Showing posts with label accessible. Show all posts
Showing posts with label accessible. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 2, 2019
070219
the university
blocks all traffic for construction
fills up accessible parking spaces
hell, it's just summer school
Monday, November 12, 2018
111218c
This will only be useful to people in or near Tuscaloosa, but if that is you, please read on.
I have two pieces of accessible equipment that I no longer use and wants to give away.
1. A power wheelchair. This chair works and it has a battery charger. It's only real problem is that when you take your hand off the joystick it doesn't stop on a dime like it used to. It rolls a few inches and then stops.
2. A shower chair. The only real problem with this chair is that the armrest on the left side doesn't latch very well. I don't think it's dangerous, I used it that way for a year, but you do have to be a little careful if you pull up on that arm of the chair.
I have both of these at my house, and anyone is welcome to come get them. Call or text first: 205-246-9346, or email: jopnquog@gmail.com.
If you want this for someone in your family, or someone you know, or an agency or organization that gives or lends out handicapped equipment, then this is for you!
David
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Hotel Review: C+
Hotel Review
Courtyard Marriott Chevy Chase
just outside the District of Columbia
Score: C+ (79%)
Dates I stayed: Nov. 23-30, 2013
Reservations made by Able to Travel, which is affiliated with the United Spinal Association
So I'm a quadriplegic, & when I travel I have specific requirements, of which the most important are a roll-in shower & a roll-under bed. My ride is a Permobil power wheelchair, and out of it there's little I can do. We travel with a portable battery-powered lift called a Trixie Lift, chargers & other small essentials, and a shower chair, the purpose of which is obvious. I used to fill ½ a suitcase. Now it's two, plus lift & chair.
We learned long ago that making our own reservations led to us getting fucked by brainless & uncaring hotel staff 3 times out of 4. This was actually the first time Able to Travel didn't come through with an A+ experience. And I think they might've been lied to.
We arrived about 11:30 pm after a 14-hour drive. My wife used to drive 2-3 hours out of each long road trip. Now it's all on her. One of many clues to how lucky I am. I'd called from the road and sure enough the reserved room really had been saved for us. I don't know what Mary at Able to Travel tells reservation clerks. Maybe how many barrels of cement their next of kin will have to find if they want the whole body to be buried in one place. (Just kidding, Mary, please put down that knife & back away slowly.) My wife said “Roll-in shower and roll-under bed, right?” “They said they'd have that installed by now,” the clerk said, risking taking one for the team. “It's been delivered....” So we go up to the room, and sure enough, we have a platform bed. The Trixie Lift is a long-egged feller, and the legs go under the bed. If not, it's throw me or drop me. And that's going the easy way, getting into bed. Or, that would be the case, but we brought bed lifts. These are stout plastic flat-topped pyramids about a foot high. Drag the mattress & box springs a foot to the side & shove a bed lift under each exposed corner. Then laugh at the platform. The first time we needed a bed lift we didn't have one. Luckily we were visiting my dad. He lent us two cinder blocks. Anyway, the bed in the CMCC wheelchair room was on a platform, & we were damn lucky to have bed lifts.
Otherwise the place was great, except for the non-accessible doors to the back parking lot, which was the only place a wheelchair van fit. Also, the bathroom had no heat lamp. Did I mention that quads have internal thermometers for shit? My body thinks it is ALWAYS COLD. Sweat's rolling down my face and I'm still shivering. So yeah, a heat lamp helps. C+. The large bathroom & roll-in shower are nice, but not nice enough.
David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Courtyard Marriott Chevy Chase
just outside the District of Columbia
Score: C+ (79%)
Dates I stayed: Nov. 23-30, 2013
Reservations made by Able to Travel, which is affiliated with the United Spinal Association
So I'm a quadriplegic, & when I travel I have specific requirements, of which the most important are a roll-in shower & a roll-under bed. My ride is a Permobil power wheelchair, and out of it there's little I can do. We travel with a portable battery-powered lift called a Trixie Lift, chargers & other small essentials, and a shower chair, the purpose of which is obvious. I used to fill ½ a suitcase. Now it's two, plus lift & chair.
