I remember gazing at that far away mountain peak from my hospital room, thinking…”What if I can’t ever get there again?” The thought was almost too much to bear. I had grown up playing in the mountains, and now at the age of 21, with a cervical fracture, paralyzed from the shoulders down, I figured that that part of my life was over.
Fortunately, I was able to regain enough lower body function so I can walk somewhat, which made it easier for me to get back into the mountains and go camping. For someone in a wheelchair, however, it's not quite that simple. But the good news: there are accessible campgrounds and accessible recreational vehicles to be found.
More and more people are choosing to hit the road in an RV, preferring to take their accessible accommodations with them, instead of enduring the hassles of air travel and finding hotels with accessible rooms.
"Instead of having to go into a hotel and ask whether they have a handicapped room, then go and see if my wife can use it, we've got a place that's familiar, that my wife has access to," says Mike Drew, president of the Handicapped Travel Club, who has been living full time in a 36-foot RV for five years with his wife, Carlyn, who is disabled from a stroke. "That's the way most of the handicapped people feel - they're comfortable in their rig."
Gayle Martinelli, a certified recreational specialist from Michigan, says the people with disabilities she knows have chosen not to let their disability rule their lives, but to live their lives. "What could be more exciting than traveling and being independent and being able to do all these things - this is a crucial means of therapy," says Martinelli.
She points to statistical studies indicating that camping in particular can help people with disabilities increase their self-confidence, accept their disability, improve their stress management and their physical and mental health, strengthen family roles and improve their quality of life.
"Campgrounds should have accessible campsites, bathrooms, offices and hookups," says Martinelli. "Look for hard-surface cement or asphalt sites, not gravel and especially not sand. And be sure to ask if the hookups are easy to access. They're often off to the side, up a hill, or surrounded by vegetation that creates a problem."
RVs come with all sorts of modifications for those with disabilities, and many manufacturers will customize a vehicle or make changes during the production process to cut down on the expense of making alterations later. Ability-equipped RVs have become a big business in recent years, according to Roger Lumming at Winnebago. "We probably have increased our business over the last year by 57 percent," he says. "One of the biggest benefits that able-bodied people wouldn't realize," says Martinelli, "is that people with disabilities can take their accessibility with them in a modified RV."
Whether you like camping in a tent, or prefer the comfort of a luxurious RV, you can still get out and enjoy the outdoors. For more information about accessible camping and RVing, visit the Handicapped Travel Club at www.handicappedtravelclub.com
If you're interested in purchasing an accessible RV, check out http://www.winnebagoind.com/products/commercial/ability/.
Or if you'd prefer to rent, there are a few dealers across the country who rent them. Visit www.access-able.com for links to several rental dealers.
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