Coming from a military family and as a lifelong lover of travel, I embrace the concept that traveling not only expands our horizons physically but also expands our mental capacity. My father and grandfather were Navy pilots, and I followed suit and joined the Army during high school in 1976, initially as a flute player in the Army National Guard band, serving one weekend each month to earn traveling money during my university years.
Fast forward to the events of 9/11, I was called to active duty for assistance with the Global War on Terror. I was now a single mom with two young boys, aged five and seven, and a Major in the US Army Reserves — a newly minted Army Attaché for the Sub-Saharan Africa region of the world. By 2001, I had only one overseas tour with my children as a military attaché in Dakar, Senegal. But the following 16 years would grant me tours all over the African continent.
In 2005, I attended the Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. About 10% of our graduating class of 2006 were selected to continue studies in the School for Advanced Military Studies. However, in July of that year, after the first two weeks of class, I was doing physical training and fell from a horse. Although I had hoped it would be just a bad sprain, the L1 vertebrae in my spine had burst into many pieces and entered the spinal cord, causing damage to the T10 vertebrae. I was temporarily paralyzed, but a very talented surgeon at the Kansas University Medical Center removed the bone fragments and repaired my spine.
Determined to walk again, on the first day of physical therapy, I managed eight steps; the next time, twenty steps. And so began my two-year journey of recovery. Family, classmates and the Fort Leavenworth military community provided fantastic support by helping us move to a handicap-friendly home on base. One classmate brought my weekly reading books to the hospital, and the church women of the base chapel left a casserole on our porch every night for about two months. After about five weeks in rehabilitation, I could resume classes on a walker, and by the time I graduated in 2007, I was using a single-point cane.
Almost two years after my injury, I no longer needed the cane, and I could complete many more assignments in Africa. In 2010, I was assigned to support the military’s European Command in Stuttgart, Germany, where we moved for my boy’s high school years. In addition to African military assignments in US Embassies, I resumed being an assistant scout leader and Venture Scout leader, leading trips all over Europe for canoeing and camping and had the pleasure of seeing both of my sons earn their Eagle Scout badges.
In 2017, I retired after 40 years of military service. I’m proud to say that both of my sons became fourth-generation military members when they joined the US Army, and in 2017, we were all on active duty at the same time. After retirement, my love for travel and the freedom to do so where and when I desired endured, but I still had to account for my mobility limitations. As someone with mobility impairments, allow me to share my experience, tips and growing knowledge—things I’ve learned due to my disability that I consider in the planning and execution of international travel.
- Have a positive and accepting attitude about your disability. I realized that my disability of not walking well was not a burden to either me or anyone else. A disability is simply a reality. I learned that if one simply asks nicely for a bit of help, 99.9% of the time, people are more than happy to lend a hand. This gives others joy and a good feeling in helping with my disability.
- Airport wheelchairs. In large airports, I nearly always reserve a wheelchair. There is just no good reason not to ask for one. Why would you want to wear yourself out on a travel day? If the airport is tiny, without miles of corridors to traverse, of course, I don’t order one. The trick is to know and accept limitations and problem-solve around them.
- Lodging. When traveling in a developed country, I always try to reserve an accessible room. For safety, ask for a shower seat. Even if it is a plastic pool-type chair, it prevents a fall. In less developed countries and Airbnb (preferred) accommodations, I problem-solve with the host to eliminate the risk of a fall. Investigating the number of stairs in an apartment or even the residence accessibility makes a difference. It only takes one time to discover your residence is on the third floor with no elevator to drive this lesson home. This happened to me at an ideal location in the old town of Cartagena, Colombia.
- Transportation. For me, renting a car is usually not an issue, except some companies charge a higher deposit if you are over 65 years old. I find it wise to bring your issued handicap parking pass. Although the pass has no legal jurisdiction in other countries, the pass communicates the message that you need the space. Bus and train options throughout Europe, Japan, and parts of South America are equipped to take care of my needs. The primary site I use for flights is Skyscanner. Once the best available flights are selected, you are directed to the airline site where you make a reservation and can usually order a wheelchair simultaneously for no fee.
- Plan, plan, plan. I travel solo, in groups, and on an occasional cruise. I get to know the country I will travel to, and how I can safely navigate it, several months in advance. I do my own research on my favorite websites: GeographyNow, Wikipedia, US/UK Departments of State, TripAdvisor and Get Your Guide. I plan a “rest” day to do nothing and just enjoy the country. A down day is rejuvenating and can be flexibly used for serendipitous events.
- Communication. I am conversational in five languages (English, French, Spanish, German, and Russian) and prefer to communicate this way when traveling. My phone has its purpose, and I’m savvy enough to set up my eSIM, but I am not tied to my phone or the internet. Instead, I bring along a paper travel folder with a printout of all transportation information (airline, train, ferry tickets) on one side of the folder and the lodging information and reservations on the other. I include visas, travel permits and a list of the “sites to see”and as reservations become finished, I shred and discard the pages, coming home with an empty, and often very tattered folder.
In the last 18 years, I learned that even with a disability, I can still travel and explore the world with simple modifications. Despite what happened to me, I prefer a four-legged animal, such as a horse, to do my walking for me when in the bush on safari.
Therefore, I intend to do all the traveling I can whilst I am still able. Being prepared and traveling smart is the way I achieve my favorite hobby. See you on the road.
