I hope you enjoyed today’s video. By chatting about these issues we keep the conversation going in the hope of change. Have you ever had an experience like Tories? Videos to watch next How I board the upper deck of the a380 th-cam.com/video/bHouo2DJ5wg/w-d-xo.html Flying with a disability: all my tips th-cam.com/video/6r6P93o-DQI/w-d-xo.html Wheelchair accessible aircraft seat th-cam.com/video/lY7HLWq_9PI/w-d-xo.html Shop my favourite products featured in my videos www.amazon.co.uk/shop/wheelsnoheels_ These are aff links Join my Instagram Broadcast channel 💎 "Hidden Gems": ig.me/j/AbZeQsKGn7yRYP2A/ Fancy some adaptive cycling. Check out Cycall cycall.info
Which adaptive backpack from Target were you looking at? Was it the Embark one? I've had the Embark one for the last almost year and a half (mine's last year's dark blue), and it has served me very well for everyday around town things (including last spring and this spring when I was on camera duty for my college's theatre performances, where I had to carry a tripod and other camera gear), as well as 9 trips, 7 of which were flying, and I used it as my only piece of luggage for 3 of those, because it fits so much and the organization in it is top notch, yet still fits nicely under the airplane seat even when full.
Just found your channel. Popped up in my feed today. I get around with a rollator, have spinal cord issues. I live in the USA. I've flown across the USA and even into Europe for a long stay in Latvia. The care for those with mobility and medication transportation ranges from the abysmal to so good it left my mouth agape with amazement. Thank you for bringing our issues to the forefront.
Hi! I know Tori - she works at the agency I'm represented by, repping disabled talent in film/TV/modeling/theatre here in Canada. Thank you so much for covering her story so fully - she's such a wonderful person working for better authentic disability representation in Canadian media, and she did not deserve either this terrifying ordeal or the horrific viral backlash she received from the ableists about it! Sending so much love her way through all this 💖 Disabled people deserve better!
I'm Canadian and am fortunate enough to know Tori. Shoutout to her, because air travel is hard, but just because you have a disability, doesn't mean you don't or should not mean you shouldn't have access to a supportive and freeing travel experience.
here's the irony, people with disabilities who use equipment, like a wheelchair, understand the limitation's, not everywhere is accessible, yet the abled poke poor judgement humor or criticism, it's only by fate that they themselves end up disabled, do they start to get that aha moment, and realize what we go through on a daily basis, empathy is a lost art
I might give you hope. I am able bodied and understand your limitations. But I also understand that you guys should be able to do the same things as us. You guys disserve to have fun, travel and what not
It’s terrible to see this in Costa Rica, but you don’t have to go that far to experience this terror. I haven’t flown since Covid, but before that I was a frequent flyer. It is not that long since you were lifted up and down the stairs manually at both Edinburgh and London city airports. Generally you’re facing forward with your hands strapped in, one person holding your feet and the other your head as they walked down the slippery, steep steps. If this wasn’t terrifying enough last time I went to London city Airport, they had one of those Hannibal Lecter, style six wheel trolleys. With this you have somebody behind you holding the head end of the trolley and no one at your feet and see electric motors lower down a step at at the time. All you can see is the distance to the ground in front of you, as you trust your life to strangers. Edinburgh now has a fleet of lifts, and I hope London City will have one too.
@@Wheelsnoheels The worst thing I experienced on a trip was that they didn't want to let me go through security because of my nebulizer and also told me that I wasn't allowed to take my special medication (over 100ml) with me and said that I couldn't be disabled and would fake everything and called the police. Luckily we were able to prove all of my illnesses and were then allowed to get on the plane but almost had a flight lost. I'm sorry for my bad English
What I have found is that organisations (be that for profit or not) don’t rush to fix equipment that gives disables people equal access. Recently I was not able to attend a night out with friends at one of the only accessible bars in Oxford city centre that are able to host group events because their lift was out of order. I would have been sad but accept that if the lift hadn’t been broken for a month before that. They never seem to prioritise repairs that make venues accessible because the number of people that are effected is small, that one really upset me as that group is only in an accessible venue every other month, this is the problem of living in an ancient city that can’t give access due to listed buildings. Also The lift in my children’s secondary school never worked leading to me having parent teacher meetings in the hallways at the bottom of the stairs with the English department every single time. The small lift to get me from reception to the school hall was only working once in the six years I have needed it, meaning I had to go all the way around the school for access, the last four years I have been in a power chair so not the biggest of issues but when I was using a walking frame and a bog standard self propelled chair it was skirting on the impossible. I have also come across
My sister was ablist until two weeks ago when she fell down the stairs and broke her leg! Now she understands how tiring it is using a wheelchair and crutches.
