News, info and tips for living with multiple sclerosis
Travel with my multiple sclerosis can mean super-size stress. But some advance planning can smooth the ride. I’ve always taken pride in my ability to travel the world using my little scooter, but this trip – flying from Florida to Washington, DC and back over the Christmas holidays – worried me. My wife and I hadn’t flown in five or six years and, since our last flight, Laura had begun…Continue Reading
I nearly jumped for joy — well, I would’ve if I could’ve — when I saw a new TV commercial for the Expedia travel company the other day. It shows a woman who’s obviously had enough of winter’s cold, ice, and snow. She is desperate to escape to warmer climes — and needs to take her wheelchair with her. Been there, done that? I have, but I’d never seen an…Continue Reading
I’ve done quite a bit of flying, for business and pleasure, over the 42 years I’ve lived with multiple sclerosis. It’s not easy traveling by air with my electric scooter, and I can’t imagine trying to fly with a 450-pound power wheelchair. Actually, I don’t have to imagine. I have some friends who use power chairs and they’ve shared some stories. Michael Morale tells me that, on a trip to…Continue Reading
Boarding an aircraft before others is a small benefit to being a disabled flyer. For years, giving me a small start to get down the jetway ahead of even the most frequent of frequent flyers has given me time to get off the little scooter I use due to my multiple sclerosis, remove its battery, and hopefully snag the attention of the flight attendant to help with carry-on luggage and the…Continue Reading
The case of Women’s National Basketball Association star Brittney Griner is an important reminder for all of us who travel with medications: What you might be able to do in your home country, might not be the case in another. And the penalty could be severe. Griner was detained by Russian officials at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport on Feb. 17. Russian authorities claimed she was carrying vape cartridges in her…Continue Reading
I’m back in Maryland. After two days — 16 hours of it spent on the road — and 1,104 miles, not a single accident. My bladder control meds must’ve worked. The semiannual trip my wife and I take between Florida’s southwest coast and the suburbs of Washington, D.C. is never easy, particularly because we travel with a cat and a dog. Getting in and out of hotels with two pets,…Continue Reading
It’s not easy going for a cruise when a scooter and a couple of canes come along for the trip. I’ve done it with success a number of times in the past, and planning helps a lot. My wife and I recently returned from our first first cruise since the pandemic began. It was also the first cruise for us with our son and his family. Much was the same…Continue Reading
It’s happened to me and, if you fly with a scooter or a wheelchair, I bet it’s happened to you, too: a busted or missing set of wheels on arrival. On a flight from Washington, D.C., to Venice, my scooter went to Copenhagen. On a flight from Baltimore to St. Kitts, I was happy to see my scooter appear at the cabin door. But where was the back of its…Continue Reading
Flying isn’t what it used to be, as everyone who’s taken a flight in the past 15 years or so knows. Flyers with a disability can have a particularly challenging time dealing with airports, airlines, and aircraft. Airports are crowded and stretch forever. Airplanes are crowded, their seats are small, and bulkhead seats are hard to nab. If you’re traveling with a scooter or a wheelchair, you look out the…Continue Reading
Is getting from home to the doctor a pain in the butt for you? Do you have to search for someone to take you? Do you haul yourself into your car and hope that you can find a nearby parking spot? Is public transportation impossible to find where you live? It’s such a hassle that as many as 30 percent of patients may be skipping their medical appointments due to…Continue Reading