Thelma Goes Hawaiian



Thelma & Louise
This trip to Maui was our first since exchanging the walker for the wheelchairs. Our trip to Sequim, Washington showed us that Thelma, a transport chair with a small footprint, can get through pre–code doorways*.  Our condominium in Maui is upstairs, all on one level once inside, has code doorways, but carpeting throughout.  That makes 'feet–only' navigation challenging. Thelma's brakes are low and in back. Louise's brakes are high and in front.  Still, her conventional rear wheels allow me to use two means of propulsion (arms and legs)**.  Almost a month without Louise's comfort and maneuverability gave me pause, but in the end, we left her behind.

Bedside, poolside, lanaiside
It turned out to be a very good call. The bad news is that I now require more assistance to go up and down stairs.  The good news is that I have more assistance.  That was another humiliation bullet to bite and get over. Thelma folds up compactly to move through airports and is easy for someone to carry and put in the car.   I had to do things in a different way, but as we have learned over the last five months, wheelchairs in general can make life easier and less frightening.  Taking poor balance and increased risk of falling out of the mix is a real plus.  I have a few new 'cutting corners close' bruises, but no harm–no foul.
Thelma & Skeeter @ sunset

So when to use Skeeter?  The short answer is whenever there is a lot of ground to cover.  For me, using Skeeter in the airport, at the Maui Swap Meet, and getting around Kihei works well***.  I've used both Skeeter and Thelma to watch Maui sunsets on our beach, but Thelma is faster, less hassle than Skeeter for Earl and our guests.   

With some partner time–trading tacked onto our usual two week time in Maui, Earl and I could anticipate almost a month there.  Our first long–term (gulp) stay.  That sounded good, and I hated to be a spoil–sport, but our usual short–term stay seemed to be an adequate sunbreak and had gone pretty well for the past seven years. Certainly, the food is fabulous, but you can only do so much eating. We do miss our family, but thanks to cell phones, texting, and Facetime, 2,500 miles doesn't feel so distant.


Maui Bays & Lahaina

Earl loves it here and can do lots of things (walking the beach, running, cycling, hiking). I love it here, but can't do quite so much. I can swim in the pool (with help), do morning yoga, use the exercise equipment (with help), and scoot, of course.  But there's a fair amount of being sedentary (reading and computing).  I am pretty happy doing nothing (a strong suit), as well. There's just more interaction with people at home.




Friends, sunsets & wine

Most importantly, we wanted to enjoy ourselves and not kill each other.  We've always looked forward to having family and friends visit us. This longer stay seemed like a great opportunity to do that. I think we underestimated the importance and ease of welcoming people in a tropical 85 degrees than a Pacific Northwest 45 degrees.  Turned out, having guests also adds to our fun and provides for a measure of marital preservation.


The Lesson: Even with my ataxia progressing, we haven't found a good reason not to go to Maui.  It's so warm, beautiful, and relaxing—tough life, but someone has to do it.


 *Previous post: The Right Vehicle for the Task
**Previous post: New Wheels: The 'girls'
***Previous post: The Travel Scooter

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