My Story

On a journey to rediscover travel after a spinal cord injury as a wheelchair user.

Although there are many travel guides and blogs online, there is severe underrepresentation regarding travelling as a wheelchair user. Especially travelling as a new paraplegic after  a spinal cord injury. While I am new to wheelchair travelling and still fairly new to “wheelie life” in general.. I can offer a fresh perspective on the trials and tribulations of travelling with a SCI (spinal cord injury), rediscovering my freedom and new sense of self en route.

Spinal cord injuries are highly variable and the aftermath is different for everyone.

I can offer the my side of the story as  a young, active, full time wheelchair user. Learning things on the fly (or roll..) and adapting to this new way of living. Working to compile information on wheelchair friendly adventures, educating the public about living with a disability; as well as promoting advocacy and change for persons with disabilities.

In what seems like both yesterday and a lifetime ago…

I  sustained a T10 complete spinal cord injury in a recreational accident March 2018. This event forever truncated my life into a clean cut before and after. It is akin to being reborn into an alternate dimension. One where I felt fundamentally like the same person; even though how I interacted with the world, and it with me drastically changed.

The hardest thing for me to deal with is the loss.

The loss of spontaneity. The loss of my sense of self and the loss of so many activities I used to enjoy. I had plans to go survival trekking in Nepal. To do my 300hr Yoga Teacher Training in India. Plans to hike Machu Picchu and plans to go surfing in Sri Lanka. In the initial weeks after my injury I have vivid memories of crying in the hospital bed, mourning all the places I would never be able to explore, and all the adventures cut short.

The single biggest source of inspiration and hope for expeditions to come, has been the “wheelie” community around the world.

Social media has a bad rap for being negative and insidious. It helps me so much in dark days. To see other people transforming tragedy into triumph. Following their dreams, and making things happen. It reignited my sense of wonder and the spirit of adventure came alive again. Seeing people conquer what they were told was impossible and showing me we are never alone in our struggles.

The only way to make a more inclusive travel experience for all, is to be seen and be heard.

There is a general level of ignorance to overcome in public society regarding social perception of peoples with disabilities. While it is light-years ahead of where it has been there is a long way to go. Just because someone gets around differently, doesn’t mean they don’t have the same sense of adventure and need to see the world. Personally, travel has been my single greatest source of education. As well as, the biggest facilitator of growth and transformation.

Travel is a form of therapy and travel is a right for all.

The biggest obstacle is lack of information and awareness. It is ridiculous that in our “age of information” it is tough to find reliable and standardized accessibility information.

I’m a bit embarrassed to admit wheelchair accessibility was never something that crossed my mind when I was an able bodied person. It was definitely an out of sight and out of mind mentality. I had no direct experience with disability, and this has been a huge learning curve for my family, friends and me. A lot of the time simple solutions can go a long way into creating a fulfilling and dignified experience for all.

Universal design is equal access for all.

Every. Single. Person will be affected by disability in their lifetime. Whether it be due to injury, aging or acting as a caregiver to a loved one. The only sure thing in life is that we will get sick, at some point our bodies will become weak, and one day we will die.  This will happen at different rates for everyone, but it is the one thing that no one can escape.

I will be using this blog to help disperse information to assist those travelling with mobility issues.

People with disabilities are  the largest minority group in the world, and the most under represented, and/or misrepresented group.  Keep in mind what may work for me might not work for everyone. Everyone has different levels of ability, care needs, assistive equipment requirements and financial situations. As well as general level of comfort ( or ability) to be lifted and carried to work around access barriers. The biggest take away point is that everyone’s individual level of ability and comfort is different. I will do my best to be inclusive as I can regarding accessibility information. This way you can make informed choices to suit your own specific requirements.

Although I have given up a lot due to my injury, I refuse to let it take my sense of adventure. Although I have to do many things differently I am blessed to live in an age of technology and information. Which will enable me to live the best life I can for as long as I can.

Tomorrow is never guaranteed.

Returning to travel has always been a non-negotiable for me. Although I will not be survival trekking in Nepal or surfing in Sri Lanka anytime soon, I have renewed confidence that these experiences will one day be possible, and that I will be able to travel the world solo again. It will be baby steps for a while until that point, especially due to the coronavirus situation around the world. Although my plans and everyone else’s were interrupted by coronavirus and adventures will be close to home for the foreseeable future. But this downtime will allow for lots of time to compile information and plan future escapades. It will not be as easy as it was before my injury (literally booking a plane ticket a few days before departure, booking a hotel/hostel for the first two nights, packing a backpack and leaving for months figuring it out on the way) ..but with planning and ingenuity I will find my wanderlust again.

Here’s to all the adventures to come.