December, 2020
When you get nailed with ALS, one of the many things you think of is: what can I do in the time I have left. I have always loved travel and a fellow pALS advised I travel then while I could. Oh God, I can hear you saying, not another what I did on my 2019 summer vacation blog. Afraid so, lads and lasses. Besides, this topic was suggested by St. Laurel so you’re going to have to just suck it up.
For reasons that escape me, although ancestry certainly not being one of them, I thought it would be great to go to Ireland and Scotland. Logistics soon knocked Scotland off the list so we were off to the Emereld Isle. Considering that I may need support I pitched the idea to two of my siblings and was delighted when they said they were game.
Next came the fun part: planning. At this stage in my disease progression I could still could sort of get myself in and out of bed with some spotting help from St. Laurel and hobble from bed to bath using a walker. A wheelchair, however, was essential. I spent hours pouring over the different options because taking my 420 lb LazyBoy on Wheels was out of the question. I finally settled on a collapsible chair which had battery criteria satisying the demands of the airlines. It was a bit spartan but I soon found tough enough for the road. If memory serves it was an EZ Lite Cruiser and it came with a carrying case, rain poncho, auxiliary backpack, some tools for field repairs, and the all important cup holder into which a pint of Guinness would live quite nicely had I not promptly broken it.
There was more specialized equipment to deal with, primarily to ease the journey from bed to bath and beyond. First was a walker which was easily purchased and drop shipped to our hotel in Dublin. Second was a U-shaped bar installed on the side of the bed that I used to pull myself to a seated position and from there, with St. Laurel’s help, to the waiting walker and biological relief. Fortunately, we were able to find a travel version that, when collapsed, fit into one of our suitcases. Hardware outfitted, it was time to focus on the software side of the equation.
Pusuing our usual unplanned approach to European travel wasn’t going to work with an unruly throng of seven one of which was perpetually on wheels. Lucky for us my brother is a project manager and expertly brought his skills to bear. He found a wonderful, and very talkative, travel agent specializing in accessible travel, and even convinced me that we should hire a driver and tour guide for the trip. This last move proved to be one of the best decisions. Through countless multilayered spread sheets we soon had an itinerary, fully accessible hotels, and plane tickets.
We were to fly to Dublin on Aer Lingus on what my sister continually referred to as a ten hour ride. I showed up at the gate on my motorized travel chair holding a take out coffee cup a third filled with a decent pinot noir. We were soon informed we were to be the last boarded because of me. After an interminably long wait and endlessly questioning an agent trying to hide her frustration at a situation not of her making, SFO finally got its act together enough to get its disability transport team to the gate. The group slides me on a transport chair not built for comfort and insists on manhandling me into my seat using the dexterity of a team perpetually behind schedule. Soon we were airborne, and I settled in with my air snacks and the movie version of The Commitments, a highly recommended film about the rise and collapse of a fictional Dublin soul band.
We landed on the Summer Solstice. We met our guide from De Danaann Travel, a garralous hirsute gentleman by the name of Garreth with a thick brogue befitting a denizen of County Kerry. Our luggage arrived only two hours later. We walked out to our land yacht while my bro-in-law demonstrated to Gareth the effects of sleep deprivation and his nutrient rich diet of sugar and caffeine. They soon bonded.
I puttered along in my travel chair, which emerged happily unscathed from the journey, to the the stern of our land yacht. A waiting lift complete with yellow safety bars efficiently elevated me into the passenger hold. At this stage of the disease I was still able to get myself out of my travel chair with the help of the backrest handles on the land yacht and get to a seat.
Got to the hotel. It was located a few blocks from the central post office which figured prominently in the uprising against the Brits in the early 1900s. At some point after getting to our accessible room I managed to fall down and one of the guys had to hoist me back up. It was one of three falls on that trip, each of which made me thankful for a bro and bro-in-law that are a hundred percent All American beef.
And so began our magical trip. In the segments that follow I’ll share with you my impressions of Ireland and its incredible and resilient people. Or I may give you a boring travel log just to try your patience. Whatever I do I promise to explain to you the meaning of the title.
