to 800 lb "hunting chairs" that claim to be able to bring you and your elk out of the brush. That probably isn't a search term most would think of, but it does get you lots of "beach chairs" and sporting models.

John

Subject: RE: BS: Wheelchair info
From: Bill D
Date: 02 Nov 10 - 11:34 AM

LOL..Gee, John...I think we oughta find a way to get you at least ONE of those chairs! I can think of all sorts of interesting things to mount on it....some even musical!

Snobbish bluegrass bands...beware!

Subject: RE: BS: Wheelchair info
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 02 Nov 10 - 03:12 PM

One of the wheel chair and scooter obstacles at festival appears when people have to run heavy extension cords and/or water hoses across the roads. (An AWG10 cord is about the same diameter as a water hose.) People who lay 2 x 4s on both sides of them or "encase them" in a fire hose, etc., to "protect them" where they cross the road create an "impenetrable barrier" for the smaller scooters.

While it's impractical to fix them all, I did find a rather neat way to reasonably remove the "stoppers" within our own camp area.

Cat litter comes in three grades. There's the normal, a clumping, and a "high clumping" varieties. If you line up the hoses and cords, and dump a pile of the high clumping cat litter on them to cover about a 3 foot run, and then stake a scrap (about 4 ft square works) of carpet tightly over it all, when you dribble a little cat piss water on it, the clumping litter "gels" well enough to stay in place, and even Lin's little scooter can ride over them. The hoses/cords may be a bit discolored (dirty) when you pick it all up, but they're "supported" against crushing well enough to suffer no damage from the "traffic." (And the dirt can be washed off.)

The "usual methods" could be used on the road, if people would provide a "scooter path" at least a couple of feet wide at one side of the road.

There was a "coup" of sorts at the last WVA festival. After several years of complaining, mostly by one particular participant, the organizers added a "handicap ramp" to allow roll-up access to the contest stage. Our line-up neighbor Marti was very happy at being able to roll right up on the stage and compete in the autoharp competition while sitting on her scooter. There was also some minor adjustment of handicapped seating at Stage 1 that likely will work a bit better than in the past. There appears to be some recognition that there a lots of old people and handicapped attending.

But the festival organizers have announced plans to require and charge for permits for golf carts used in the camps next year, so they've apparently also picked up on the money to be made from people who need (or just want) some "assistance."

(The signs they had up this year said "golf carts will be charged." I thought maybe they were on the "green kick" about providing charging stations for EVs, but other sources say it's a fee and not a power supply.)

John

Subject: RE: BS: Wheelchair info
From: Don Firth
Date: 02 Nov 10 - 03:25 PM

With your kind indulgence, this is a magazine article I wrote about fifteen years ago. It runs about 2,500 words.

Wheelchair Access
I had polio when I was two years old. Through most of my life I walked with the aid of a leg brace and a pair of forearm crutches. Fortunately, since climbing El Capitan or scaling the Matterhorn were not high on my list of life goals, accessibility or lack thereof rarely presented a problem. I was not real fond of long flights of stairs, but as long as there was a solid handrail, I could manage.

After about three score years, my "good" leg will no longer bear my weight reliably and my shoulders register protest at using crutches to haul the rest of my carcass around. I now rely on a wheelchair for mobility. This has given me a whole new view of the world in general and of accessibility -or lack thereof -in particular.

My wife Barbara and I recently took a weekend trip. This provided an interesting series of illustrations.

The 1994 Northwest Synod Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was held on the weekend of June 17th through 19th on the campus of Western Washington University in Bellingham. Barbara and I attended. Barbara was scheduled to conduct a couple of workshops, and I intended to mill around and see what there was to see.

We arrived about noonish at the Performance Hall where some of the meetings were scheduled to take place. We set about reconnoitering: schedules, where to register, which meetings were held where, the usual things. One of the first things I always want to find out about a place is: Where are the wheelchair accessible rest rooms? I want to locate these facilities before the need becomes desperate. And at that point, because we had been on the road for a couple of hours, desperation was not far off.

Although the recently passed Americans with Disabilities Act mandates that public buildings must have accessible rest rooms, we didn't see any signs indicating where they might be. There was a men's room off the lobby of the Performance Hall, but it was down two or three steps. No joy. Before we started an all-out search, and because we were in something of a hurry (not just because of my increasingly desperate condition), Barbara checked the ladies' room, which was on the same level as the lobby. Finding no one inside, she stood guard while I went in. Again, no joy. All the booths had twenty-inch doors. My wheelchair is twenty-one and a half inches wide. Couldn't get into the booth.

