Archive for the ‘Urlaub’ Category

Technical Aids Tips and Tricks XXIX

星期五, 三月 1st, 2013

Flying with a wheelchair!!!

It is actually no big secret, but I am asked again and again how I make it into the plane, because as is known I am neither able to walk, jump nor hop.

The answer is very easy, with a plane wheelchair and two strong guys!!

When the plane has docked at the gate I move with my own wheelchair to the plane door.

If you have an outside position you drive to the plane with a normal bus.
From there you move upwards to the height of the plane with a

plane lifting bus

If this “Beam me up Scotty Bus” is even working properly you should be the first at the upper door (the other passengers are coming from the other side of the plane).
I have already experienced this differently, (see older blogpost).

In this bus two kind airport employees help you with the transfer from your own wheelchair to the worldwide similar

plane wheelchair (model on the left)

On this piece of equipment you are pulled through the plane until you arrive at a special seat row where you can fold up the armrest to the aisle.

Then the famous “dwarf tossing” to the window seat can start…!!!

Don’t be afraid, the guys know what they are doing!!! ;-)

This time we have set a new record on the return flight, only 1 hour 40 minutes from landing until leaving the airport building. :-(

Click here on “Flying” to read stories all about “Flying with a wheelchair”.

Many years ago, I have worked at a beverage wholesaler, and the plane wheelchair always reminds me a bit of a sack truck with chair.

Translator BL

Back from Wheelchairgolf trial lesson from Tenerife!

星期一, 二月 25th, 2013

Frontpage

Next Blogpost on 01.03.

Technical Aids Tips and Tricks IXL

星期四, 十一月 15th, 2012

对不起,此内容只适用于EnglishDeutsch

Sport News III

星期四, 八月 30th, 2012

Today is the start of the

Paralympics in London!

My personal tip, watch

Wheelchair Rugby and Wheelchair Basketball

on TV. It is unbelievable how fast one can move in a wheelchair!!!

In February 2012, when I was in Tenerife in the wheelchair hotel “Mar y Sol”, the Swedish national team was training for wheelchair rugby, (see older blogpost with video).

I tried myself in wheelchair hockey, “Sport News II”.

During the opening ceremony I even recognized a Swedish player.

Wheelchair basketball is just power:

Frankfurt “Mainhatten Sky-Wheelers”

Sailing is of course paralympic as well!

In Mallorca there is an organization FUNDACIÓN HANDISPORT
With them a wheelchair user can go waterskiing, golfing and driving beach buggy, and even sailing.

I have tried it of course, it was a perfect day:

What would have happened when my sailing teacher (behind me in the picture) would have fallen into the water?

For the next Paralympics I still have to practice a bit. ;-)

Translator BL

 

Wheelchair Excursion Mallorca Part V

星期四, 七月 19th, 2012

In Palma Nova there is a very long promenade which is dragging on over three beaches.
Good floor plates, the wheelchair is rolling and rolling and rolling…

On two of these three beaches there is a special roofed

beach area for handicapped like me and …ehhh… babies…

There is a

beach wheelchair

on each in which you get transferred from your own wheelchair by two nice helpers from the Spanish Red Cross and pulled across the beach into the water.

I knew these special wheelchairs already from Tenerife see older blogpost, but with a water temperature of 15°C I deferred a test series of these models for an indefinite time.

If you are only allowed to use this beach area as wheelchair user when you have got a baby with you???

Translator BL

 

Wheelchair Excursion Mallorca Part IV

星期一, 七月 2nd, 2012

The hotel complex Ponent Mar in Palma Nova is definitely recommendable. It has 3 accessible one room apartments and plenty of ramps with the known

Spanish 6° gradient.

(see older post)

Rampe

The hotel is up on a hill on a steep coast from which you have a great view to the beaches of Palma Nova.
A wheelchair tractive like my Minitrac to climb the hotel hill is beneficial.

Alternatively it should be considered to take along a well-trained human wheelchair pusher before booking. The hotel is approached by taxis as well which are available within short time.

Mallorca

Mallorca

Someone has really put good thoughts in the furnishing of the accessible rooms:

On grade shower with separable shower screens, adapted kitchenette, extra wide sliding door with extra ramp to the balcony, clothing hooks in hobbit height and even lowerable clothes rail in the closet.