Hope she was given the same reaction and that she won't just go back to it once she heals. It needs to stick that some people have to deal with that exhaustion even after years of 'practice'.
I went to FL last year. i choose the airport that was near me so i knew it was small. The guy that was helping me transfer almost let me fall after i told him that i was like a rag doll and that i dont mind if he use a tighter hold. I was so scared that while i waited to everyone got in in the airplane i bought a transfer cloth to arrive at my FL friend so i could be more secure in my flight back. When i arrived in FL the aisle chair in FL was broken, it didnt had seatbelt and my legs were open and hitting all the chairs.When i was in my flight back, the guy was the same that helped me get in. I told him i had a gift for him, and show him the cloth for transferring, he was happy and told me that they dont train them to do this. The transfer was so smooth after that.
Glad you got the transfer sorted. It’s a shame it’s not better equipped in the first place. When I arrived in Paris, the aisle chair was literally just a chair. No restraints and the guy was literally skidding me all over the place going so fast. I was like a rag doll and had to hold my legs. (You might be able to see it in my flying to Disney Paris vlog)
April 2018 found me in China departing a plane with cargo and accumulated garbage from the flight on an unstable lift as there was no ramp to depart the plane. Though I didn’t speak Chinese I could pick up no concern for my safety / safe arrival from their body language. It seemed as though there was more concern about me somehow making a hole in the garbage bags which would scatter debris everywhere. Such disrespect!
The last time I flew was over a decade ago and it was a 9 hour flight with American Airlines, we boarded great and set off on our adventure. We were about 2 hours in and a big bottle of water down when one of the air stewards came and asked me if I’d been made aware of the fact that the aisle chair was out of service- basically telling me I couldn’t go to the loo. They said that if I could walk a bit then they could support me! That was the last time I ever flew (other than the flight home) it put me off so badly that I can’t imagine flying again.
@@Wheelsnoheels it ruined a fantastic holiday on a Caribbean cruise with my 2 young kids because I was dreading the journey home. We shouldn’t have to put up with this. Imagine telling everyone on the plane that there was no toilet available for the 9 hour flight, there’d be uproar!
Makes me mad when people are like this. Disabled people should be allowed to travel. I’m disabled and had a great time in Iceland. We are human after all
When I travelled a while ago, they didn’t have aisle chair, only stretches. I told them my leg will fall off it as I get nerves, and I can hold on to someone or something until I reach the armrests. One of the flight attendants asked why doesn’t your daughter help? My daughter was 14 and not strong enough to help me. She was very rude to everyone on the way. Later on the airplane company apologized and gave me a coupon for the next flight.
OK I didn't see this at the time! The only advice I have been given is NEVER leave your seat until there is a safe way of getting off the plane! You are still the captains responsibility until you are out the door! They can't leave until you do! As a community we need to be insistent that no means no- and we will only leave a plane if the provided method is safe. It is so wrong that in 2024 we are considered an inconvenience with fewer rights than the able boded.
I've heard this tip as well from someone on TH-cam (might even have been Gem herself. I prefer not to fly for multiple reasons. But when we have to, we will remember this. I hope it's enough, I wouldn't be surprised if some people get forced off.
