Frontpage
Hi Folks,
For all those, who missed me on FB, on the blog, in the stadium or wherever else: Yes, I’m still alive!
I am currently in Rehab and what my writing concerns slightly out of action. I’m sorry that I’m unable to answer any messages but hope to continue with my blog soon. Nevertheless, my presence in this facility immensely lowers the average age 
Teddy Greetings from the Rollinator
Translator BW
Sorry, this entry is only available in Deutsch.
Frontpage
The traffic in Sri Lanka for us Europeans takes some time to get used to. As a training camp I recommend Frankfurt “Platz der Republic” during rush hour and a fair; driving through junctions, honking horns and squeezing through anything… and somewhere in between still fits a tuk-tuk or a moped.
This is called efficient road use – keeping a safety distance is wasted asphalt During the past 15 years a lot has happened with the infrastructure, but somehow pedestrian crosswalks are still perceived as decoration, and cows and elephants always have the right of way anyway … aahh … or so.
Using the horn is prohibited in front of temples, and this is really the ONLY traffic rule obeyed!!! 
This moped rider shows some astounding creativity in developing a new innovative safety concept for two-wheelers, at the same time bio-airbag, side impact protection and spacer. For this purpose he uses renewable raw materials in form of jackfruits.
Other than the cushioning effect in accidents ripe jackfruits spread such a stench that no other vehicle dares to get closer than a few feet. However, the improvement of the aerodynamics is negatively offset by the increase of the total weight of 150 kg – from zero to 50 in 2 minutes. To read the complede “Sri Lanka- serial” ,
Translator BW
Frontpage
We were suitably picked up by a driver named “Amigo”, sporting aviator mirror sunglasses, in a silver-colored Hummer (as labeled on the hood, yet with a Honda logo at the steering wheel) and brought to the military airport in Colombo.
We were greeted by a welcome committee ready with a wheelchair, in which Lieutenant Dan probably sat already. Fortunately, they let me use my own.
We were the only tourists at the entire airport. The security chief himself took care of us right away. Our tour guide did honor to his name when he was suddenly back in the security area before us, because the security chief happened to be an old classmate of his.
Meanwhile the four bored immigration attendants were waiting in their turquoise blue saris for the end of their work day.
A golf cart pulled up equipped with mountings for flags, so strictly speaking a diplomat’s car. I started to feel like celebrity After some negotiation I was allowed to make the 100 meters to the launch site in my chair. For that I was accompanied by one of the turquoise wrapped ladies as a personal umbrella holder and also by two of my very own security guards. In my entourage puttered the golf cart with the three other passengers, one more sari-lady and even more security. Did I have a sign “Follow Me” on my vest?!
Arriving at the helicopter we were greeted by the pilot while another three men came from the hangar. I guess, I was the highlight of the day, perhaps even month, and everybody wanted to be there when the crazy white wheelchair man boarded the helicopter.
Approx. twelve men stood around me and waited for a command, how to best get me up and in there (seat height was about 1.40 m). The well proven safety grip did not work in this case.
As a result my old dream of a palanquin wheelchair was almost met, when four men lifted my wheelchair up to entrance height, from where I could with the help of my slide board comfortably slide on to the seat. This way my slide board literally turned in to a flight board The ground troops were thrilled! For a short while I felt like sitting on a throne, since everybody else was still down on the ground. I was tempted to wave to my people like the Queen, but then rather decided on a shy thumbs-up. What an uplifting feeling! It is indeed very special for someone who sits in a wheelchair, to suddenly be the tallest person around
We were flying towards the middle of the island to Kandy, and the pilot managed nicely to stay ahead of the looming monsoon rains.
The view of the island was, particularly of the highlands, comparable with the landscapes that one knows from films like Platoon and Forrest Gump. Everything is green, tea plantations and more palm trees than I have ever seen in 1 1/2 hours (and no apple trees – no apple trees, just pineapples!)
