22.01.2020
The Locked-In Traveler
(Kati’s Wheelchair Traveling Journals)
Venice
(Click here for audio version)
Venice, Italy is considered to be one of the most inaccessible tourist destinations in the world for wheelchair users. That used to be the case but not so much anymore.
07.01.2020
Celebrating 25 Years of Locked-In Syndrome
(Tribute to a Wonderful Life)
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January 10th, 2020, is the 25th anniversary of the stroke. An average cerebral infarction takes about six minutes. Mine took over twenty hours. In all this time, the doctors could not figure out what was going on with me. They ruled stroke out because the thinking at the time was that; only people over forty years get brain infarcts. I was only twenty years old at the time.
01.01.2020
The Locked-In Traveler
(Kati’s Wheelchair Traveling Journals)
Pool Pleasure
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Going to pool is my favorite therapy because usually, my body feels heavy but, in the water, I feel weightless.
The swimming pool at the therapy center does not have a ramp, but a chair with a small crane. By the pool, the therapist first puts the floating device around my waist. Then I am transferred from my wheelchair to the pool chair, and then I am lowered into the pool.
15.12.2019
The Locked-In Traveler
(Kati’s Wheelchair Traveling Journals)
Thick Skin
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To survive this world, you need to grow a thick skin. Everybody should know that, especially if you are part of a minority group.
04.12.2019
The Locked-In Traveler
(Kati’s Wheelchair Traveling Journals)
High Anxiety
After becoming Locked- in, I have gotten a bad case of high anxiety. It does not take much for me to start panicking. A ten centimeters difference in the flooring is enough to make my hair stand up.
21.11.2019
The Locked-In Traveler
(Kati’s Wheelchair Traveling Journals)
Assistants/Caregivers
(Click here for the audio version)
There are different types of strokes, and there are many variables in play when one gets a stroke. Like how massive the stroke, how quick the response, and some other factors. The result of a stroke to a patient can vary from wholly locked unto complete recovery.
07.11.2019
The Locked-In Traveler
(Kati’s Wheelchair Traveling Journals)
The great language barrier
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Locked-In syndrome is also referred to as the Living corpse. No wonder for in the worst-case scenarios the patients cannot even move their eyes. I was completely paralyzed after the stroke. The only things I could move were my eyelids and my eyes. The only way I could communicate was by blinking my eyes. Once for; “yes” twice for; “no.” The letter board (air alphabet) was a blessing, with that system I could communicate again.
22.10.2019
The Locked-In Traveler
(Kati’s Wheelchair Traveling Journals)
Taxi
Nowadays, most developed countries have handicap taxi. Nevertheless, only in some (highly) touristic cities, you find them around the corner. In some cities like London, most cabs are wheelchair accessible. In others, you would have to order such a vehicle, and it might take a while before they arrive. There are places where you even must order an invalid taxi in advance.
02.10.2019
The Locked-In Traveler
(Kati’s Wheelchair Traveling Journals)
Onboard restrooms
(Click here for audio version)
Every little thing makes a big difference when you cannot move at all. The few movements I regained during rehab might seem minute. Nevertheless, they made an impact on my life.
18.09.2019
The Locked-In Traveler
(Kati’s Wheelchair Traveling Journals)
Long Flights
(Click here for audio version)
Sitting all day long is not as easy as one might think. Especially for someone that can only sit in only one position. My inability to move makes me such a person. No matter where I sit being it; the wheelchair, on the bed, a standard chair, or airplane seat, I am always in the same position.