Mallorca

After we have noticed on the first evening in the hotel restaurant that the tables were not high enough for my wheelchair I was routed on the next day by the good-humoured waiters with several holas:”

Without further ado they had placed a slightly higher table strategically well and reserved it for us for the duration of our stay.

You can quickly start a conversation with the other hotels guests in the languages Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch and English. German is rather uncommon.

I have been to Mallorca for the first time, but not one of my stereotypes was fulfilled:

The Sangria was only available in glass carafes and even without colourful straws.

Unfortunately I had to do without the battle with the English for the sunbeds at the pool, there were more than enough sunbeds available. Furthermore the other guests were deeply relaxed…

Not even the English rocked the corridor each night until 3:00 h.

Malloca

As single wheelchair user I was totally “included” in the hotel, even though most of the hotel staff and guests probably never heard the word inclusion before 8-)

Translator BL

 

Wheelchair Excursion Mallorca Part III

星期日, 六月 3rd, 2012

I recommend to each wheeler to ring around 30 minutes before landing for the flight attendant, provided that you can reach the buzzer… and point out that you need assistance at destination to leave the plane.

To be on the safe side I ask additionally that my wheelchair and Minitrac, like officially tagged “Delivery at aircraft” (see older blogpost), should please stay at the plane and not be treated as piece of luggage.

If the wheelchair is lying on the belt for bulky luggage and you are still sitting in the plane the whole thing gets a little annoying.

I also ask for the reason that the pilot can leave some time because he has to wait until I have left the plane.

This can easily take 30 minutes until a kind assistant is coming who might even ask you if you are the “wheelchair“ and able to walk… everything already experienced!!!

During this waiting period you can kill the time by joking with the crew, bumming some nuts and watching the cleaners at work.
Don’t forget to send a crew member down the gangway to look for the wheelchair so that nobody throws it to the baggage cart.

Well, fine…!!!

We were on Mallorca!!!

As usual it took a little longer to leave the plane. I was pleased to hear from a flight attendant that my wheelchair was still standing in front of the plane. Ufff…

I could receive my Minitrac, as “NOT desired” at the baggage claim in the terminal.

A lady from the Spanish handicap service at the airport

sin barreras

with which I already made very good experiences in Tenerife and Lanzarote accompanied me to the baggage belt.

She reminded me a little of the stereotype about the grumpy Spanish waiters…!

The luggage was found quickly, it is anyway always the last on the belt. After the 50th round the sun lotion turns into butter ;-)
The lady wanted to back off already, but there was still something missing, where was my Minitrac!!!

There was no real consent where the Minitrac could be.

After around 20 minutes “Gate 2“ opened and I had won, my Trac was found. Yippie…

Quickly got out of the terminal, the taxi service to the hotel was already waiting, and in record time I was in the hotel in Palma Nova in my room!!!

To be continued

Translator BL

 

Wheelchair Excursion Mallorca Part II

星期四, 五月 31st, 2012

I was standing in the more or less private bus with my Minitrac in front of the plane on an outside position at Frankfurt Airport.

As often before, I was waiting for the

lifting bus

to beam me up to the plane.

Meanwhile my Minitrac was loaded to the plane.

In the meantime also the other passengers had arrived with busses and were waiting on the other side of the plane which I didn’t know.

The lifting bus didn’t have its best day and acted a little stubbornly. It absolutely didn’t want to lift upwards. After at least 10 minutes I finally arrived at the door of the plane.

Then everything went fast. Two strong paramedics lifted me on the small plane wheelchair which is nothing else than a sack truck in chair format and pushed me almost through the whole plane to my seat.

Then they lifted/threw me as usual across two other seats on to the window seat.
I learnt on the return flight from a flight attendant that as of late due to the anti-discrimination-law you don’t have to necessarily accept a window seat even as wheelchair user.

What a nonsense… the seat neighbour on the window seat in the plane would certainly be happy if I had the middle seat and he would have to proof his sportiness in high and long jump when going to the toilet!!!

