ver the past few years, we have done a lot of traveling, not letting a pesky spinal fusion get in the way of maximizing our PTO! Here are a few of our favorite things that have made traveling easier with a newly-bionic back.
- Travel set of dressing tools that allow Dave to dress unassisted and don’t take up too much room in his suitcase or backpack: a collapsable travel dressing stick, a foldable grabber, a sock helper
- For deep sand, we purchased the four wheeled Wheeleez Beach Walker Conversion Kit for Dave’s travel walker. These wheels made a huge difference for our trip to Anna Maria Island and on our last Caribbean cruise, allowing Dave to visit beaches more independently. The wheels easily fit in a carry-on size suitcase, but they do take up most of the room in the suitcase. We plan to test these out at Michigan City, Indiana in 2025 to see how they hold up to the dunes. One thing to note, the wheels come all installed on the same side of the tube, and we needed two wrenches to take two of the wheels apart so I could switch the direction so that they worked with his walker.
- Foldable quad-cane that easily fits in the water bottle pocket of Dave’s personal item backpack.
- A toilet seat riser for low toilets. For people who struggle to get up from low seats like people who recently had knee replacement or spinal fusion surgery, and/or when staying at an Airbnb or hotel room that isn’t ADA compliant, a toilet seat riser makes a big difference in allowing someone to keep using the bathroom as a solitary endeavor. We’re blessed to not to need this with us anymore, but it was essential when we really needed it.
- Travel Wheelchair. While there are many different travel wheelchairs or mobility scooters out there, after testing out a couple options and doing a lot of research, we settled on the Golden Cricket. The Golden Cricket is only 33 pounds without the battery and joystick, and it folds up like a large stroller, making it easy for Megan to lift in and out of the trunk of almost any car. The Cricket collapses with the pull of one lever and is super easy to gate check, fit in a cab, or carry onto a car rental shuttle. We also purchased a cupholder (the Pride Jazzy cupholder works on the Golden Cricket) and a foam walking stick holder to attach Dave’s cane to the back of the wheelchair. We also carry an extra battery as a backup just in case the primary battery runs low (this has only happened once after going up too big a hill).
- A good backpack that fits both batteries and the joystick. We currently use an Osprey Daylight backpack as Dave’s personal item/medical device bag to carry Dave’s quad cane, both wheelchair batteries, and the joystick on the plane. When you gate check a motorized wheelchair, you need to remove the battery and joystick and carry them on the plane. Having bag space designated for these items makes gate checking easier. The Osprey Daylight is our backpack of choice after some experimentation as (1) its water bottle pockets are a good size to hold Dave’s quad cane, (2) the sternum strap allows it to be securely attached to the back of the Golden Cricket, and (3) there’s just enough room inside for both batteries, the joystick, and Dave’s laptop/Kindle/iPad/headphones. It works as both Dave’s personal item and to hold his medical devices instead of needing two bags for those tasks.
- Alternative: A cheap travel walker. Thanks to only one color being available when it became apparent a walker was at least a near term necessity, we jokingly call this walker Dave’s Pink Cadillac. It is widely available at most Walgreens, and it folds up easily to go in the overhead bin on any airplane, even the smallest regional jets. Before we got the wheelchair, this walker saw us through trips to Oregon, Nashville, New Orleans, Anna Maria Island, and Gatlinburg. The downside is the walker skis don’t last long, and we advise carrying an extra set which can be purchased at most Walgreens or CVS if they have a pharmacy, when a trip will involve a lot of walking. It was certainly a fun travel challenge when Megan was wandering around the French Quarter in New Orleans, trying to find a Walgreens with replacement walker skis!
- Lidocaine patches. We never know when Dave’s back is going to act up, and so, we never travel without lidocaine patches.