I'm back from Central America!

[Guest guest]

I'm back from a 9-day trip to Costa Rica! It was a wonderful vacation! We went

there for a family wedding. So in addition to extended family, it was me, my

hubby, and our two kids (ages 4 & 6). We did a lot of fun things - boat ride,

beach, hanging bridges hike, sky tram, volcano viewing, hot springs, etc. I

decided against doing the zip line, due to my catheter issues/drama of the last

few months. My husband was awesome, because on the hanging bridges tour, he

pushed my wheelchair up & down a steep, bumpy, narrow path that was just wide

enough for my chair. The path was so bumpy and hard to maneuver, and he had to

dodge tree roots, etc. all while making sure he didn't lose his grip or topple

me over the edge They said that nobody had pushed someone on a wheelchair

through the whole thing before! And he had to push me through lots of gravel

and sand areas during the trip too. My back was a little sore from all of the

bumping around, but not too bad all things considered! I'm definitely glad that

this trip was almost 3 years post-revision tho. I noticed a huge difference in

my pain and abilities at year 2 compared to where I was at in year 1, and I

think I've still had more improvements at almost 3yrs post-op than at 2.

The wheelchair accessibility wasn't too horrible down there. It was much better

than I expected. Had I taken my powerchair, it would have been really

difficult. But with my manual chair, it was very doable! And the local people

were very helpful too!

I found it interesting that many of the wheelchair accessible hotel rooms there

actually accommodated more than 2 people! In the US with my limited travels, it

seems that almost all wheelchair hotel rooms only come with one bed - which

doesn't help us since we need 2 beds for my hubby, me, and the 2 kids. But down

there, most of the hotels had 2 beds in their handicap rooms. It was also

interesting to see how they sort of picked and chose what accessible features to

include in the bathrooms! They were all doable for me (tho some were definitely

easier than others!!), but they'd be impossible for many other wheelchair users.

For instance, some had bathrooms that were wonderfully huge, but there was

nothing around the toilet - no grab bars, no arms, no counter, nothing. Most

showers did not come with a shower seat. One bathroom had a door that I could

just barely wedge my narrow chair into. The toilet had swingable arms around it

for transfers, but there was no way to pull a wheelchair in close enough to get

to it. And this same bathroom had the door swing open and then stop at an angle

that mostly blocked the already fairly-inaccessible toilet (which also happened

to be a super-duper low to the ground toilet).

And the showers varied quite a bit. Some of them were amazing for me, since I

am able to still stand. But they would have been impossible for someone who

wasn't able to bare any weight on their legs.

The country was beautiful, even tho it was MUCH more tourist-y than it was when

I studied there in 1996.