Barbara boarded an elevator, checked the basement, and returned a few minutes later to say she found another men's room. This one was accessible. Although there may have been signs somewhere indicating its presence, I never saw one.

After eating lunch and moving the car to a more centralized parking place (with wheelchair decal), we went into the building where the first workshops were to be held. Barbara located the room where her workshops were to be, and I went over the list to see which ones I wanted to attend.

Aha! A workshop on outreach to the disabled, with special attention to making church buildings convenient and accessible. Very good. Although our church is accessible, I decided to attend and put in my two bits worth if it seemed appropriate.

The workshop was in room 221 of this particular classroom building. I rolled down the hall to the elevator, entered and punched the second floor button. Debarking on the second floor, I checked the numbers on a couple doors, determined which direction to go, and went in search of room 221. Found it. It was off an atrium cum stairwell about half a floor down. About seven steps. Okay, I thought. I had noticed on the elevator buttons that there was a mezzanine between the first and second floors. Returning to the elevator, I boarded, pressed the "M" button, got off on the mezzanine, and rolled down the hall in the direction of room 221. Again I found it. I was on the mezzanine, but room 221 was up six steps!

While I sat there drumming my fingers on the padded arm of my wheelchair and contemplating the essence of the word "irony," several people hurried by, searching for their meeting rooms. A stocky, bearded, pleasant-looking man stopped and asked me if I was finding what I was looking for.

I told him, "Yes, but " and explained the situation to him.

He looked a bit thunderstruck.

"I am one of the pastors who's giving that workshop," he said. The other pastor arrived about that time. They conferred. There was a great aura of OOPS! about the whole thing. The pastors certainly weren't at fault. But whoever had scheduled that workshop in that room had failed to make a fundamental connection. It may very well have been one of a half-dozen least accessible rooms in the building.

To give WWU its due, they had provided. Firmly attached to the wall beside this short flight of steps was a stair lift for wheelchairs consisting of a platform that could be folded down from the wall and a control panel with rocker switches for operating the electric motor.

But one needed a key to operate the thing. And, of course, where one might find such a key was anybody's guess.

By this time, the two pastors were getting a bit steamed up. I offered just to let it go, but they insisted that since I indicated I wanted to attend that workshop, come hell or high water they would make sure I attended it. Grunting and straining, they lifted me up the steps. I'm not all that heavy, but hauling me and my wheelchair up six steps was not easy. Thank you, gentlemen, I really appreciate that.

Had I talked about accessibility problems for hours, I could not have made the point more eloquently.

All in attendance at the workshop, lay and clergy alike, were very positive about making church attendance as easy and convenient as possible for people with all kinds of disabilities.

There was some discussion of the courtesies, such as sitting down if possible while talking with someone in a wheelchair, so neither of you gets a kinked neck; talking to the person in the wheelchair, not to whoever they happen to be with as if the person in the wheelchair were some sort of non-sentient entity; or treating a person's wheelchair as if it were part of that person's body: don't lean on it or put your feet on it; and if you are pushing someone in a wheelchair and you stop to have a word with someone else, turn the person in the wheelchair toward the conversation, not away from it. This and more, all good stuff.

There was some agonizing over "politically correct" terminology. Someone wanted to ban the perfectly acceptable word "handicapped" for totally spurious etymological reasons. We explored clumsy circumlocutions such as "persons with differing abilities," and the ever-popular suffixes "challenged" and "impaired," as when referring to a short person as "vertically challenged" or "altitudinally impaired." Little was accomplished in this area.

Much discussion dealt with the problems, particularly the expense, of retrofitting older church buildings with wheelchair lifts, ramps, and accessible rest rooms. Other things, such as modifications of existing public address systems, if any, to include making earphones available; many things of this nature were talked about.

One pastor allowed as how this was all very commendable, but it was academic as far as his church was concerned. In his congregation there were no disabled people.

I asked him, "Have you ever wondered why that might be?"

He looked at me, a little befuddled.

"Has anybody here seen the movie Field of Dreams?" I asked. Several people nodded.

"Do you remember the major, pivotal line in the movie?"

A couple people started to smile. Others still looked confused, so I quoted the line:

"Build it, and they will come."

Point taken. I was kind of proud of that.

After the conclusion of the workshop, the two pastors lifted me back down the stairs again. Again, thank you, gentlemen.
*    *    *A Global Missions Festival was going on concurrently with the Synod Assembly. It was held in the gymnasium and consisted of tables and booths for exhibits, performances of ethnic music and dance, and great crowds milling about, rubbernecking at the exhibits and greeting each other. Barbara and I joined in the milling, rubbernecking, and greeting for a while, then decided to leave and track down a Mediterranean restaurant somewhere. But before we left, there was something I needed to attend to.