In each aircraft there are specially labelled handicap seats with pictogram on the wall. My intelligence wasn’t sufficient yet to understand why the seats are so far at the rear end of the plane.

This time I didn‘t have one of these labelled VIP seats, what a shame!

(photo from return flight.)

After I was finally “stowed away” properly in the plane the other passengers were allowed to board as well.
It was my fault again, we had about 15 minutes delay.

Short before take-off there was as usual an announcement from the cockpit, roughly like this:

Dear passengers,

We are pleased to welcome you on board of the flight from Frankfurt to Palma de Mallorca.

I would like to apologize that you had to wait in the busses.

We have a wheelchair user on board for whom the boarding took a little bit longer!!!

Ehhh…… I have been in a plane quite often, but a, let’s call it personal welcome from the captain was new to me.

I was a little sorry for the two pedestrians who were sitting two rows ahead of me on the two VIP seats with handicap pictogram on the wall, they probably got some nice looks ;-)

I was briefly considering to ask a flight attendant if they had smoked something up front in the cockpit, but I didn’t, I was in a good mood and had a good day.

I plead guilty as aircraft take-off delayer.

Translator BL

 

Wheelchair Excursion Mallorca Part I

星期二, 五月 29th, 2012

After I have tested the canary islands for accessibility already several times (see older blogpost), the choice was Mallorca this time.

Although I have never been to “Malle” before the challenge shouldn’t be too big, German is spoken… ok, English and some Spanish are there as well ;-)

The number of accessible accommodations seemed rather limited, if you know any please write a comment.

I selected one of 3 accessible studio apartments in a normal hotel complex in Palma Nova. I had the suspicion to be the only wheelchair user in the complex, this could be funny.

ATTENTION, PRODUCT PLACEMENT OUT OF CONVICTION:

I have booked like several times before through a special travel agency for handicapped www.runa-reisen.de, with whom I always made good experiences. They additionally organized a vertically adjustable bed and a shower commode chair.

Should you need an ambulant nursing service on Mallorca the situation gets a little bit tricky.
In the internet you find immediately around 10 addresses of nursing services. Some of these don’t exist anymore for years, but the website is still online. Great…!!!

I talked to a physician in Germany who has sold his nursing service on Mallorca 10 years ago which is bankrupt in the meantime. The doc is still named in the website credits and doesn’t get his name deleted ;-)

I had some nice conversations with private persons who had involuntarily taken over the contact phone numbers of these websites, but they have given me other possible addresses of nursing services which they knew.
At some stage even I was successful, German nursing service, top service, address on request.

After extensive planning, I “only” wanted to go for 12 days to Mallorca to the sea and not to climb the Kilimanjaro, we finally started.

Without major difficulties I arrived at some stage after transfer, check-in and security check in the handicap service private shuttle on an outside position at Frankfurt Airport in front of the plane to Mallorca!!!

To be continued…

Translator BL

 

Back from Wheelchair-Excursion-Mallorca!

星期六, 五月 26th, 2012

Next Blogpost 28.05.12

Sport News Part II

星期六, 三月 17th, 2012

The sun beds in the Mar y Sol in Tenerife at the pool are extra high for us wheelers so that it is easier to transfer.

But because constant hanging around on the sun bed can lead to permanent back disorders I decided to perform some complementary training.

After the training match of the Swedish national team in wheelchair rugby (see older blogpost) the sports hall of our hotel was available for us tourists again.

The idea of my mates to play wheelchair hockey I found quite appealing.
Once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away… or roundabout 25 years ago it was the last time when I had a hockey stick in my hands.
At this time I was playing hockey at the club SC 1880 Frankfurt until the last youth age class. Back then of course with real wooden sticks.

The plastic sticks were not heavy at all with about 200 g. But there it was again, the challenge: How to play hockey when you are not able to hold the hockey stick because of the paralysis of the hands as quadriplegic.

The first attempts to bind the stick onto the arm with bandages and theraband did not lead to the desired success.

With black duct tape a match overlasting

Hockey stick-hand-arm-adaption

could be achieved. I was quite satisfied with the result, and the wheelchair hockey match was fun.

After the match there was actually only one loser, my skin…!!!

