HELPFUL HINTS AND MOBILITY AIDES
Through the years I have discovered some tips and tricks to help me get around. As I love to travel, I have tried various products that help me facilitate navigation through airports and cities where walking is a must. These are suggestions and not endorsements of any product and may not apply to your individual circumstances.
- Use a cane whenever possible!!! This will help you to keep from falling and usually will let you preboard on most airlines with no questions asked. At some airports if you are traveling with a cane, you and your travel companion can access the first class line at security thus keeping you from standing in line for a very long time.(no guarantees here!) I prefer to use a folding cane when I am traveling. After trying several types of folding canes, I have come upon one that simply folds in half with the press of a button. This type of cane is much easier to use than the elastic banded four part folding canes. The elastic banded canes are great in terms of their size as the fold down to the size of a pocket umbrella. However, once you have used them and need to fold them back up, it will take Goliath type strength to pull them apart and fold them up. These canes can be found using your favorite Internet search engine and type in folding canes. The first image is of the one button press folding cane, the second image is of the banded cane next to the one button press.
- The uplift seat, a great invention!!!! While not approved for airline seats the uplift seat helps me greatly with those low seats at theaters, church or wherever. There are several types of these seats but I prefer the one that is self powered by a hydraulic lift arm. The lift arm looks like the type you see on a hatch/trunk of a car. It can be set for various weights. This invention helped me to comfortably see several shows on Broadway this year and yes I could stand and applaud when everyone else did!!! Be aware though that carrying this thing around might take some help from a companion as it weighs about 9 lbs. These can be found at many retailers and just type in uplift cushion into your Internet search engine to find.
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- Grab Sticks...a must! These come in all shapes, sizes and varieties. They vary in price and the more heavy duty ones will run you $20 . Since I seem to always misplace mine, I decided to buy several of them. My local hardware store sells them for $4.99 a piece although they are not very sturdy but at that price-who cares!!! I try to keep one in the car and place them throughout the house and even have several that are specifically for outside. These are great for picking up small objects that you have dropped or to help to reach pots and pans in the kitchen. Also in combination with paper towels or toilet paper are great to pick up those accidents that your pets may have (dedicate a grab stick for this icky chore). The ones I have fold in half and are easy to travel with.
- When traveling use a taxi. They are much easier than dealing with all the stairs you will find at most train/subway stations throughout the world. Most cab drivers will allow you to ride up front if you are disabled and you have trouble getting out of the back seat of a car. Many cities now even have cabs which are easy to get in and out of from the back seat...as many are SUV's or are handicapped equipped. Yes I know they are more expensive but a few dollars or Euros more for the comfort is well worth it not to mention the time saved. After traveling to Paris, NYC, Barcelona, and many other places this is my choice for ground transportation.
- Book a handicap room if possible. I can't tell you how many times I have arrived in a hotel in a regular room to find that the toilet was so low to the ground that it was going to take every trick I had in the book to get off of!!!! Most hotels in the US now offer handicapped accessible bathrooms. These rooms have higher toilets and grab bars in the shower. You may give up some size in the rest of the hotel room however. When in Europe just hope for the best!!!
More tips to follow soon!