GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Eugene and Roberta Kaneshiro, Melissa Applegate, Eloise Marugame, Sheila Harada, Adrian Kolton and Ed Ibara, from left, evaluated accommodations on Maui for those left partially challenged following a stroke.
FIVE stroke survivors tested their ability to master obstacles and challenges of travel during a weekend adventure to Maui and returned home ready to go again. Stroke survivors
rediscover travelingA small group finds that preparation
Travel opportunities widen for disabled
is the key to taking the fear out of vacationingBy Helen Altonn
haltonn@starbulletin.com"We had a wonderful time; camaraderie was super," said Sheila Harada. "We each took care of each other. ... We had a lot of humor therapy. We're thinking about a bigger trip next year, maybe Reno, Tahoe or Las Vegas."
Many other stroke survivors wanted to go on the trip but didn't because of anxiety or health or financial reasons, said Melissa Applegate, REHAB Hospital of the Pacific recreational therapist who organized the trip.
Some of the travelers will discuss their experience at a meeting from 10 to 11:30 a.m. July 2 at the REHAB Hospital.
"There is a lot of anxiety following a disability, with traveling, accommodations and accessibility needs," Applegate said. "A lot of people love to travel ... and they don't because of these fears."
Applegate, whose job is to help patients regain independence, said the trip proved stroke survivors are able to travel and have fun doing it.
"What we did most was laugh," she said.
Besides having fun, the goal was to restore confidence in those who haven't traveled since their stroke, she said.
Other stroke survivors on the excursion were Adrian Kolton, Eloise Marugame, Ed Ibara and Roberta Kaneshiro. Accompanying them were Applegate and Kaneshiro's husband, Eugene, director of the state Department of Education's School Food Services Branch.
They helped plan the trip, which included flights departing Oahu on a Friday and returning Sunday. They worked with Judy Heller, president of Access Aloha Travel, to address their concerns and find out what was accessible.
Eugene Kaneshiro said the trip was successful, but he advises people with disabilities not to travel on weekends or at peak times. Many people were traveling last weekend, before a holiday and at the end of the school year, and "lines were superlong," he said.
"If it was only Melissa by herself trying to help five people, it would have been nearly impossible," he said.
Fortunately, Kaneshiro said, he has an Executive Club Card for Aloha Airlines: "I used that card and asked if I could check in seven people at one time, and they allowed it."
They rented a minivan for seven passengers, but the first step to get into it was rather high, Kaneshiro said.
"Even elderly who are not disabled would benefit from rental cars providing a step stool, maybe upon request, or to rent."
The first stop on the group's agenda was the Shishido Manju Shop where the travelers ordered mochi to pick up for the return home. Also a high priority was guri guri, "a cross between sherbet and ice cream," which they ate after arriving and before leaving the island.
They stayed at Kaanapali Beach Hotel and drove around a lot, Applegate said.
"What was so great about that, Gene travels so much on his own through his job, we got a whole tour of Maui," she said.
Applegate said three of the travelers walk with canes, and one has difficulty seeing, but none required a caregiver.
"On an average, I would say the trip was a success because, the places we went, people were very open, very friendly, very helpful.
"We came across quite a few obstacles -- bathrooms that weren't very accessible," Applegate said.
But most places the group went were accessible because they had called ahead.
The group drove to Ulupalakua Ranch, and some members sampled the wine.
"It was beautiful up there, with paved paths all over the place, very accessible," Applegate said. "We had a lot of jokes about how the wine tasting made us walk straighter."
They visited a glass blower at Makawao, enjoyed the view over lunch at Kula Lodge, "did the tourist thing" at the Tropical Plantation, shopped at Whalers Village and walked on a paved path along the beach.
They had dinner at a restaurant below street level in Lahaina, where they had to walk six steps up to an elevator or 12 steps down to the restaurant, Kaneshiro said.
"I don't know of any way a wheelchair person could do it. Fortunately, our people were able to go up and down steps by hanging on to hand rails."
They walked Lahaina's streets, which was a challenge because it was crowded and hot, Applegate said.
"Fatigue is a big thing. You have to keep hydrated."
Safety also was a concern because of curb cutouts and cracks in the old sidewalks.
"I feel like we ate a lot," she said. "Out of all (the restaurants) we went to, only one, a small place in Lahaina, the bathroom was kind of scary."
"We have to thank REHAB for encouraging Melissa to venture into this," said Kaneshiro, whose wife is part-time librarian at Kalani High school. "Over breakfast the last day, we were all looking at each other: 'Well, should we try Las Vegas or Reno or somewhere?'"
Because it was a small group, the members generally were able to care for themselves.
"Had we taken more people, and people on wheelchairs, I believe we would need somebody, a caregiver, to assist."
BACK TO TOP
|
Challenges are an everyday thing for Judy Heller, owner and president of Access Aloha Travel Inc., but some are more memorable than others. Opportunities to travel
have widened for the disabled
By Helen Altonn
haltonn@starbulletin.comSuch as the time when 17 mentally challenged people on wheelchairs arrived from California with only two adults accompanying them.
"I spent much of the whole week with them," she said, explaining one reason for the trip was to teach them independence.
Heller, who has been in the travel business 32 years, said she came out of semiretirement seven years ago to found Access Aloha Travel, specializing in travel for the disabled.
She said it's the only travel firm of its kind here and one of 14 like it in the United States. It's located with nonprofit groups in the Weinberg project at Dole Cannery because she donates half of her profits to the disabled community.
Travel opportunities for the disabled have widened since she started the agency, Heller said. For example, the cruise ship Star of Honolulu has 23 wheelchair-accessible cabins and accessible public bathrooms and restrooms, she said.
Heller said about 31 percent of her clients have some type of disability. She goes to hospitals and stroke clubs to answer questions and assure people with disabilities that they can travel.
She said she works with 11 other agencies specializing in helping the disabled to facilitate travel anywhere in the world.
For more information, call 545-1143 or visit www.accessalohatravel.com.
