Traveling is fun, but when you are disabled, it can be a little more stressful because you have to think about things a non-disabled person wouldn’t have to consider. Non-disabled people have a lot to think about when they are traveling, but not nearly as much as a disabled person would because they don’t have a disability to consider. Disabled people have to think about some of the same things non-disabled people have to think about while they are traveling, but we also have to think about our disabilities because it doesn’t take a vacation. As a physically disabled person, I love going on vacation to visit family, but I don’t love traveling to get there and would rather people come visit me than I go to them. Traveling with a disability is more stressful because you have to think about all the things that everyone has to think about on top of your disability. Disability does not take a vacation and is something you always have to think about because it affects everything you do. What do I have to think about when traveling with a physical disability? In this post, I am sharing a few things I have to think about when traveling with a disability.
Am I traveling to an accessible location?– Accessibility is something that disabled people have to constantly think about because when something is not accessible to us, often we can’t do that activity. At home, I am good at navigating inaccessibility because I am familiar with the area, and for the most part I know what to expect and how I am going to navigate that barrier. When I am traveling, I don’t always know what accessibility barriers I am going to face because I am not familiar with the area and some locations are more accessible than others. Before I travel, I always have to check the accessibility of the hotel and make sure that the area I am staying at, is somewhat accessible to me. Vacations are not fun when I am facing constant barriers, and I can’t go anywhere without checking the accessibility because if it’s too inaccessible, it’s not going to work for me. I can navigate inaccessibility a little easier than a full-time wheelchair user can because I am able to walk. I am still physically disabled and will not be able to navigate if it’s too inaccessible.
How will I be able to accommodate my pain?- I live with chronic pain that I easily manage when I am at home, but when I am traveling, I don’t have access to the same types of things that I would at home. Long car rides can be difficult for people with chronic pain because you aren’t as comfortable when sitting in a car, and often it flares pain. I bring my pain medication and extra pillows when I am traveling but I still sometimes can’t avoid elevated pain levels because I am not as comfortable and often am a little more stressed. I always have to think about how I am going to accommodate my pain because there is nothing worse than going on vacation and not being able to move due to pain.
Will I be able to have a bowel movement- If I am going somewhere and am only going to be gone a day or two, I don’t have to think about bowel movements and can do it before I leave. If I am going somewhere and will be gone weeks, I can’t avoid having a bowel movement, and it is something I am going to have to do to avoid health problems. Most people can sit on a toilet and have a bowel movement naturally, but I can’t because I don’t have the muscles to do it and have to take tons of laxatives to be able to go. When I have a bowel movement, I fill a feeding bag with water that has laxatives mixed into it, hang it on a hook that I connect to a catheter that is inserted into my stoma. After everything is connected, I drain all the liquid in the bag into my body, and I sit on the toilet, and it comes out in the same way as it would for a non-disabled person. My bowel regimen works by gravity, and I always have to make sure that when I travel, there is something I can hang my bag onto because if there is not, I can’t have a bowel movement.
Do I have an enough medical supplies?– If I were to run out of my laxatives, I could go to the store and buy more because they are over-the-counter and don’t require a prescription. I use a lot of supplies that you can’t buy at the store, such as my catheters and medication that I can’t pick up at the store. I always have to make sure that I bring more than enough medical supplies when I travel because if I run out of catheters, I won’t be able to go to the bathroom and will have to cut my vacation short. Before I leave, I always have to check to make sure that I have more than enough medication and supplies to get through my vacation because the last thing you want is to run out of life-saving supplies.
Are there hospitals nearby?– When you have a disability with a lot of health issues, you can never plan for when a medical emergency is going to happen because they are often inconvenient. I don’t currently have active seizures, but I have a history of them, and my first seizure happened while I was on vacation. When I travel, I usually stay in the United States because I have seizures when I fly and never travel anywhere that is not going to have good hospitals. Most of the time, you are going to be well and will not need to go to the hospital, but the one time you do need it, you want it available.
Traveling is fun when you are disabled; there is so much more that you have to think about than non-disabled people. I always have to be thinking about my disability, especially when I travel, and be prepared for the worst-case scenario because traveling sometimes causes stress, which can flare symptoms. Disabled people often pack more things when they travel than non-disabled people because we have extra medical supplies that a non-disabled person wouldn’t need. I pack more clothes than I think I am going to need because sometimes I have accidents and never know how many bowel issues I am going to have. It takes a lot of planning when traveling with a disability because you have a disability and have to make sure you have everything to manage all the challenges of your disability. What things do you have to think about when traveling while living with a disability? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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