 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Accessible RV Checklist
Access Travel Rights
Handicapped Travel Club
Rolling Down The Trail
Family RVing
Schooling Options for RVers
Kartchner Caverns State Park
Oscar Scherer State Park
10 RVing Tips for Newbies
The Accessible RV Site
Riding The Rails
The Enabled RVer Resources
Access Travel Guides
Selecting a Cane for Travel
Fulltime RVing Challenges
Campground Access
HTC Accessible Park List
Arizona Day Drive
Touring Arizona
Columbia River Region
RVing with Kids
Volunteering and RVing
RVing and Children
|
|
| After A Stroke |
| Full-Time RVing Challenges |
| ||||||
| Reprinted with permission of the Handicapped Travel Club and H.T.C. News. By Ted Lange I'm here to say that being alone and being handicapped does not have to keep you from traveling around the country in an RV. I've been doing it full-time since 1993 and have no intention of stopping. A stroke in 1990 paralyzed my left side and put me through rehab, an adult retirement center, and a divorce. At that point, I decided that life was too short to sit still an feel sorry for myself, so I hit the road. Disability caught up with me when I was almost 60, after service in the 101st Airborne and careers in music as head of the piano department at Arkansas State University and as a Midwest sales rep for Baldwin Piano and Organ Company for 27 years. Membership in RV clubs makes the full-timing lifestyle much more enjoyable because there is always something going on somewhere, and friendly people to enjoy activities with. I belong to Loners on Wheels, Escapees, the Winnebago Itasca Travelers Club (WIT), and, of course, HTC (Handicapped Travel Club). When I'm not traveling somewhere, I'm 'nesting,' probably at the Escapees park in Livingston, Texas which is my home base. My longest trip, and probably the most enjoyable, was a 12,000 mile tour of Alaska in 1996 with a 43-unit caravan of the WIT Club. I use an electric scooter that I carry on a Handilift platform on the rear of my 29-foot 1997 Class C Itasca. The dealer installed assist rails and handles inside the rig as part of the purchase price. Most of my mechanical difficulties involve the maintenance and repair of the scooter and its lift platform. When the lift broke in Texas, Winnebago Emergency Road Service arranged to have a welder come to the motor home in a shopping center parking lot and repair it. Securing the scooter on the lift is a continuing problem for me. Being physically challenged certainly complicates the problems you run into while traveling, but I'm not shy about asking for help. The good news is that people are almost universally willing to give you a hand when asked. One trick that I have learned is that, when all else fails, you can get help by going to a local fire station. There's always someone on duty and they are typically an accommodating group. The Escapees Club and its many RV parks have been very important to me in my full-timing lifestyle. I spend the holidays of each year at the Excapees Rainbow's End RV park in Livingston, Texas where I have developed a number of good friends. And lastly, don't forget the HTC slogan: "GOAL"--Get out and live! Resources: • The Handicapped Travel Club www.handicappedtravelclub.com • Loners on Wheels http:www.lonersonwheels.com/ • Escapees http://www.escapees.com |
|
. |