Should disabled and ill people go on holiday? - Page 2 — Scope | Disability forum
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Should disabled and ill people go on holiday?

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  • paffuto10
    paffuto10 Community member Posts: 388 Pioneering
    Thanks for that @saz11

    Sorry about your your mum  <3
  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Community member Posts: 2,586 Disability Gamechanger
    paffuto10 said:

    So quite cheap really. 

    It was lovely sitting on bench in front of the sea (even though I could only manage half hour a day) 
    That is interesting, I didn't realise you could get B&B's so cheaply.  I wouldn't even consider May to be too far out of season...maybe if it was January! :D  

    With the issues I have, I wouldn't be able to use a B&B sadly. I'd need to find something fully self contained with a personal toilet and kitchen and supply all of my own food which I would assume to be a lot more expensive.  I'd also have to spend hours disinfecting the place before I could do anything else, and not even sure I'd be able to relax away from home.  Plus I can't use public transport or travel far which makes a holiday a bit futile, as it would have to be within ~45 mins drive of my home lol.  I do find it frustrating that I'm more restricted by my brain than a lot of people are with physical issues.  I definitely can't afford it while I'm on ESA alone, but if (and that is a massive if!) I get PIP, maybe it's something I should consider in future. 

    I am quite lucky to live near the coast though, I try and get a bit of time by the water, either a river or the sea once a week so I completely understand what you get from doing that! :)
  • saz11
    saz11 Community member Posts: 121 Pioneering
    @paffuto10

    Thank for your kind words.

    I would do anything in this world to be able to still take her on holiday.

    Sorry i went on a bit of a rant last night.....it just frustrates me when i read silly things.


    At the end of the day you live your life for you and do what makes you happy.....being disabled shouldn't even come into it.

    I have to say i used to go abroad with my mum since my dad passed away "as often as i would give into her ? "
    and we were very fortunate to have always been treated and helped in the most respectful and kind way by lovely people at home and abroad.

    I hope all of you thinking of going on holiday do and have an amazing time .


  • WhileIBreathIHope
    WhileIBreathIHope Posts: 216 Pioneering
    chiarieds said:
    Hi @WhileIBreathIHope My son shopped at Tesco often, & also shopped for me there too whilst waiting for his wife to finish work, & I said to just use his Tesco card for my shopping. He used the 'points' gained to find our first holiday away. With the company he used we got a £100 discount to stay in a cottage (self catering) for a week. It cost us £87 each I remember, which didn't seem too bad for a 7 night break.....just a thought.

    I do appreciate some of your points of view; I don't consider myself 'disabled,' rather a person that has problems, which cause me difficulties. It's all just semantics anyway. I understand the word 'disease' is really dis-ease...so you're not 'at ease,' as you feel unwell. So disability to me means you are dis-abled.....less able than another to do some things, that's all.

    Perhaps some people perceive anyone who receives a benefit as scrounging 'couch potatoes' with large TVs & many pets, due to several TV documentaries in recent years. I had hoped that understanding people with genuine physical/mental health issues, or a combination of both, would be seen in a way better light, whilst it 'may' be harder to get others to understand 'invisible disorders' sadly.

    I do explain to taxi drivers when I ask them to grab my elbow crutches & they say, 'What have you done to yourself?'....saying. 'I have a genetic disorder which has caused arthritis in many joints.' To some I do say, 'I have the hypermobile type of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome & Chiari 1 Malformation.' 'Oh,' they say....no more questions, as they haven't a clue what I've just said! I do use these 2 approaches depending on the person's enquiry.
    Exactly some people do not have a capacity to understand and I don’t think if you have food and utilities paid for- have and enjoy a holiday.
  • saz11
    saz11 Community member Posts: 121 Pioneering
    @poppy123456

    Good for you Poppy....may you keep enjoying your holidays and your daughter also. 


  • mrbuttons
    mrbuttons Community member Posts: 221 Pioneering
    Just like anyone else in society i could do well with a week sitting on a sun drenched beach gazing up at a cloudless blue sky.
    Unfortunately, there are some people who believe that unless we are bedridden and at deaths door we arent really disabled so we must  be scamming. God forgive us if we need a change of scenery or a break from the cold that makes our pain worse. We arent supposed to have dreams of seeing anything of the world other than the 4walls immediately around us.
    I bet these are the same narrow minded bigots who resent us having motability cars or carers, infact,  they believe disabled people should be kept out of sight and out of mind. Our very existence is a crime according to them.

