One Man's Annoying / Aggravating / Interesting Access Picture

The picture below represents a bit of a nightmare scenario for someone without hand and finger function like myself – a doorknob on the accessible bathroom stall in the men’s room of a Don Pablo’s restaurant. The result is a lot of patience and extra effort to get the door open, me peeing with the toilet stall door open so I don’t get stuck inside hoping that no one walks in on me while I’m doing my business, and my beautiful dinner date waiting at the table for me for an extra long time. Although she just assumed that I ran into some issue. Handles are a much more accessible option, Don Pablo’s.

New EasyStand Blog Guest Post: Fitting Personal Cares in Around the Holidays

My new monthly guest post for the EasyStand Blog covers the challenge of coordinating my personal care schedule around the holidays. It’s one of those hidden things that I, along with many other people with disabilities have to coordinate. Please give it a read: Fitting Personal Cares in Around the Holidays.

One Man's Annoying / Aggravating / Interesting Access Picture of the Week

This is a pic of a wheelchair accessible porta potty that I used at Lakefront Days in Prior Lake, MN last month. Last year on this blog I offered up a pic of an extra big accessible porta potty outside of downtown Minneapolis’ Kieran’s Irish Pub where they were gearing up for St. Patrick’s Day. Up until then I had my doubts about how accessible said accessible porta potties actually were, but I never had a reason to use one and only saw them from a distance. Since nobody was around when I went past Kieran’s that day I decided to peek inside and even roll inside a little but had no reason to use it. But when I was at Lakefront Days it was a really hot day and I had a lot of water and beer to drink and nature called immediately. When I struck off to find a bathroom I had no idea what I would find and when I found an accessible porta potty I was relieved. So I gave it a shot and I can happily report that it worked out well. There was plenty of room inside to fully turn around so I could both lock the door and get close enough to use the toilet. Of course, it was probably the most careful and controlled leak I’ve ever taken because the difference between using that toilet and one almost anywhere else is that anything that falls in is an instant donation to the local sewage treatment plant. But the next time I see one I won’t hesitate to use it. And thus another door of accessibility opened up in my world, which is huge in a way because when you gotta go, you gotta go.