yes that's a tip I shared after learning it myself and I have put it into practice when my wheelchair hadn't arrived at the plane door they tried to rush me out and put me in an airport chair but i refused to move until I knew my chair was there, and it arrived pretty promptly then , but having to do that was so stressful, but stick to your guns people👍
Gem is the most recent place I heard it (the video about her outbound flights to Morocco). And definitely don't back down - I almost had an all-out shouting match with the flight attendant when I flew last month because she kept trying to kick me off the plane before my chair got to the plane door (a big surprise, since she was really nice to me when I got on the plane), even after I calmly told her multiple times that the rules state that I'm not supposed to get off until my chair gets to the door: she kept complaining that "the crew needs to get off" and that "it's probably going to be left partway up [the jet bridge] anyway, since that's where the gate-checked bags will be"; she wouldn't listen until I walked up to the front of the plane and told the first officer (the lower ranked of the 2 pilots, 3 stripes on uniform), with the flight attendant standing right there and the cockpit door open, where the captain (the higher ranked of the 2 pilots, 4 stripes on uniform) was sitting, that I wasn't allowed to leave the plane until my chair got to the door, then she promptly shut up and didn't say another word (but I could tell she was still fuming), while the captain sent the first officer up the jet bridge to figure out where my chair was. The instant the first officer got to the door with my chair and I stepped off the plane, the flight attendant blasted past me, practically running up the jet bridge. Not sure she ever realized it, but I caught the entire exchange on video (I had started the video to record my chair being taken off the plane, and, when the flight attendant came up to me, I decided to just let it continue recording). I guess the first officer must have been needing to catch the same flight, because he grabbed his bag and went with her, but, unlike her, he wasn't ever rude to me and didn't try to kick me off. The captain stayed until I had my chair and luggage situated and my SmartDrive had started pushing me up the jet bridge, which is what he's supposed to do; however, at least from what I've observed, I think the whole crew is technically supposed to stay, not just the captain, but I'd have to double check on that (if anyone knows the specific U.S. rules for that, please respond). That was the only time anyone ever tried to kick me off the plane (usually, if it's taking a while for my chair to get up to the door, the crew tells me I can just sit tight and that they'll let me know when it gets there), but there have been plenty of other times where it took a while (15-20 minutes) for my chair to come up from the cargo hold, despite it having been the very last piece of luggage loaded onto the plane.
@lauravanimpe3173 people who don't know they can wait for their own chair or that the captain is responsible for you (and when they start asking things get sorted! ) often allow them to put you on an isle chair and then leave you sat in that uncomfortable chair for well over an hour! The 1st few times I flew in my chair I didn't know what to do and the next few I was constantly saying sorry over and over again! Now I ask then I tell then I dig in! I'm always polite but I won't let any one push me around physically or figuratively! I have arms I'm independent I don't come up behind you and push you what makes you think you can walk up the my chair and push me out of your way! Arrgghh it's a real hill to die on for me! I really hope the next time you fly it will be easier for you!
@SnowySpiritRuby I'm in the UK and flying internationally I have major issues because I have twion wheels and a smart drive and I tell the airline everything takes hours explaining them and I have a freewheel (the front wheelthingamybob) right great it's all on the system 👍 we get to the airport the day before drop bags and check they understand what I have 2 hours later and they finally say yep they got what it is now! Get to the gate! They think I'm on a mobility scooter! It is like banging my head against a airplane! How do usa airports/companies deal with wheelchair add ons?
I'm a wheelchair user and I took the plane with it two times. It was both planes without jet bridges, only stairs. BUT, they had some sort of "lift car", on which you board, then it goes up to the plane door, either the right front one or right rear one, so you can go to your seat with the aisle chair. And it goes the same way for unboarding, they even drive you to the gate if there's a bit of a distance !
I know exactly what you are referring to I have also used them. In England they're called ambulifts. But I am aware that positional factors can mean that the use of these is cancelled, as happened to me, outbound to Malaga years and years ago.
Thank you for being so understanding it's not that people are uncaring but if I watched this and others as I'd live alone it would not be good. As its just overwhelmed. But watching this with you I felt safe .also wanted to share with you that doing Lego sets has helped me with pain but using my hand of day to day things which keeps me going if you visit oban don't for get my key ring .I'm off to increase my spoon level. Love to you all x
It's sad to see Tori been handled like that, I'm surprised they didn't use a lift to help take her off but it looks like they came up with a plan and just went ahead with it not thinking to ask Tori first whether it would be ok to do. If anything out of this they learn the first rule of moving someone, Ask First and listen to their wishes. That solves a lot of problems like this from not happening like they could of got a cargo lift to lift her down, ok not ideal but miles better than what happened.
Ah yes you are the first!! Yes we have lots of other letters and no E’s 🤔🤩 Yea it’s a secret video. I hope no one has to go though what Tori went though. 😔
Hello Gem. A brief glimpse of my hospital visit at Bournemouth General Hospital. With reference to my disability and being in a wheelchair. I'd had an 'accident' and had to get to the toilet. The nurse wanted to remove my canula and stood behind my wheelchair; my wheelchair was sandwiched between the bed and the curtain. The nurse, planting herself behind me, blocked and trapped me. Although it did not take long to remove the canula, that nurse also kept me sitting in my own mess and briefly denied me any movement or the toilet.