Since it had been several hours, I followed the signs to the nearest men's room. I was optimistic, because the sign bore the standard blue and white wheelchair logo.

One of the booths had a wide door; plenty large enough for a wheelchair to enter, with room inside to maneuver. But -instead of opening outward, the door swung inward. Against the toilet. You could back the wheelchair into the booth, but then the door was between you and the toilet. And you couldn't close the door because you and your wheelchair were in the way.

I eyeballed the general geometry of the place and tried an experiment. I found that by repeatedly moving my wheelchair back and forth a few inches at a time and turning it a few degrees at a time -similar to trying to get into a very tight parking place -and by removing the detachable footplates from the wheelchair, I was eventually able to turn far enough so I could close the door.

Mind you, I was not just being modest. With the door where it was, it was impossible to transfer to the toilet.

When finished, I extricated myself from the booth by reversing the process and reassembling my wheelchair.

My wheelchair is narrower than many. I am skinny through the hips and I use a wheelchair with a sixteen-inch wide seat and wrap-around arm rests. Despite my somewhat constrained shoulders, my arms are fairly strong and I still retain some of my former agility. Yet using this purportedly accessible rest room was, for me, at the very limit of the possible. To someone with a slightly larger wheelchair or who was slightly less mobile, this rest room would not have been accessible -despite the signs indicating that it was.

Had the booth door swung outward rather than inward, there would not have been a problem.*    *    *After a very nice dinner in a restaurant in Fairhaven, the old town district of Bellingham, we went in search of a motel. We had not really anticipated any difficulties and indeed, had we needed a room without a qualification "accessible," there would have been none. We stopped at several motels. Barbara went in, made our needs known, then came back out to say they had vacancies, but all of their accessible rooms were already taken.

Undoubtedly we should have booked a room earlier, but alas, we hadn't.

We pulled into yet another motel, and Barbara learned that they didn't have a designated "accessible" room available, but they thought the bathroom door in one they did have might be wide enough for a wheelchair. Barbara checked the room out. She measured the bathroom door with her belt, then came back to the car and measured her belt with a tape measure she had stashed away. Bingo. It was wide enough by a couple inches. She signed for the room, then I transferred from the car to the wheelchair, and we headed over.

OOPS!

Barbara had been so concerned about the bathroom door, she hadn't even noticed that there was a six-inch step from the sidewalk to the room. Barbara's back was not up to this, especially since she had already lifted my wheelchair in and out of the car's trunk several times that day. My chair isn't balanced right to do wheelies, so that was out.

Barbara found a desk chair in the room. I turned the wheelchair parallel to the door, Barbara set the desk chair in the doorway, and fortunately it turned out to be a close match, with only a few inches difference in elevation. I transferred to the desk chair, then swung around sideways and tried to make myself small enough as Barbara folded the wheelchair and horsed it through the door past where I sat. I then transferred from the desk chair to the wheelchair. I was in. Whew!

The bathroom door was wide enough to clear, provided I went straight in, not at an angle. This meant Barbara had to shove the small writing desk into the corner from its centralized position against the wall.

Once inside, the bathroom wasn't huge, but it was sufficiently large to maneuver easily.

When we left the following morning, we got me out of the room by reversing the above procedure with the desk chair.

This was pretty much the last of the accessibility adventures on this trip. There is a small coda, however.

We drove down Chuckanut Drive and headed off cross-country, intending to eat lunch in La Connor, and other than missing a turn or two and backtracking a bit, all was well. We were not in any great rush, and doodling along and sight-seeing was our main objective.

When we arrived in La Connor, I needed to make use of a rest room. La Connor has a nice public rest room complex on its main street adjacent to small (maybe 20 by 20) park complete with benches, shrubbery, a public drinking fountain, and a "you are here" style map of the area. I knew that the men's had an accessible booth. A nice, big booth.

I had to wait for ten or fifteen minutes, however, because two guys were using it for a dressing room. At least I think that was what they were doing. They were being quite leisurely about it. I didn't yell and bang on the door (bad form unless things are really desperate), but I cleared my throat a lot and rolled around enough to make it obvious that there was a wheelchair out there. Eventually they came out. They were both able-bodied; and they gave me the fish-eye, as if to say, "What are you hanging around in here for? Are you some kind of pervert?"*    *    *We had a very nice lunch in La Connor, then headed back to Seattle by a highly circuitous route: east to Darrington, around the mountain loop road to the trail head to Monte Cristo, then through Granite Falls to Marysville, where we threw ourselves on the mercy of Interstate 5 and headed home.

© Copyright 1995 by Donald Richard Firth

I've had a number of adventures of this type.

Don Firth