    When i was a school kid i wanted to hike up mount kilamanjaro but my health let me down. Even now id love to travel far and wide to see some of the places i have read about ,mainly central america to visit the ancient Mayan and Aztec sites but i will have to be content to sitting in the back yard reading national geographic instead.never mind.sometimes a visit from friends is more than enough to keep my spirits up. My long haul travel days are over unless i win the lottery. B)
  • vikingqueen
    vikingqueen Scope Member Posts: 1,411 Disability Gamechanger
    Well said @poppy123456, i'm in your corner, i will defy anyone to say i am not entitled to go away every year.
          I worked hard for 45 years before i became ill and i deserve a break as much as the next person.
  • WhileIBreathIHope
    WhileIBreathIHope Posts: 216 Pioneering
    mrbuttons said:
    Just like anyone else in society i could do well with a week sitting on a sun drenched beach gazing up at a cloudless blue sky.
    Unfortunately, there are some people who believe that unless we are bedridden and at deaths door we arent really disabled so we must  be scamming. God forgive us if we need a change of scenery or a break from the cold that makes our pain worse. We arent supposed to have dreams of seeing anything of the world other than the 4walls immediately around us.
    I bet these are the same narrow minded bigots who resent us having motability cars or carers, infact,  they believe disabled people should be kept out of sight and out of mind. Our very existence is a crime according to them.

    When i was a school kid i wanted to hike up mount kilamanjaro but my health let me down. Even now id love to travel far and wide to see some of the places i have read about ,mainly central america to visit the ancient Mayan and Aztec sites but i will have to be content to sitting in the back yard reading national geographic instead.never mind.sometimes a visit from friends is more than enough to keep my spirits up. My long haul travel days are over unless i win the lottery. B)
    Do we not all want

    To be valued
    To be Loved
    To be Free to make choices
    To be financially independent 

    Life is hard enough, without being told that somehow we are less worthy, that our issues are our fault- I didn’t choose my ailments like a package holiday.

    I’d love to take the kids for a week somewhere warm and sunny- but cannot afford passports and the cost.
  • paffuto10
    paffuto10 Community member Posts: 388 Pioneering
    edited November 2019
    I think most of us are agreed that (if we can afford it) we are all entitled to holidays or short breaks, as much as anyone else.   B)


    Think I will keep it quiet from neighbours though!  ;)
  • Topkitten
    Topkitten Community member Posts: 1,285 Pioneering
    There is no reason why holidays should not be available to all. I would like to say though that due to the complications caused by disability etc. people ALWAYS assume that someone will have to go with them to help and look after them. Almost every disabled holiday I looked into on specialized sites assumed that the disabled will only go as part of a family group and will want to be away for 'normal' healthy people, stuffed into some cabin somewhere in the woods.

    For severely disabled there is no doubt that someone needs to be with you especially if you want to fly somewhere. There isn't anyway that I have found for a severely disabled person on a scooter or in a chair to manage a large case of clothes through airports or train stations without relying on LOTS of help from people around you.

    My last holiday (in fact the only one in 10 years) was to fly to Italy for 3 nights a couple of years ago with my son because I simply couldn't figure out how to manage enough clothes for him to deal with as well as dealing with me. I was hoping to go again last year but, due to ignorance and incompetence my GP surgery have ensured it will never happen (there are other things they have caused problems with too but that would be off-topic).

    We are a minority and therefore shouldn't expect too much from the people organizing holidays for the healthy but a little more thoughtfulness from organisations who claim to specialize in disability holidays would be nice instead of conforming to simple stereotypes.

    TK
    "I'm on the wrong side of heaven and the righteous side of hell" - from Wrong side of heaven by Five Finger Death Punch.
  • pollyanna1052
    pollyanna1052 Community member Posts: 2,032 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi, as I said earlier, I help run a holiday group for disabled people.
    WE have so many providers, who offer ground floor rooms with easy access, profiling beds, hoists, shower chairs and wet rooms.