Saw adaptive cycling in the title so had to watch. I race handcycles in marathons in the US. It is an excellent way to get into shape and be physically fit. It is expensive and traveling with one is tricky. I've had the airline total my handcycle in the past. There is a wide variety of handcycles out there from ones that attach to your every day chair to super expensive racing handcycles that cost tens of thousands of dollars. I have a lot of videos on my channel about handcycles and how to things and I'm always adding stuff. I love reaching out to people to show them how to get past the excuses and get active. I am a not for profit channel, I do this because I want to empower other disabled folks
They should have used a lift truck they have trucks for cleaning the outside of the plane one man and the wheelchair could have lifted her down . what we need is less government not more and get people that can think to work the planes.
I am so glad that Tori did not get hurt ❤ including the people that got her off the plane but it is definitely inexcusable to not have better care of anyone with disabilities. I am wheelchair bound as well and have been having a problem with my gym not keeping the accessibility chairs working for me to get in and out of the pool. I have also been trapped on them hovering over the pool waiting for them to charge the battery enough to get me out. Do you have any advice on how to approach them with this? I have talked to them several times but they always have an excuse. Many blessings and thank you so much for your videos ❤
I haven't travelled as a wheelchair user yet. I'm both excited about travelling again (waiting for my first custom titanium wheelchair - Tilite ZRA), and anxious that the airlines will break it, lose it, or that I'll be forced to walk. I'm ambulatory but there's many, many reasons I'm getting an expensive custom wheelchair. hEDS and it's "friends". [posted separate from my other comment on Air Canada stories because this is a slightly different topic]
That fair you went to is a whole lot better than the "festival" I went to a couple months ago. They played it up like it was going to be this huge thing, so I drove 4 hours to it. When I got there, I didn't see anything. I had to confirm they were having it. It was hidden in the back and I had to pay like $12 to get in, then walk a good distance. When I finally found the booths, I was disappointed. There were only 6 small booths, and nothing else. I was there about ten minutes. I recognized most of the vendors and was not interested in anything they were selling, though I still looked just in case. I ended up buying one thing just to make up for the cost of getting in and to make it somewhat worth it. Also, I was the only person there. No one else had shown up.
Sorry about this. This is such an old video. But check out this video. th-cam.com/video/bHouo2DJ5wg/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Vet3haAV-dY32s8i and this video th-cam.com/video/HcHyuXTqrgA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=jDJglH5IvbhjcPO4 these will definitely help. ☺️
Just wanted to say thankyou for all your videos and advice (found you from wheelstowalking). I recently have finally after 8 months had an nhs chair delivered which is to big, to heavy and i feel like im sat in it and not sat in it. Your other video from cyclone i think it was has helped a million. I now know what i need to save up for now. Roughly 1.5 to 3k for a custom chair. My question though is, i know obviously there is materials and labor to pay and stuff like rent, electric and gas, but why are they so expensive for us that have had to give up work to recover and deal with ourselves? Im in the uk like you and the nhs grant is not near enough. On the plus side having a nhs heavy chair that is to big is helping me build muscle again but its not ideal at all.
I had an unscheduled stop in Tromso so there was no time for a bridge or an ambulift, I felt sorry for the staff having to carry me down the stairs in an aisle chair. Have to say Scandinavian airports are so much better than ours for assistance
I would have thought they could have brought a lift to get her on and lower to the ground. That’s what they did for me when we weren’t disembarking on a jetway. We got on, then lowered to the ground. This is not acceptable for anyone.
I have an experiences of the same nature, but on an ambulance, they tilted me back nearly to get me on the plane and I nearly fell backwards off the arch because they took him back so far when they got me with the step of the lift😂
I remember one kid i met once that was born in Germany, lived there all her life and didnt speak a word of German. Her parents said that she'll learn when she starts school. She will suffer so much. There have been initiatives trying to make daycare for the last year before first grade mandatory. Its already free. In my state daycare is free in general. They didnt even have to teach their kid German. They just had to send her to daycare. In school she will have to learn so many other things besides German. Maybe she'll be fine, but then she'll be fine DESPITE her parents, not because of them.
Because I fly with my nanny a lot and I've got a desert to myself, but when they did do this, my nanny went on the plane before me to put my bags and stuff in the lockers, but well he just continue to take me back. I nearly had to tell him to stop and the chemical woman nearly out to 2 because he just kept going and going and going.
