The Wheel Life
I travelled to the South Island of New Zealand in August with my parents. We flew into Christchurch from Sydney, hired a car and travelled to Wanaka, Franz Yosef Glazier, Arrowtown, and ended our trip in Queenstown. My ankle broke in two places with less than a week remaining but that didn’t stop me from …
Continue reading "What you need to know about wheelchair access on the South Island of New Zealand"
It had been quite a few years since I had travelled to Japan. We travelled around for about a week prior to arriving in Myoko on a Sunday and leaving on a Saturday. I planned and booked a return travel with my younger brother Michael. He can ski and snowboard. Our usual accommodation had been …
I was eligible to book three months before my intended stay and for two nights. I was excited for my stay in January 2024. Getting there The most wheelchair accessible route to the hotel is by the train to JR Maihama Station. You can use your JR rail pass. It's a short distance to the …
I’ve wanted to go to Melbourne since being a child. I finally visited in August 2023 with my parents. It wasn’t too cold although the sky wasn’t bright with patchy rain. Accommodation We drove to Melbourne and stayed at QT Melbourne in the city. I’d booked two rooms as the wheelchair friendly room, had one …
Continue reading "What you need to know about wheelchair access in Melbourne"
What do you do if have a spinal cord injury in ACT and need medical assistance? Get on a plane (or in a car, bus or train) to Sydney to either Prince of Wales Hospital or Royal North Shore. There are no spinal cord injury units in the ACT. I engaged a multidisciplinary team at …
I spent 101 days admitted to Prince of Wales Hospital in Randwick. More time was spent in bed than out of it on bed rest conservatively healing a pressure injury. I was admitted through emergency and wasn’t very prepared for a long stay. Here are 10 things that helped to make bed rest a little …
Continue reading "10 things to have for a long hospital admission"
My new wheelchair was delivered in January. It took forever to come from the UK. It was similar measurements to my old chair but a new brand. It took some getting used to. The highlight of my year was to be back at Falls Creek in August. I had my first wind-hold day and a …
I purchased my own sit ski in 2020 but had been unable to test it due to COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions. I was finally able to get to Falls Creek two years later to test it out. My Dad was able to make it all fit in the family Toyota Kluger. We had the bucket, …
Continue reading "Finally using my new sit ski at Falls Creek"
Winter Paralympics Beijing 2022
This year will be remembered for COVID-19 with lockdowns and restrictions. I spent most of the year working in Canberra. 2021 was anti-social with COVID-19 restrictions. My parents visited at Easter, I went to a cousins wedding in Newcastle in May, a visit from my aunt and oldest brother to attend an exhibition and my …
Kate Swain 