So on the summer woes front, I’m also seeing lots of pictures of Newfoundland these days. People are on the water fishing, folks are enjoying Newfoundland food, and family are enjoying being with each other. My dad just turned 80, and I was the only sibling who couldn’t be there to celebrate with him. There were lots of pictures of a birthday party and celebrations with him.
And I am left looking longingly at these photos.
Don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled for everyone enjoying themselves, and I would be doing the same if I could. But the reality is, I can’t (as of yet at least).
I really want to get to Newfoundland at least one more time. But there are significant problems related to trying to make this happen.
The first is flights. Again, there is ‘accessible’ and then there is ‘truly accessible’. Flights by law are required to be accessible. And for the most part they are. But for my situation, I don’t quite know how it would work. They would need to lift me up out of my chair and put me down into an airplane chair. Then the baggage guys would take my wheelchair and put it down in the bottom of the plane. At the moment I don’t trust that the wheelchair will still be working on the other end. I’ve seen these guys throw stuff around and I fear my chair would be one of those things. If I got to Newfoundland and didn’t have a wheelchair that worked I would be doomed. In a perfect world I would love to be able to fly while seated in my chair. I can’t help but think that this has to be possible somehow. But as of yet I haven’t found anything that does that.
Then there is the issue of getting from the airport to my hometown which is about a 90 minute drive away. We would need an accessible vehicle. I’m sure that such things must exist in Newfoundland but as of now I don’t know of anyone with something like this. There are probably wheelchair cabs but taking one 90 minutes away would likely be quite expensive I assume.
And then there is the accommodation issue on the other end. I couldn’t stay with either of my parents. Their homes aren’t accessible. But the beauty of the town I grew up in is that it is now very much a retirement village. So there are lots of seniors homes around and my sister Joy found that one of them rents respite homes. This would be perfect for me. It comes with a lift and a PSW that could look after my needs while I was there. That’s actually very cool.
So I guess the main thing is figuring out how I would fly there. Once I figured that out I think the rest is quite possible methinks.
In the meantime, I am left dreaming about visiting Newfoundland without being able to get there. Hopefully next summer I will have figured out how to make that happen.
The beauty is, I can eat Atlantic lobster here in Toronto. It’s just that I would have to pay about five times as much for it…
I’m done whining again for the moment. Thanks for putting up with me.
so authentic Dion….years ago my parents drove to the maritimes with my brother and sister in their chairs in the van…but Newfoundland is a whole other journey…I will pray that it becomes a reality…blessings, Marilyn