I started watching your Channel because I have recently become a Ambulatory wheelchair user because I have FND. I just wanted to say you & your daughter are so cute together in this video . I hope that is not out of line & docent come across in the wrong way . Also just curious have you tried pumpkin scones yet ?
Was there only 1 aisle chair 8nbthe whole airport? Surely they could find one that wasn't broken? Also many airports use lifts for things like the food. That may have been a better option?
I don't have a physical disability but I have severe allergies on a trip to France I went in to anaphylaxis - a severe allergic reaction and spent a night in the hospital not speaking the language
While everyone is talking about the viral video. I want to talk about Gem being a Disney fan. And predicting the movie bythe intro. That means she watched all the classic music a million times. Gem gets the aword for the best Disney fan of 2024 And how Daisy got a Disney branded thing for 2 pounds. That's a steal.
To the poor lady getting off the airplane that could be anyone there is a high risk that it could happen to many of you that will need a wheelchair one day, or someone you love, so should you also stop getting on the airplane in other words what you say about others should also apply to you, and your family, and if not than maybe just maybe you should not speak as the English would say that would be lovely! Peace to you and your family!
if there was bridge then were was the ambilift cause there is one at every airport and if im not 100% i think there is a abmileft for every airline, even if there is not y did they not use the food truck to bring her down off the airline yes that is not right also but it was be more saver to do this then do it the way they did, and if they didnt understand what she was saying y did the airline staff talk to the ground staff and i didnt see a cabin staff there at any time what are they playing at
You and your daughter are so sweet together! What a lovely relationship. Also love that you put your mental health first, before watching the video. It took me a long time to learn how to do that. Tori deserved better. The humiliation and distress on her face is palpable. I'm glad the airport took it seriously. As for the disgusting ableist bigots - they make me sick! Edited to add: she paid for a service which she did not receive.
Oh yes, I can walk quickly but I am blind as a bat and that’s an insult to bass I mean 80s of education plus I’m off fall risk and last May well deep barking up the back my family took on vacation to the Dominican. I don’t know where the airport was those in the Dominican. They had the steers and I was good sugar honey ice tea les if you know what I’m trying to say, and I was going so slow, my hand was turning in the white over my cane. My hand on the railing was turning white. My dad had to go ahead of me with my back and his dog. my mom had to be right behind me with her own bag and that’s there’s a Chiron‘s pageant just 100 for getting mad at me for going slow and like excuse me but I’m a far as I can barely see what I’m doing this is a safety hazard for me so excuse me for taking my time in order not to severely injured myself and they were like pushing one and push so hard. They almost pushed me down the stairs because they couldn’t wait for the blind girl. Who was the phone was going upstairs to take her time going down needless to say I wasn’t happy at all and I said I don’t think it was on the way there. I think it was when we landed back in Boston, which use a regular gamer to get in, but it was on the way back that it happened and knowing that like it wasn’t until after when I was almost all the way down, and the same woman picture of hot again they fell flat on my face, tumbled a few times my glasses almost broke, and I immediately started getting bruises that any of the staff said or did anything or reacted and I told him how that woman had been saying that since I was at the top and that I am a forest contest begins and I was taking my time to prevent this, but that woman was constantly pushing me and McKenzie over the fact I can’t go fast due to my physical limitations, needless to say they made sure she was put on a separate shuttle to the then meet my parents and they also I’m 40 how to get security meet us there because this woman latest shoved a disabled person down the steps, causing them to hurt the south‘s luckily, I didn’t need to go to the hospital because I can’t go there if I did but needless to say she got taken away to be talked to by the security tree. They had somebody check me out by the clients to get to see you because I just wanted to get home. I had been a long day already, so I know how dangerous those steps to be for somebody who is even able to walk but still has a physical disability plus my niece act up and there was also a BARD Mobile data to my knees. Unfortunately, I suffer from long-term complications due to on treated undiagnosed Lyme disease, so my niece and 10 to lock up to and that was something is also dealing with, so yeah I have somebody who has some mobility issues and had to walk on. Don’t want those things before and I’m at least able to walk. Thank goodness for that it is still still know when I got to the shop I still had to go to customs go get longer go to cousins we still had to get out of here the bus tournament lake with us Jalisco yeah particular shuttle that too. It was inside the bus one that took us to be a bus terminal that took us or downtown. It was a Pizza pinball 300 wait for to get Zoe down to the Peter Pan bus stop in Providence Trail island before having to take an Uber down to Warwick West Warwick to my pass Place before going out to eat before I got home to my place in scratch Rhode Island through the Reed die didn’t get home until like 9 PM add an eastern standard