Embrace The Suck 
Love to hear of your travel. Graham does not need a chair yet, but I imagine the next time we’re able to leave the bounds of this strange country of ours he might. Thanks for writing. I love hearing from you. Keep it up. Love, Cristina
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Love it! And love revisiting the travels. Looking forward to hearing your impressions. xx
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Bob, I enjoyed reading about your travel experiences. Good tip on the portable chair. I am looking forward to more. Blessings, Art
Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPad
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Can’t wait to here more about your trip. I remember you posted some photos on Facebook that looked like you were having a good time, and several pints. Slainte! Christine
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Awesome as usual, Bob! I owe you a zoom call which I’ll make happen early next week. I’m also going to send you a link in a bit to the Fogarty Friday virtual wine tasting – it is pretty fun to watch and you don’t need to be drinking or eating whatever they are doing. It is fun just hearing them talk about what is happening in the vineyard, etc. I’ll be blathering at you next week live from my music room.
All my best,
Kurt
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I loved this, and I’m really looking forward to hearing about the rest of the trip. (I’m quite sure you couldn’t write anything boring even if you tried!)
Lynne
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Bob, So glad to hear you got to do a trip to Ireland. In spite of all the difficulties you And your travel friends had a great time. We went there a while back on a bed-and-breakfast kind of trip, and that’s where I learned to love Guinness. You are an amazing guy, and I’m pretty sure I couldn’t handle all of the things that come with ALS, and you have really learned to embrace the suck. Keep it up and keep the stories coming, and have a great 2021
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Bob, have no fear of boring us, or at least me. What shines through your posts is the indomitable spirit that handles each new trial and obstacle with intelligence, irony and wit.
What a shame that we traveled on the periphery of each other’s orbits when Rob and I lived in California. I think we could have been fast friends. At least you (and St. Laurel) should know that we are thinking of you now with love and caring.
Suzanne and Rob
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Hi. Bob. Look forward to future travel log posts!
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Dear Bob, This is wonderful. It’s fascinating to learn how you managed to pull this trip off with the help of your posse, and something that I think would be helpful to anyone contemplating travel while physically challenged. Kudos to St. Laurel for encouraging you to write about this. Although I have an Irish great-grandmother and father, I’ve never been to Ireland and am always interested in learning more about it and hearing the travel stories of my friends, particularly one as special as yours.
Love, Carolyn
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I can’t wait Bob to get more installments of this vacation adventure. Sounds like the preparation was extensive, detailed And made it work. What’s the boys
That assisted you when you fell. You failed to indicate if that was after an evening of Guinness .Happy new year with love Marie
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Love you Bob! It made my whole week getting to see you on facetime the other night 🙂
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Very entertaining Bob. I’m looking forward to the next installment and your impressions of Ireland. I haven’ been there and would love to go.
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Can’t wait for the next travel installment. I am really happy you had the opportunity to have your trip AND have your sibs as well as your wife along.
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That was the best trip ever!!! Yes, we had some challenges, but we got through tHEm and YOU were such a trooper!!! Are you able to include some pictures in your next entry. I will see what Sophie can help me with. I remember eating in a pub in Dublin and there was a band playing Trad music. Yoh won all the band members over!!!! Loved seeing you in your element!!! They all enjoyed you immensely!!!!
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Hello, this is the ” Bro-In Law “,
After a punishing flight, we arrive, find luggage, and wander out to be greeted by Gareth the Magnificent.
It is a walk out to the parking area, and after a minute or two, I ask Gareth = So, like, should we call a taxi to get a ride to the van ? Margaret steps between me and my new best friend and offers an apology, not only for what I just said, but in advance of the rest of trip ! Yes = This was the perfect start of a truly perfect trip. Gareth and I were BFFs instantly, and we both had a great time.
Spoiler = Oh, oh ! Maybe Bob will tell the epic tale of The Best Joke Ever Told On A Trip Through Ireland, which I made up myself and was a HIGHLIGHT of the day. Then, again, maybe Bob has some sense and will ‘ misplace ‘ that tale. Humm . . .
– AndrewO, in San Jose, Calif.
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