Wheelchair hockey is excellently suitable for permanent hair removal ;-)

Translator BL

 

Training and Test Week Tenerife Part II

星期三, 三月 7th, 2012

Readers who are following my blog know that I was travelling to Tenerife in February for the sole reason to test extensively the modifications and offroad suitability of my Minitric with its new

Tractor Tyre Traction Technology

(see older blogpost)

Exactly one year ago I had purchased the Minitrac over there so that it was running in its home stomping ground again for 12 days.
The Minitrac never showed any difficulties with the hilly landscape of the volcano island yet.

Solid ground, also with stones to a reasonable extent, is manageable quite well for the Minitrac with its special tyres so that hiking trails in the alps should not be too big challenges either.


(Fake!)

With its two new batteries of each 12 V /52 AH you don’t have to worry about distances of easily 25 km.

Rides on the soft sand beach are not possible, the Trac is too heavy, the wheels would spin.
If you urgently need a full-body exfoliation I recommend to drive with the Trac into the sand of a nudist beach and apply full throttle, the flinging sand will do the rest ;-)

The special feature from Swisstrac and Minitrac is that you can move up and down curbs which is still possible with tractor tyres.

Because of the new tyres, the rather friendly-appearing Trac suddenly has got a rather grim appearance which has the additional positive effect that each pedestrian looks a bit puzzled and immediately takes a safety distance in order not to be overrun by my rolling offroad power box.

A cross design on the instep of the foot doesn’t seem to be currently in fashion.

Of course the Minitrac was tested in civilization as well. Due to the rather big turning circle shopping in supermarkets and department stores is a bit inconvenient. The rear exit of the supermarket uncommonly has an 8 meter long tiled ramp with 20° gradient which of course I had to test. Also this ramp could be managed without human push from behind the wheelchair.

A great camouflage, in this row of children’s fun rides I don’t really stand out :-)

In a special area of the beach promenade almost all of the floor tiles were broken so that I was glad that I had also equipped my wheelchair with mountainbike tyres for the test week.

The Minitrac has passed the tests with flying colours, and additional planned modifications can be realized. Firstly the headlights which were damaged on the return flight will be replaced.

I will still report about the battle Minitrac vs. Powergolfer in Tenerife!!!

No Comment..!!

星期二, 三月 6th, 2012

When I was watching the fine art of women’s beach volleyball (of course out of sporting interest only) from the beach promenade in Los Cristianos in Tenerife, two elderly ladies came by and addressed me in English. They wanted to give me such an Anglo-Saxon information brochure.


The women are playing on the left field ;-)

I had a specific presentiment and said to the ladies that my English is not the best. It turned out quickly that the ladies were German.

Because I stood next to a small wall and they blocked my escape – I didn’t want to drive over their feet with my harnessed Minitrac – I got involved into a little chat with them.

Finally they gave me a German brochure about stressed and overworked physicians… eh…!!!

Well, since my accident 2007 I am quite familiar with this subject, but mainly from the perspective of a hospital bed during the ward round.

Just another two years, and I will know more physicians than there are beer brands in Germany.

By taking a closer look into the information material I had to grin a little about the up-to-dateness, have a look yourself:

Unbelievable but true:

Edition January 2005,

At that time I was still pedestrian!

(Translator’s note: German readers immediately recognize “Awakening”, the magazine of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Germany)

Well, strictly speaking the first edition of the bible wasn’t published yesterday either!

Translator BL

Wheelchair Rugby

星期六, 三月 3rd, 2012

 If you are sitting in a wheelchair and in addition to your legs also your arms or hands are handicapped it doesn’t make much sense to play wheelchair basketball.

There is a sport where it is possible to let off steam nevertheless:

Wheelchair Rugby,

previously also called Killerball”.

As a player you probably feel a bit like in a bumper car on a fun fair in your childhood.

The objective of the game is, similar to American Football, to bring a ball with the wheelchair from one side of the field to the end zone (“key”) on the other side. An offence has to be finished within 40 seconds.

Every team has 4 players, and it is really getting rough.

I was lucky to watch wheelchair rugby on highest level in the new sports hall of the hotel Mar y Sol in Tenerife (see blogpost below).