time. We had a gun up at like 530 Eastern standard time in so that was a long day and being pushed down the stairs, I have a pretty crappy patient well, having a physical limitation and struggling to walk to the game is because of hours and having it be a bad mobility day and not have a death perception did not help the fact of I feel the pain this is most of the past who is always lucky enough to walk at all can I see if a plane has people with physical there it is who can’t do the stairs on their own or could be serious forest. Could they try should be a protest at the gates with the king ray and I was there anybody who cannot is on a plane that can’t use or says they shouldn’t have the stairs. It should be prioritized to a Gate with a gangway at least have the ramp versions at minimum, but unfortunately nobody ever thinks of us to say all people really and if they do, it’s only a afterthought and we’re supposed to be in the year 2024 and yet people don’t realize that those of us with disabilities have a right to live a life and go wherever we want in the world and shouldn’t have to worry about. Are we gonna be able to get off this plane? Are you gonna be able to get on this plane but you know that they don’t care the guy make the money any which way even if it’s we can’t fly because they don’t make it accessible for us, maybe in another 20 years maybe in 2044 maybe when I’m 51 things will improve there’s always hope in another training years that will get better, but yeah, those stairs it should be illegal to use aesthetic, offload passengers of physical limitations
My husband somtimes takes my chair just as a joke it my freedom! No chair then stuck at home al the time. I dont think "thats a good "joke not funny at al!
I hope you enjoyed today’s video. By chatting about these issues we keep the conversation going in the hope of change. Have you ever had an experience like Tories?
Videos to watch next
How I board the upper deck of the a380
th-cam.com/video/bHouo2DJ5wg/w-d-xo.html
Flying with a disability: all my tips
th-cam.com/video/6r6P93o-DQI/w-d-xo.html
Wheelchair accessible aircraft seat
th-cam.com/video/lY7HLWq_9PI/w-d-xo.html
Shop my favourite products featured in my videos
www.amazon.co.uk/shop/wheelsnoheels_
These are aff links
Join my Instagram Broadcast channel 💎 "Hidden Gems": ig.me/j/AbZeQsKGn7yRYP2A/
Fancy some adaptive cycling. Check out Cycall
cycall.info
Which adaptive backpack from Target were you looking at? Was it the Embark one? I've had the Embark one for the last almost year and a half (mine's last year's dark blue), and it has served me very well for everyday around town things (including last spring and this spring when I was on camera duty for my college's theatre performances, where I had to carry a tripod and other camera gear), as well as 9 trips, 7 of which were flying, and I used it as my only piece of luggage for 3 of those, because it fits so much and the organization in it is top notch, yet still fits nicely under the airplane seat even when full.
@@SnowySpiritRuby Im not sure which one people are raving about other than it is the adaptive bag from target but yours sounds fantastic🙂
Just found your channel. Popped up in my feed today. I get around with a rollator, have spinal cord issues. I live in the USA. I've flown across the USA and even into Europe for a long stay in Latvia. The care for those with mobility and medication transportation ranges from the abysmal to so good it left my mouth agape with amazement. Thank you for bringing our issues to the forefront.
Hi! I know Tori - she works at the agency I'm represented by, repping disabled talent in film/TV/modeling/theatre here in Canada. Thank you so much for covering her story so fully - she's such a wonderful person working for better authentic disability representation in Canadian media, and she did not deserve either this terrifying ordeal or the horrific viral backlash she received from the ableists about it! Sending so much love her way through all this 💖 Disabled people deserve better!
hi does that company help visual artists? thank you
Please let me know what company it is as well
I'm Canadian and am fortunate enough to know Tori. Shoutout to her, because air travel is hard, but just because you have a disability, doesn't mean you don't or should not mean you shouldn't have access to a supportive and freeing travel experience.
here's the irony, people with disabilities who use equipment, like a wheelchair, understand the limitation's, not everywhere is accessible, yet the abled poke poor judgement humor or criticism, it's only by fate that they themselves end up disabled, do they start to get that aha moment, and realize what we go through on a daily basis, empathy is a lost art
I might give you hope. I am able bodied and understand your limitations. But I also understand that you guys should be able to do the same things as us. You guys disserve to have fun, travel and what not
It’s terrible to see this in Costa Rica, but you don’t have to go that far to experience this terror. I haven’t flown since Covid, but before that I was a frequent flyer. It is not that long since you were lifted up and down the stairs manually at both Edinburgh and London city airports. Generally you’re facing forward with your hands strapped in, one person holding your feet and the other your head as they walked down the slippery, steep steps. If this wasn’t terrifying enough last time I went to London city Airport, they had one of those Hannibal Lecter, style six wheel trolleys. With this you have somebody behind you holding the head end of the trolley and no one at your feet and see electric motors lower down a step at at the time. All you can see is the distance to the ground in front of you, as you trust your life to strangers. Edinburgh now has a fleet of lifts, and I hope London City will have one too.