Shortly before landing, the pilot radioed that he needed more time to get ground clearance, since he had a wheelchair on board. To us this seemed a little exaggerated, because there was certainly not any more traffic than at the airport Kassel-Calden at rush-hour, (one plane the day). But everything must have its order
Back on the ground we already saw two men, who pushed my wheelchair from the hangar. One of them examined my sliding board from all sides in sheer fascination. I suspect he started that evening to work the jigsaw ; -) He must have been quite disappointed when it wasn’t used again for the transfer back from the helicopter…
Instead, the classical safety grip/throwing technique came to use, so that after the roundtrip the departure happened by a wheelchair spot landing. The Pilot was obviously impressed, because he said: “I know my game”.
On the way back the same welcome committee was awaiting us including umbrella holder, security guards and golf cart. The weather god was also gracious and only changed his mind after I was safe in my wheelchair again. Then the sky opened and the monsoon season greeted us. My personal umbrella holder kept walking next to me, unmoved by the fact that she got drenched, but she probably was used to this kind of downpour – her only comment was “It’s just rain”.
I would have liked to show you more evidence, but since we are talking about a military airport and members of the military, we held back a little on the photo shooting. A checkup of the accessibility of the local military jail was not part of the itinerary…
To read the complede “Sri Lanka- serial” , click here.
Translator BW
Sorry, this entry is only available in Deutsch.
Sorry, this entry is only available in Deutsch.
Frontpage
Next we needed to select the airline. Since Sri Lankan Airlines is the only one that offers direct flights from Frankfurt and also because our friend is a flight attendant with them (a few connections can’t hurt – see older Blog: food on wings), this was our choice. Various airlines from the Gulf States also offer flights to Sri Lanka, but of course not direct.
Sri Lankan Airlines allows 30 kg free baggage per person plus carry-on; my wheelchair plus a second one if needed, would also be free.
However, I had to make some phone calls (my “favorite activity” ), until I got the confirmation that both my bathroom chair “Artosy”, which can be folded to fit in a hard case, as well as other medical aids would be carried for free, even without prior notification.
(Up to then I only knew that all expedients must be declared in advance. This info is as always without guarantee.)
In addition Sri Lankan Airlines still wanted some a kind of a medical form signed by my family doctor. Always something new…
The “International Medical Information Form” was what felt like the eighth fax copy of a micro script in English, which was hard to decipher before translation.
For a readable PDF-version of the questionnaire of Air Berlin click here.
Medizinisches Informationsformular (deutsch): Teil I und Teil II
Medical Information Form (englisch): Part II and Part II
Since I needed some additional vaccinations for precaution, and also a certificate for my meds, my Doc got to see me quite often during the weeks before the vacation.
At the end our luggage pile equaled that of an emigration! Between the 4 of us we hauled 5 suitcases incl. bathroom chair, 3 carry-ons, 1 XL-Wheelchair Backpack and 2 oversized women’s purses. Had there been a film crew from VOX, it wouldn’t have surprised me. However, despite shower chair and other tools we still had 30 kg unused capacity. We only declared my Rolli as special baggage.
Yay, 30kg free luggage for Souvenirs on the return flight – … the creditcard might get hot!
To be continued…
Click here to go to older blogs on the subject of “flying with a wheelchair”
To read all parts of the “Sri Lanka-Series” click here.
Translator BL
Frontpage
For as long as I have been confined to a wheelchair I’ve been on air travel for vacation for more than 10 times, but to rather close destinations (Mediterranean or Canary Islands, see earlier articles).
Up to now I didn’t dare to go on a long-haul flight. My concerns were not even about being able to get to the lavatories throughout the entire flight (there are other solutions), but rather the question as to whether my bum and back will hold up.
However, friends of ours immigrated to Sri Lanka about 5 years ago. Sri Lanka? Tropical climate, hot, high humidity – a climatic challenge for someone who can’t sweat anymore. How accessible actually is the infrastructure? Do they know the word barrier-free at all? We were there about 15 years ago (when I was still a pedestrian), therefore my doubts.
