halfmoon

Hope this is the right section - apologies if not. Just to see if anyone has any experience they can share...

My best friend is planning her first trip to the US to see me

BF is a wheelchair user. In England she uses a motorised wheelchair, and drives a manual control car with a ramp for her chair. She can walk but only for very short distances. Her main wheelchair weighs 150lb and her backup 'portable' chair weighs 60lb.

I'm not too worried about her journey here... I am optimistic that the airline and airport will look after her (and she may even skip the queue at Immigration). I have more questions about how we will manage once she gets here!

We have a one level home so at least that part is easy. We have two cars - a sedan and a very small SUV. My husband will be deployed so no 'man' help around to lift / carry. And I will also have a one year old to factor in.

Options:

1) She brings her 'portable' chair and we design ramp to load into existing car.

2) We load wheelchair onto trailer and drive around like that. My husband is not confident that I will manage this without crashing into other cars. He may have a point.

3) She rents wheelchair / disabled access car once she gets here and either of us can drive.

4) We use manual wheelchair for duration of visit and hope that my daughter will remain sitting on her knee

Lots to plan but I CAN'T WAIT to see her!! Just hoping that someone out there will have some suggestions on how we can make it easier...?

Pulaski

Option 2 sounds impractical, I suspect the 3 isn't possible (renting a car equipped for a disabled driver), unless you have a large SUV, 1 isn't going to be very practical either (fitting ramps and the chair in the back of a "very small" SUV may be difficult, or not even possible). Only you know if 4 is even possible.... how old is your daughter? .... It doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

Sooo, other options? ..... Trailer hitch platforms for hauling wheel chairs around seem to be very popular, like the small trailer hitch platforms that some people use for a small grill or large cooler, and they come with an integral ramp that flips down. I have no idea how much they cost, but getting one of those would be my recommendation. Maybe you could find a used one on Craigslist or Backpage?

ChocolateBabz

Personally I would go with #3 if the cost isn't prohibitive, a quick google for 'accessible vans' came up with a few suggestions but I have a feeling it might be expensive.

Nutmegger

It sounds as if your friend can get in and out of cars OK if she is able to walk short distances, so a special van doesn't sound necessary. A friend of mine who could not walk at all from childhood polio used to visit friends in the US and a folding wheelchair was rented for her that would go in the trunk-- she had incredibly strong arms and would, with assistance, hoist herself in and out of vehicles. In the home, if using her chair wasn't feasible, she would just get on the floor and shuffle herself around, same with going up and down stairs! Indomitable was the only word to describe her attitude. She had a hand control car at home, but never tried to drive in the US. Have you asked your friend what she would find the most helpful? My friend was always the best source of information about how to help her best. (Sadly, she passed away a few years ago.)

Hope you have a wonderful visit together.

lansbury

How is she going to travel to the airport, I'm thinking she will need her "portable" chair for that. The airport will have wheelchairs, which are narrower than normal to fit down the aircraft aisle. What I saw happen at Heathrow was staff took the passenger to the aircraft in their own chair and transferred them to an airport chair to be taken to their seat on the aircraft. The passengers own chair was then loaded in the hold for use the other end. The reverse took place on arrival.

I'm sure she knows to call the airline in advance and arrange the extra assistance she needs. They can then arrange everything at both departure and arrival airports.

halfmoon

Thanks so much everyone for your replies (especially to Pulanski for resurrecting the thread). And apologies for the delay in replying - we have been packing DH up for his seven month vacation courtesy of Uncle Sam, and it has been so so busy. At least now he's gone I will have plenty of time to browse online. Every cloud folks, every cloud...

We still haven't come up with a finalised plan for my friend's visit, but I agree that me using a trailer around town would cause a significant number of accidents. My daughter can be a wriggly gremlin at times, so making sure she stays still on my friend's lap for two weeks would be a challenge. Renting an accessible van has so far priced out at $900 a week! This is my friend's current preference but the cost is a stinker.

Pulanski - thanks for the trailer hitch platform suggestion, I have seen what you mean and I think it would work really well. I will search around and check out Craigslist / Backpage etc too. This is something we could use again for other things too.

Nutmegger - I'm sorry to hear that you lost your friend. She sounds like an incredible amazing character

At the moment, my friend may time her flight to coincide with my trip back from England, so we can travel together. It is her first long haul flight and first time in the US. Thank you - we will definitely contact the airline beforehand and book whatever support she needs.

I will come back and update when our plans are in place!