I have personally seen airport employees throwing strollers and wheelchairs from the gate onto the ground.😢
Oh gosh. So scary!! No respect. I’ve not seen it with my own eyes only online 😔
@@Wheelsnoheels The worst thing I experienced on a trip was that they didn't want to let me go through security because of my nebulizer and also told me that I wasn't allowed to take my special medication (over 100ml) with me and said that I couldn't be disabled and would fake everything and called the police. Luckily we were able to prove all of my illnesses and were then allowed to get on the plane but almost had a flight lost. I'm sorry for my bad English
@@56ooer6 that just sounds absolutely awful , im so sorry you had to go through that , thank you for sharing❤
What I have found is that organisations (be that for profit or not) don’t rush to fix equipment that gives disables people equal access.
Recently I was not able to attend a night out with friends at one of the only accessible bars in Oxford city centre that are able to host group events because their lift was out of order. I would have been sad but accept that if the lift hadn’t been broken for a month before that. They never seem to prioritise repairs that make venues accessible because the number of people that are effected is small, that one really upset me as that group is only in an accessible venue every other month, this is the problem of living in an ancient city that can’t give access due to listed buildings. Also The lift in my children’s secondary school never worked leading to me having parent teacher meetings in the hallways at the bottom of the stairs with the English department every single time. The small lift to get me from reception to the school hall was only working once in the six years I have needed it, meaning I had to go all the way around the school for access, the last four years I have been in a power chair so not the biggest of issues but when I was using a walking frame and a bog standard self propelled chair it was skirting on the impossible.
I have also come across
My sister was ablist until two weeks ago when she fell down the stairs and broke her leg! Now she understands how tiring it is using a wheelchair and crutches.
Hope she was given the same reaction and that she won't just go back to it once she heals. It needs to stick that some people have to deal with that exhaustion even after years of 'practice'.
I went to FL last year. i choose the airport that was near me so i knew it was small. The guy that was helping me transfer almost let me fall after i told him that i was like a rag doll and that i dont mind if he use a tighter hold. I was so scared that while i waited to everyone got in in the airplane i bought a transfer cloth to arrive at my FL friend so i could be more secure in my flight back. When i arrived in FL the aisle chair in FL was broken, it didnt had seatbelt and my legs were open and hitting all the chairs.When i was in my flight back, the guy was the same that helped me get in. I told him i had a gift for him, and show him the cloth for transferring, he was happy and told me that they dont train them to do this. The transfer was so smooth after that.
Glad you got the transfer sorted. It’s a shame it’s not better equipped in the first place. When I arrived in Paris, the aisle chair was literally just a chair. No restraints and the guy was literally skidding me all over the place going so fast. I was like a rag doll and had to hold my legs. (You might be able to see it in my flying to Disney Paris vlog)
April 2018 found me in China departing a plane with cargo and accumulated garbage from the flight on an unstable lift as there was no ramp to depart the plane. Though I didn’t speak Chinese I could pick up no concern for my safety / safe arrival from their body language. It seemed as though there was more concern about me somehow making a hole in the garbage bags which would scatter debris everywhere. Such disrespect!
The last time I flew was over a decade ago and it was a 9 hour flight with American Airlines, we boarded great and set off on our adventure. We were about 2 hours in and a big bottle of water down when one of the air stewards came and asked me if I’d been made aware of the fact that the aisle chair was out of service- basically telling me I couldn’t go to the loo. They said that if I could walk a bit then they could support me!
That was the last time I ever flew (other than the flight home) it put me off so badly that I can’t imagine flying again.
Ugh that’s horrendous. I’m so sorry that happened 😔
@@Wheelsnoheels it ruined a fantastic holiday on a Caribbean cruise with my 2 young kids because I was dreading the journey home. We shouldn’t have to put up with this. Imagine telling everyone on the plane that there was no toilet available for the 9 hour flight, there’d be uproar!
