A quick note: I’m within just a couple pounds of my low — I’m not quite there, yet, but close! I’m happy to have lost the weight gained on vacation fairly easily. I expect I’ll be back in new territory soon.

 

Last week, I wrote about feeling successful, just by the act of getting back on plan after vacation, when I’d given up on myself a couple of years ago. A change in attitude and perspective helped me immensely — and, surprisingly, much of that perspective was gained by the limitations I dealt with while on vacation.

My husband and I had agreed that since I have limited abilities to walk long distances or stand, that we would purchase a portable wheelchair. I didn’t want to feel as if my abilities were holding anyone else back. If we’d only known what a source of morbid comedy that chair would be!

We decided to “practice” one weekend in a nearby tourist town that has a lot of old buildings, uneven sidewalks, and other tourists, which is somewhat similar to the tourist district in Cozumel. I did manage to live through that experience, thinking that our rookie outing would be the most difficult.

I was oh-so-wrong.

 

My husband is a pretty strong guy. He does heavy weight lifting. I’m not sure even that prepared him for a week of unexpected surprises, which commenced the moment we opted to use our own wheelchair in the airports and gate check it rather than check it in baggage. At least if we’d done that, airport personnel would have been responsible for moving us between connecting flights.

On our way to Cozumel, we had only a 45 minute layover in Houston, which was further shortened by a delayed departure. We landed at about the same time our next flight opened the doors to board — three terminals away. Stacked with our carry-on luggage and my purse on my lap, my husband pushed me as fast as he could manage, without turning the wheelchair, me, and our baggage over. OJ Simpson jumping over Samsonite luggage had nothing on us, that day; he pushed hard for 25 minutes straight, with me yelling “excuse me!”, “pardon me!” “PLEASE MOVE!” (What is it about people at airports, who wander around like drunk toddlers, stopping in random places for no apparent reason?)

We arrived at the gate just in the nick of time — and as soon as we boarded, the doors were closed and we were on our way to Cozumel.

 

Let me remind you that Cozumel is, in fact, in Mexico, which isn’t exactly ADA compliant. If you’re unfamiliar with ADA compliance, that refers to the Americans with Disabilities Act, which specifies the specs for handicap access. This includes the grade of ramps, whether rails are available along ramps and staircases, facilities that allow access for the disabled, and much more. We’ve been to Cozumel, before, so I knew that I would face some challenges any time I chose to use the wheelchair.

The staff at the resort was fantastic. I was met with a smile and a can-do attitude when we chose to use the wheelchair in restaurants, and had many offers of help otherwise. The actual challenges on resort were ramps that were difficult to ascend/descend, even for healthy people on foot, and were more like a roller coaster ride for me, hoping the hand brakes would hold.

Off resort, we went on a couple of excursions; one was sailing on a trimaran, and another was a tour of the island. Both were fantastic, and while I wasn’t able to participate in some of the activities, like snorkeling or riding a spinnaker, I still felt pure joy on the bow of the trimaran, with plenty of sun on my face and fifty colors of impossibly blue water before me.

Our last time off resort, though, was an impromptu taxi ride to town, with friends, hunting for a good tequila shop. We went with the intention of finding the tequila and then heading back to the resort, but ended up wandering around a bit, both down the popular shops on Avenida Melgar, and a couple blocks off the beaten path.

If you haven’t been in a Mexican tourist town when the cruise ships are in, then perhaps you can imagine this: a narrow midway at a carnival, where every carny is trying his best to get your attention and pull you in… and you’re wearing a neon orange shirt with a big sequin dollar sign on the front. That would be pretty close to Avenida Melgar’s busy district. While the merchants a couple blocks away are kinder and much more pleasant to deal with, the merchants are more like hucksters on the main route; and being pushed in a wheelchair added an even more entertaining aspect.

Along with the typical verbal assaults of “come in, we have a free gift for you!”, “free Corona!”, and “free tequila shot!”, came the unexpected comments about being in a wheelchair. The first time someone tried to get us into their store with “free parking!”, I thought it was pretty original. The thirtieth time I heard it, my eyes hurt from rolling them. Best comment: “Free tequila for your body guard!” (Because, naturally, drinking tequila makes pushing a large woman in a wheelchair, down walkways that resemble bumper car floors, is a phenomenal idea!)

By the time we flew home and arrived in Houston once again, we were old hands at dealing with the challenges of negotiating with a wheelchair. I’m sure my hubby was extremely thankful for perfectly flat floors and ramps with gentle rises. I’m sure we looked comical; him pushing me in a wheelchair, and me pushing a luggage cart full of dirty clothes and tequila, ready to get to our connecting flight and then home sweet home.

 

While there were a lot of challenges and a few mishaps (including hitting a wall in a restaurant, and a trashcan near a pool), it was a good experience. My husband just thought he was taking the week off from his workouts. I initially thought I’d feel awkward and stupid, using a wheelchair — and while I felt a little of that at first, it wasn’t an issue, later. We had a great time.

The only event that truly concerned me was a totally unpredictable and unexpected problem I had in one of the pools. My bad knee (perhaps I should say “worse”, since both are bad) locked on me when I was in deep water. This means I can’t straighten it, and it won’t bear any weight at all. At first, hubby was nowhere to be found, and there was absolutely no way I could have made it to our room, where my knee brace was. I got to the end of the pool, sat on the steps, and waited; when he came back, I had him fetch my brace. It can be worn in the water (but not without some discomfort and other issues, or I would have had it on); I was able to get my knee unlocked and get out of the pool. I admit, though, that I worry about not being able to shift it back into position one of these days.

 

Oddly, dealing with all of these things, whether it was humor, a few bumps and bruises, silly comments from vendors, and even the knee locking, helped me. They are incentive to improve, rather than regress. I have promised myself that the next time I take a trip like this, I will be vastly stronger and more able. That means sticking to a plan, continuing to lose weight, and graduating into an exercise regimen that suits my particular needs and situation.

Believe me, I can often be frustrated and short-tempered when I feel like I should have greater abilities than I do. If I had allowed frustration to rule my emotions, this vacation would not have been nearly as awesome as it turned out to be. Going in with the right mindset resulted in having a great time, with the added bonus of providing incentive for me to get my big butt in gear and keep losing.