Trip to thorpe park

It's really late but I'm full of adrenaline (and sugar, but that's an issue for another time).  I can't sleep so I thought I'd write about my recent experience going to thorpe park.

The last time I went to a theme park was several years ago.  I was partially mobile and it was the first time I ever used a wheelchair!  This definitely helped my relationship with wheelchairs as I could see what could be achieved by using one.  This was just over 2 years ago.

This time was going to be different.  On the one hand, it's taken almost those 2 years to get my mobility back to a point where I can move my legs reasonably freely.  On the other hand, any form of weight bearing/being upright still has massive ramifications on my health.  But, I really wanted to go so I duly planned a trip with just one other person so that htere wasn't too much to think about/plan and I could use all my energies as a 'test run' to see how my body responds to rides now.

Planning this got a bit stressful when I realised that I would need to bring letters of proof that I couldn't queue.  DLA is not enough apparently.  Neither is the fact the queues are not wheelchair accessible so I can't get in them anyway!  Another major factor in me only going with one person was that you can now only have one person jump the queues with you. There really needs to be a system for when people go in a group.  They also only allow one disabled person on a ride at a time due to health and safety!

As per usual, accessibility was the biggest issue.  Some rides can only be accessed by stairs, some need to be climbed in to (rather than transferring) and others are made inaccessible by the complex walking routes required to exit in an emergency with no evacuation chair available.  I barely slept the night before as I was trying to work everything out and stressing that I might spoil my friend's fun by not being able to go on anything.

We arrived at the park at about 12pm giving us 5 hours.  On arriving we discovered that the following rides were shut:-

- Nemesis Inferno

- Collosus

- Samurai

None of these closures had been listed on the website in advance.  This only left 2 big rides I could go on in terms of their safety procedures: no way out and stealth.   I was pretty gutted.  

On the day I decided that it was worth exhausting myself getting in and out of log flumes and the like and in many ways I wanted to make the most of the recent increase in mobility.  So, we went on 

- storm surge

               - Like a helter skelter water slide with inflatable dingies.  I had to walk about 1.5 metres to get in to the boat and then throw myself in (thank you gravity!). To get out my friend helped with my legs.

- loggers leap

              - This exhausted me.  They tried to slow the boats down but this just meant I was upright longer so dysautonomic stuff set in and made me feel rough as hell.  It was still fun though and we went on it again later (twice in a row without getting out :p)

- No way out

             - you can do a standing transfer in to the ride but my friend had to drive my chair back out and towards the ride exit because the ride starts and ends in different places.  This was a bit embarrassing as they had to hold the ride both at hte start and end.  The ride itself was good but in terms of my impairments very very challenging.  The ride is a standard carriage with just a bar over your lap.  My sitting balance is pretty poor so I felt as if I was falling out of the seat.  In the end I had to sit with my arms crossed over my lap with one arm holding the grab rail and hte other holding on to my friend's arm.  I probably looked like I was terrified but in reality I was stopping my arm from spasming out of the ride carriage!  

With the exception of stealth, the other main rides require you to be able to walk at least 25 metres if the ride breaks down.  I can't walk anywhere near 25 metres!  But...being the adrenaline junkie I am and because my favourite ride was broken (collosus) I decided to risk it.  If it broke down then I'd walk, crawl, bum scoot and beg for piggie backs to get off....but realistically I was hoping to god they didn't break down.  So we went on:

- The swarm

                 - This ride was absolutely incredible.  I went on it twice in the end.  amazingly no one asked if I could get off in an emergency.  The seats were incredibly supportive and perfect for me as they were angled so offered enough support.  I could also loop my arms in to the chest strap meaning they were safe from spasm.  The only access issue getting on was that I needed someone else to do the buckle as well as my friend needing to push me up in to the chair (it was a bit high).  I was in hysterics for a large amount of the ride because every time the carriage inverted my legs would spasm out at 90 degrees so all I could see was these legs shaking up in the sky!  Was amusing watching it on the video footage they had afterwards. 

After this we decided to go on nemesis as it had re opened...but got there and noticed there's a massive stair case to get up to the ride....so no can do.

We decided instead to go back towards stealth.....but it had been closed.

So we decided to go on saw (another 25m+ evacuation route)...but that had been closed too!...this is how we ended up going on swarm twice.