Well, common friends have convinced us, to venture out on that trip together. Now began the search for a suitable hotel. My preferred travel agent Runa-Reisen who specializes in travel in a wheelchair, does not offer Sri Lanka in his program (why not?). However, they asked for a travel report after my trip
So off to the travel agency, to one of the “big” ones (the one with the three letters)! Of course, the travel agent had no experience with travel in a wheelchair, but he really did his best. They, too wanted a travel report after the trip.
Fortunately, we have local friends as mentioned before. The Blue Water Hotel Wadduwa, seemed reasonably suitable and is only a half hour drive from their house.
Therefore, I provided my friend with a checklist created by me for wheelchair accessible accommodations – bed, space in the bathroom, tub or shower, steps, etc. – and instructed him to look at the rooms and to take photos.
PDF download of the checklist: German version , English version
It turned out that the standard rooms would have been okay space wise, the bathrooms however unsuitable for me. They had tubs instead of showers and too little space for a wheelchair anyway. Nevertheless, there were two Club Suites with fully handicapped accessible bathrooms incl. floor-level showers! This was worth the extra cost; and since we travelled off-season, availability was not a problem.
The Shower-wheelchair “Artosy” fits into a suitcase and is my own.
The floor-leveled shower only caused medium-sized floods lol …
If the beds are pushed together, even a balcony visit is possible
To be continued..
To read the complede “Sri Lanka- serial”, click here.
Translator BW
Frontpage
I’ve always been passionate about sport, in particular the Olympics of course, even though I’ve never been there at a live event. Summer or winter Olympics, makes no difference to me. In my previous life I was more of a winter sports enthusiast. For evidence click here.
When I was still in the hospital after my accident in 2008 the Paralympics Games in Beijing were shown on big screen TV during my physiotherapy.
I was particularly impressed with the incredibly fast racing wheelchairs, because at that time I was just able to move about 50 yards in less than six minutes in the hospital hallways without my oxygen tent, or without qualified pushes
Last week I met with the Tunisian racing wheelchair guy Ahmed Aouadi, who participated in the Olympics in 2008 in Beijing and in 2012 in London. He currently trains as a “lone warrior” for Rio de Janeiro 2016 at a sports club close to my home.
Even with my motorized hand bike under full engine assistance I didn’t stand a chance against Ahmed. If you look closely, you can see that at about 20 km/h (12.5 mph) every now and then he’s waiting for me.
His INVACARE -Racing wheelchair weighs a mere 6 kilograms (13.4 lbs), which equals the weight of one of the two batteries on my bike. Nevertheless, that is no excuse!
My highest respect for such athletic performance!
I’m not giving up that easily! I might be slow in a wheelchair, but I know how to tune engines
Frontpage
Ever since I joined the folks on wheels, I carry my mobile phone/smartphone on a lanyard close to my heart ; -)
In the rare event that some cable gets wrapped around the rear wheel of the Wheelchair and therefore vehemently denies me to continue my ride, at least then should there be a phone in range.
I don’t think I need to elaborate about the extremely modest battery life of smart phones. Of course, the battery should always be full when out in the wild.
With my crooked fingers it takes me an estimated three minutes daily to stick the Micro USB charger in to the phone to be charged. I just realized that in the last three years I have rendered two full days of my life to my cell phone plug… just great!
The easiest solution to counter this waste of my time appeared to be in the purchase of a cradle charger. Unfortunately, it was not compatible with the leather cover of my phone.
A few years ago I built a holding device for the TV Magazine with just a small metal paper clip. This gave me the idea (see older post).
The perfect size to hold the Micro USB Plug is 20mm x 10mm x 8mm (0.8“ x 0.4” x 0.3”)
Attach a small cable tie and you practically get to plug it in without any finger function and daily blood pressure increase.
The paper clips (binder clips) can be found on the internet, in the stationery shop or after several days of searching maybe in one of your clutter trays.
For other tips on the subject of “tools for restricted finger and hand movement” like me, click here.
Translator BW
Startseite
Frontpage
Ein tolles Beispiel fĂĽr Inklusion, der Spielplatz wurde 2014 gebaut. Dort hatte ich am Tag zuvor auch ein Kind im Rolli gesehen.