We learned long ago that making our own reservations led to us getting fucked by brainless & uncaring hotel staff 3 times out of 4. This was actually the first time Able to Travel didn't come through with an A+ experience. And I think they might've been lied to.
We arrived about 11:30 pm after a 14-hour drive. My wife used to drive 2-3 hours out of each long road trip. Now it's all on her. One of many clues to how lucky I am. I'd called from the road and sure enough the reserved room really had been saved for us. I don't know what Mary at Able to Travel tells reservation clerks. Maybe how many barrels of cement their next of kin will have to find if they want the whole body to be buried in one place. (Just kidding, Mary, please put down that knife & back away slowly.) My wife said “Roll-in shower and roll-under bed, right?” “They said they'd have that installed by now,” the clerk said, risking taking one for the team. “It's been delivered....” So we go up to the room, and sure enough, we have a platform bed. The Trixie Lift is a long-egged feller, and the legs go under the bed. If not, it's throw me or drop me. And that's going the easy way, getting into bed. Or, that would be the case, but we brought bed lifts. These are stout plastic flat-topped pyramids about a foot high. Drag the mattress & box springs a foot to the side & shove a bed lift under each exposed corner. Then laugh at the platform. The first time we needed a bed lift we didn't have one. Luckily we were visiting my dad. He lent us two cinder blocks. Anyway, the bed in the CMCC wheelchair room was on a platform, & we were damn lucky to have bed lifts.
Otherwise the place was great, except for the non-accessible doors to the back parking lot, which was the only place a wheelchair van fit. Also, the bathroom had no heat lamp. Did I mention that quads have internal thermometers for shit? My body thinks it is ALWAYS COLD. Sweat's rolling down my face and I'm still shivering. So yeah, a heat lamp helps. C+. The large bathroom & roll-in shower are nice, but not nice enough.
David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
quadriplegia and professional employment
I just sent this letter to one of the organizers of a conference that I will attend next month. I believe that people planning conferences simply don't think about accessibility or don't understand what it involves. They deserve to be chastised, perhaps, but I prefer to enlighten.
I am well aware that the hotel connected to the conference center would be the most convenient for access to the meeting. I would stay there if I could. Unfortunately, the Americans with Disabilities Act requires accessible rooms without defining them very carefully. Most hotels that have accessible rooms have rooms that are accessible to paraplegics, people who can get in and out of their wheelchairs without assistance. Only some hotels (the Microtel chain is one good example; most of their motels qualify) have rooms that are accessible to a quadriplegic. I basically need two features, in addition to a sufficient amount of space. I need a shower with no lip, so that a wheelchair can roll into it, and a bed that is up on legs instead of a pedestal (box). This allows my portable lift to roll right up to the bed where I can be swung into or out of bed safely. This may be a lot more information than you wanted. However, if you are ever involved in the decision about a conference hotel, this should be a consideration. Improved emergency room and rehab technology over the past couple of decades means that more and more people are surviving with severe injuries. Many of these people are still able to function in the workplace and therefore attend conferences.
I am well aware that the hotel connected to the conference center would be the most convenient for access to the meeting. I would stay there if I could. Unfortunately, the Americans with Disabilities Act requires accessible rooms without defining them very carefully. Most hotels that have accessible rooms have rooms that are accessible to paraplegics, people who can get in and out of their wheelchairs without assistance. Only some hotels (the Microtel chain is one good example; most of their motels qualify) have rooms that are accessible to a quadriplegic. I basically need two features, in addition to a sufficient amount of space. I need a shower with no lip, so that a wheelchair can roll into it, and a bed that is up on legs instead of a pedestal (box). This allows my portable lift to roll right up to the bed where I can be swung into or out of bed safely. This may be a lot more information than you wanted. However, if you are ever involved in the decision about a conference hotel, this should be a consideration. Improved emergency room and rehab technology over the past couple of decades means that more and more people are surviving with severe injuries. Many of these people are still able to function in the workplace and therefore attend conferences.
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