I'm yet to know for certain what the repercussions of such an exhausting day out will be but all in all it was a very enjoyable day.  However, I was very disappointed that so many rides were closed when we arrived with no notice + that others were closed through out the day.   I'm also pretty annoyed that rides completed as recent as spring 2012 could have such inaccessible evacuation policies meaning that although the ride itself is accessible, health and safety policy gets in the way.

The inaccessible nightmare that is visiting family

I meant to post this earlier but I got side tracked downloading apps on to my android phone.  I've been looking in to various different apps that might make it easier to use the computer when I'm not so well as well as apps that make accessing musicianship easier.  Definitely more on that at a later date!

Last week I visited my family in my home town for the first time in over 2 years.  It was a far more positive experience than I'd originally anticipated over all. It was good to see family and friends even if I did only stay for two nights.

Still, there are quite a few things that just made it clear to me just how much my impairments have progressed.  When I last visited I was only using 1 crutch.  My mobility was impaired but it was more about fatigue. I managed the day ok, I just paid for it later.  Now I use a powerchair pretty much full time.  I didn't realise when I first started using a basic electric wheelchair nearly 2 years ago that my impairments would get much worse, not better.  In all honesty, it's a bit sad really.

Trying to travel at all as a disabled person who relies on equipment and care is a bit of a nightmare.  I used to travel quite a bit and visit friends houses regularly.  It occurred to me whilst at my mothers house that in the last 18 months this was only the second time I'd been inside someone else's home. Now don't get me wrong, I do love my flat and enjoy having people over but I also miss just sitting with a cup of tea at someone elses, watching a flim, getting a takeaway and enjoying being in other people's company without being the host.

Looking at how inaccessible most people's places are, there's no wonder I don't just pop over for a cup of tea. Not only does it often take me twice as long to get across London as non powerchair users, getting in to the place when I get there is a nightmare.  In order for me to get in to my mum's house, I had to use a make shift ramp (bricks and wood) and drive at an angle more suited to a ski jump than an expensive piece of kit.

Then there's the age old crip problem.  Where the hell do I pee?  Well, to be honest, on this occasion in to a disposable gel urinal in a cupboard under the stairs.  Nothing beats shouting out "mum can you pass me my phone please?" "why?" "It's got a flashlight on it". See, I told you apps were useful :p Not everyone has a suitable cupboard and definitely not everyone would be happy for me to pee in it.  I couldn't visit my brothers at all as it's 2 flights of stairs just to get to the front door :(

I had to stay in a hotel too which posed it's own problems.  No profiling bed puts me at risk in an emergency as I cannot always move well enough to get out of bed independently.  (thankfully when the alarm went off at 5am, I was so startled that I spasmed/jerked upright :P )  This also meant I need to give my mum a key and rely on her hanging around any time I needed to lie down.

The biggest problems in hotel rooms generally is the bathroom.  Who on earth thinks a bath is accessible regardless of how many grab rails it has.  I used this as an excuse to have a bath with lush products though.  Although for future reference, getting in is easier than getting out!  I had my mum to help + there was a ledge behind my back which made it vaguely possible to get out.

The last and most frustrating problem was the fact that my care is not portable. In other words I can't access it from anywhere other than my flat.  If I didn't have support of friends and family there's no way I could have gone.  I can't afford to (and shouldn't have to) pay someone out of my own pocket.  Thankfully my mother is now more accepting of my impairments and was willing to help out.*  Still, she shouldn't have had to take 3 days off work for the duration of my stay and come in to the town centre 2-3 times a day.  I know I'm not a burden but I feel like one and it's just not fair when the support should be in place.

My plan to improve things for the future is:

- continue to fight for direct payments so that my care is portable
- continue to fight for higher DLA so that I can afford the additional costs associated with 2 travelling.
- Learn how to drive and get a wheelchair accessible vehicle
-taxicard (applied but where is it!?!)

Once those are sorted perhaps then I will have someone to help with these:
- portable ramp
- supportive manual wheelchair
- bath board/over bath shower chair
- suction grab rails (have but couldn't carry)

I really would like to visit people more often.  Being in someone's home is so much less draining than loud restaurants and pubs not to mention cheaper.



*big thanks to travelodge and their massive towels for helping me preserve my modesty ;)