Das mit dem Rolli befahrbare Kletter-SpielgerĂĽst fand ich super.
war der Knaller, die ich als bekennendes Spielkind natĂĽrlich gleich ausprobieren musste.
Man fährt über die Klappe auf die Schaukel, diese kommt hydraulisch hoch, dann legt den Sicherheitsbügel um, und dann kann es losgehen / fahren.
Die Schaukel ist klasse und hat einen riesen SpaĂź gemacht, man sollte es aber nicht ĂĽbertreiben….
Bei meinem 360° Überschlag waren leider gerade die Akkus der Kamera leer
Frontpage
Everybody who is somewhat familiar with Frankfurt am Main knows that the new tram line 17 that was built in the district of Sachsenhausen is running since January.
During the construction months the big intersection Stresemannallee-Kennedyallee, to which I live close by, became an “adventure playground” for people like me.
From the beginning barrier-free construction was planned, of which in the next few years I should benefit greatly. The city of Frankfurt and the Dept. for Public Transportation is currently investing millions for the accessibility, what is absolutely commendable.
However, back in November I was kind of speechless, when I tried to cross the street with the Rolli and couldn’t make it up the “supposedly” lowered curb of one of those main traffic islands.
On the left side the curb was at least 10 cm high and inclined to about 5 cm, so that the Rolli was on three wheels only and I almost unintentionally had to leave my vehicle.
So I went by the running traffic on the bicycle lane next to the island, which was more like a daring challenge for a wheeler…
On the other side of the same island a “specialist” ever so skillfully sawed off a piece of the curb, which made me fear the sharp edge could cause a flat tire.
I approached the construction workers several times and the engineer in charge called me at home to discuss my complaint. He promised to look into the matter, but nothing happened for weeks.
Once in a while I inquired with the Frankfurt StraĂźenverkehrsamt (FDT), but as I now know they were not directly responsible for the traffic island.
By the end of February, the curb unfortunately had not automatically lowered itself; I had a dentist appointment and once again needed to use the intersection.
With some reservations I took the bike lane again, when a car went by so awfully close that I felt its side mirror on my jacket.
That was too much!
With a bit of effort I managed to get a competent clerk of the FDT on the phone and explained to her how dangerous the current status is.
Ten days later I was once again at my “favorite” intersection. Much to my surprise the traffic island had been completely revised. Thanks to Mrs. R. from this sit!
Look at the difference, I am delighted.
The piece of curb “lowered by saw” I will submit to the city as a sample, lol … !!!!
Because of somebody’s effort, the other side of the curb was also replaced.
In the last few years I have seen time and time again, that everybody can make a difference. If you see deficiencies speak with the people in charge. Often it is easier to change something than you might think.
Click here on “Eigude Shame” for similar stories.
Translator BW
.
Translator BW
Frontpage
Ich hatte in einem älteren Artikel berichtet, dass ich einen eigenen Türspion in Hobbithöhe in meiner Wohnungstür montiert habe, siehe älteren Blog.
Dort fehlte bisher eine passende Abdeckung auf der Innenseite und ich wollte nicht wie meine Oma einen Streifen Leukoplast oder ein Pflaster darĂĽber kleben.
Das Projekt ist endlich beendet.
Es war schon seit Monaten geplant, dass mir ein Kumpel ein Loch in eine MĂĽnze oder in irgendeine andere runde Scheibe bohrt und wir diese dann an die TĂĽr schrauben.
Ich hatte die ganze Zeit den Gedanken, so eine passende Scheibe mit Loch schon einmal irgendwo gesehen zu haben.
Ich fuhr schon seit Monaten ohne zu Wissen, das passende Ersatzteil mit mir rum. Hin und wieder sollte man in seinem Portemonnaie schauen, da gibt es nicht nur das Geld fĂĽr Ersatzteile, sondern auch manchmal das Passende…!!!
Die Ă„hnlichkeit ist verblĂĽffend,… gell…???
Ich sollte vielleicht etwas genauer mein Portemonaie durchsuchen, ich brauche auch neue Sommerreifen.
Hier geht’s,…ääh..fährt man zur 
Sorry, this entry is only available in Deutsch.
;