    There are charities who offer holiday grants and there are subsidised places too.

  • WhileIBreathIHope
    WhileIBreathIHope Posts: 216 Pioneering
    Hi, as I said earlier, I help run a holiday group for disabled people.
    WE have so many providers, who offer ground floor rooms with easy access, profiling beds, hoists, shower chairs and wet rooms.

    There are charities who offer holiday grants and there are subsidised places too.

    I'm sure your efforts are appreciated and we'll done for doing these groups.

    I've finally got round to complaining to the local government ombudsman about the Abusive nature of direct payments removal that others and myself have suffered after law society and a solicitor advised me this was only way. 

    Never know may be able to afford a holiday if compensation - some how doubt it will happen. 

  • Topkitten
    Topkitten Community member Posts: 1,285 Pioneering
    Hi, as I said earlier, I help run a holiday group for disabled people.
    WE have so many providers, who offer ground floor rooms with easy access, profiling beds, hoists, shower chairs and wet rooms.

    There are charities who offer holiday grants and there are subsidised places too.


    Very laudable and worthwhile and if only it was easier for us to get from place to place life would be so much better. Unfortunately travel is more aimed at healthy people and is run by and administered by healthy people who simply do not understand the additional needs of the disabled. Travel becomes a matter of looking pathetic and hoping someone nearby will come to the rescue.

    Well done you though!

    TK
    "I'm on the wrong side of heaven and the righteous side of hell" - from Wrong side of heaven by Five Finger Death Punch.
  • Philippa1961
    Philippa1961 Community member Posts: 19 Courageous
    I believe disabled and ill people have just as much right to have holidays as healthy people.
    When I was young I saw first hand how cruel some people can be towards someone who is ill and on holiday.  My mum was asthmatic all of her life, became diabetic in her 50's and had rhematoid arthritis so it was quite normal for my mum to struggle with walking.  People could be quite rude towards her and it was a natural instinct to defend my mum but it says more about the people who are in the wrong.
    I find myself apologising for being slow going up and down stairs but fortunately people are fine and sometimes people will offer to help if they see me struggling. 
    We go on Parkdean holidays as we can take our dogs with us and the caravan parks are disable friendly.  Our eldest dog was in kennels for most of her first four years but we don't know why people kept taking her back as she has a fantastic temperament.  We couldn't bear to put her in kennels when we go away.  We've been away for a few days on two different occasions - a wedding then a funeral - and not taken the dogs with us.  On the first occasion our friend stayed over at our home with them and two other friends walked them.  On the second time one of the friends who had walked the dogs before stayed over and the dogs were happy with the arrangement.
    Whenever you find yourself doubting how far you can go, just remember how far you have come. remember everything you have faced, all the battles you have won, and all the fears you have overcome.
  • madness
    madness Community member Posts: 13 Connected
    Is there a women chat here
  • Chloe_Scope
    Chloe_Scope Posts: 10,586 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi @madness, people are free to chat with whoever they would like to. If you would like to talk about a particular subject then here's a list of topic boards. I hope this helps. :)
    Scope

  • pollyanna1052
    pollyanna1052 Community member Posts: 2,032 Disability Gamechanger
    I believe disabled and ill people have just as much right to have holidays as healthy people.
    When I was young I saw first hand how cruel some people can be towards someone who is ill and on holiday.  My mum was asthmatic all of her life, became diabetic in her 50's and had rhematoid arthritis so it was quite normal for my mum to struggle with walking.  People could be quite rude towards her and it was a natural instinct to defend my mum but it says more about the people who are in the wrong.
    I find myself apologising for being slow going up and down stairs but fortunately people are fine and sometimes people will offer to help if they see me struggling. 
    We go on Parkdean holidays as we can take our dogs with us and the caravan parks are disable friendly.  Our eldest dog was in kennels for most of her first four years but we don't know why people kept taking her back as she has a fantastic temperament.  We couldn't bear to put her in kennels when we go away.  We've been away for a few days on two different occasions - a wedding then a funeral - and not taken the dogs with us.  On the first occasion our friend stayed over at our home with them and two other friends walked them.  On the second time one of the friends who had walked the dogs before stayed over and the dogs were happy with the arrangement.

    Great to read you enjoy holidays x

Brightness