packing for the trip

    We decided to go to PA Easter weekend.  It was Emma's spring break and I wanted to go and meet our niece Aubrey who was born this past January with a rare condition and to get some good cuddle time with my other niece and nephew.  Easter just happened to be a good time to go. And all my sibs and their spouses would be able to get together.  (My mom was GIDDY!)
    I was a little nervous as this was our first big trip.  I contacted a blog writer to ask her advice about trip taking with a wheelchair (there really aren't that many blogs out there that I could find about paraplegics.  You want organizing, there are oodles . . . Hindsight, I should have asked a couple of folks closer to home but that is hindsight.)  She really didn't have much advice to give.  I was kind of disappointed but when I made a list of what I thought that I would need and really looked at it, there wasn't really all that much more than we used to take.  I had a wheelchair instead of  a stroller and a shower chair.  I didn't want to just take the shower chair in as it is -it is an awkward shape, even taken apart.  We decided to buy a duffel bag to put it in.  I measured and ordered one that I thought would be big enough and it was but just barely.
   One issue solved.  And brilliantly, I think. 
   The other thing that I was nervous about was space in the van. Breaking down the wheelchair makes me a little nervous (I am afraid that Jarrad will get in it and it will collapse under him.  I can see it happening!) but I knew if I needed more room, I could do it and stick the pieces in nooks and crannies. 
    A couple of years ago, I determined that packing in suitcases was nuts.  Unless you are flying, don't pack a suitcase.  They are big and heavy in and of themselves.   They are awkward to pack.  I discovered the joy of plastic tote boxes. They save room, you can stack them and they hold so much more than a suitcase.  I packed 3 - 1 held my clothes, 1 held Jarrad's and 1 held miscellaneous stuff.  I did pack the kids clothes in the suitcases that they got a couple of Christmases ago but those are light and small.
   I should have taken a picture of the car packed but I didn't think of it and I am not lugging out my still packed boxes just to recreate it but if you can picture the back of a minivan with 3 totes making an "L" shape and 2 kids suitcases on top, with 2 duffel bags and a couple of tote bags, you get an idea of how I packed the van.  In the open part of the L, I put the wheelchair.  I didn't even break it down! I am kind of proud of my packing abilities.
   One of the duffels held the shower chair and Jarrad's gripper.  The other held other odds and ends that I thought we might need.  I packed one small tote for his catheters and another for snacks.  I was afraid we would forget something.  In most cases, it is no big deal -just  go buy what you forget but it is not like you can go to Wal-Mart and pick up the narcotics you forgot
. . . (oh, wait, there are some places where you can . . . )
    I got everything packed and only forgot a few things that we could pick up (legitimately) from a store that were just "would be nice to have" stuff.
    The trip itself went fine.  Nigel (our GPS) took us around traffic.  Jarrad and I listened to a book on CD. We got the kids head phones for this trip and are kicking ourselves for not having them before.  Ah, the blessed absence of DVD noise!
   Conclusion:  Traveling with a wheel chair isn't bad.  Jarrad did weight shifts in the car.  Stop at larger rest areas where the handicap stall is actually big enough to accommodate a wheelchair.  And buy headphones for your kids (wait, that isn't a wheelchair thing; that is just a smart thing!)