The Swedish national team who is the current European champion was in the same hotel for a training camp for the Paralympics 2012 in London. 3 Canadians were with them as “sparring partners”. (The Swedish coach is Canadian.)

On the hand rims of the sport wheelchair tyres there is black resin for a better grip, similar to pole vault. After the first training the sports hall was inaugurated, the new parquet floor had some black stripes. With a photo of this “sports art” you would probably be overwhelmed with awards at the next “Documenta” (translator’s note: yearly exhibition for contemporary art in Germany). Allegedly the stripes could be wiped away later. What a pity.

There was training in the morning and matches in the afternoon.

The match lasts for 4 x 8 minutes.

You could still hear the colliding of wheelchairs in the 3rd floor of the hotel resort. The special sport wheelchairs virtually consist of dents and were already often welded.

Sometimes a good defence, i.e. frontal with the wheelchair against the opponent, reminds of mountain goats in the alps at rutting season.

Click on the picture to see a Video!

Unbelievable how fast you can get with a wheelchair…!!!

Every now and then a rollover of a player in the wheelchair and some burst tyres of course belong to Killerball… erm… wheelchair ruby.

The game is characterized very much by tactics.

If 2 players out of 4 players e.g. block an opponent there is space to throw the ball to a team mate (there are only four players), who possibly makes it then to the end zone. Perhaps the blocked one is “standing” 2 meters tall, catches the ball and passes it on, everything is possible. More handicapped players are defenders and place themselves in the way of the supposed centre forward. They have a kind of basket in front of the wheelchair which is suited for blocking and as “battering ram”.

The complete course of the match changes in seconds and is endlessly exciting.

Boom-Bang and a little bit like chess, what do you want more as a man ;-)

The matches were led by a quite decisive female referee bravely without steel-capped shoes.

I can recommend to everyone to watch wheelchair rugby at the Paralympics. I hope that the matches will be broadcasted although Germany according to my information is not qualified as 6th of the European Championships.

Translator BL

 

Training and Test week Tenerife

星期三, 二月 29th, 2012

After spending the last few days almost exclusively with my hobby as office communication specialist (make phone calls, pay invoices, scan, hole, file or shred documents, ok, everything is occupational therapy as well) I’m ready to continue now:

The hotel Mar y Sol in the south of Tenerife is one the most known wheelchair hotels.

Why it necessarily had to be built on top of a hill can only be explained so that according to someone’s opinion the wheelchair pusher should exercise a little bit as well.

Many “fresh wheelers” spend their first holiday there, because with the medical supply store “Lero” next door offering 24 hrs nursing services as well and renting out virtually all needed equipment it is possible to book the carefree package. At the same time you will never hear the word “patient” from the nurses, one is referred to as guest, and this is how one is treated. The nursing costs can be settled with the German nursing insurance, depending on the care level. The “pain providers“ from the physiotherapy facility „Terralava“ torture with additional charge on German prescription as well. Plenty of electric wheelchairs and scooters are present, as one would like to go down to the handicapped beach as well (see older blogpost).

The hotel has 2 pools, one of them heated to 32° C.
A “lifeguard” helps with the transfer to the chair of a pool lifter and winds one down as if he would water a ship’s boat. With a little bit of luck he also helps to come out of the pool again ;-)

Almost all guests are repeaters, some overwinter there for 3 months, so that the stay is always a bit like a class reunion, you know each other…

It is a bit crazy if the wheelers stand in each other’s way at the buffet. You always find a way very relaxed and without stress. There is no fight at the buffet, on the contrary you help each other according to your handicap.

There is also animation and some program in the evenings, but I am missing the classic “club dance”.
The tradition of 1-sheet-bingo and 10-question-quiz for a bottle of sparkling wine is held high here.

This time I was there for the 4th time.

On the day of arrival I heard something about a gym…, did I miss something???

When I was there last year there was already knocking and hammering in the side building. They have built a sports hall (and not a small one!), without asking me, what a cheek!!!

I suspected the worst:

Would I have to be involved in sporting activities, although I actually travelled there for a Minitrac-tractor tyres-test week?

To be continued…

Click on tag “Tenerife” to view older blogposts!

Translator BL