Makes me mad when people are like this. Disabled people should be allowed to travel. I’m disabled and had a great time in Iceland. We are human after all
So glad you had a good time in Iceland. What travel company did you go with? It’s on our bucket list ☺️
@@Wheelsnoheels thank you
Some think we're not full people.
When I travelled a while ago, they didn’t have aisle chair, only stretches. I told them my leg will fall off it as I get nerves, and I can hold on to someone or something until I reach the armrests. One of the flight attendants asked why doesn’t your daughter help? My daughter was 14 and not strong enough to help me. She was very rude to everyone on the way. Later on the airplane company apologized and gave me a coupon for the next flight.
OK I didn't see this at the time! The only advice I have been given is NEVER leave your seat until there is a safe way of getting off the plane! You are still the captains responsibility until you are out the door! They can't leave until you do! As a community we need to be insistent that no means no- and we will only leave a plane if the provided method is safe. It is so wrong that in 2024 we are considered an inconvenience with fewer rights than the able boded.
I've heard this tip as well from someone on TH-cam (might even have been Gem herself. I prefer not to fly for multiple reasons. But when we have to, we will remember this. I hope it's enough, I wouldn't be surprised if some people get forced off.
yes that's a tip I shared after learning it myself and I have put it into practice when my wheelchair hadn't arrived at the plane door they tried to rush me out and put me in an airport chair but i refused to move until I knew my chair was there, and it arrived pretty promptly then , but having to do that was so stressful, but stick to your guns people👍
Gem is the most recent place I heard it (the video about her outbound flights to Morocco). And definitely don't back down - I almost had an all-out shouting match with the flight attendant when I flew last month because she kept trying to kick me off the plane before my chair got to the plane door (a big surprise, since she was really nice to me when I got on the plane), even after I calmly told her multiple times that the rules state that I'm not supposed to get off until my chair gets to the door: she kept complaining that "the crew needs to get off" and that "it's probably going to be left partway up [the jet bridge] anyway, since that's where the gate-checked bags will be"; she wouldn't listen until I walked up to the front of the plane and told the first officer (the lower ranked of the 2 pilots, 3 stripes on uniform), with the flight attendant standing right there and the cockpit door open, where the captain (the higher ranked of the 2 pilots, 4 stripes on uniform) was sitting, that I wasn't allowed to leave the plane until my chair got to the door, then she promptly shut up and didn't say another word (but I could tell she was still fuming), while the captain sent the first officer up the jet bridge to figure out where my chair was. The instant the first officer got to the door with my chair and I stepped off the plane, the flight attendant blasted past me, practically running up the jet bridge. Not sure she ever realized it, but I caught the entire exchange on video (I had started the video to record my chair being taken off the plane, and, when the flight attendant came up to me, I decided to just let it continue recording). I guess the first officer must have been needing to catch the same flight, because he grabbed his bag and went with her, but, unlike her, he wasn't ever rude to me and didn't try to kick me off. The captain stayed until I had my chair and luggage situated and my SmartDrive had started pushing me up the jet bridge, which is what he's supposed to do; however, at least from what I've observed, I think the whole crew is technically supposed to stay, not just the captain, but I'd have to double check on that (if anyone knows the specific U.S. rules for that, please respond).
That was the only time anyone ever tried to kick me off the plane (usually, if it's taking a while for my chair to get up to the door, the crew tells me I can just sit tight and that they'll let me know when it gets there), but there have been plenty of other times where it took a while (15-20 minutes) for my chair to come up from the cargo hold, despite it having been the very last piece of luggage loaded onto the plane.
@lauravanimpe3173 people who don't know they can wait for their own chair or that the captain is responsible for you (and when they start asking things get sorted! ) often allow them to put you on an isle chair and then leave you sat in that uncomfortable chair for well over an hour! The 1st few times I flew in my chair I didn't know what to do and the next few I was constantly saying sorry over and over again! Now I ask then I tell then I dig in! I'm always polite but I won't let any one push me around physically or figuratively! I have arms I'm independent I don't come up behind you and push you what makes you think you can walk up the my chair and push me out of your way! Arrgghh it's a real hill to die on for me! I really hope the next time you fly it will be easier for you!
@SnowySpiritRuby I'm in the UK and flying internationally I have major issues because I have twion wheels and a smart drive and I tell the airline everything takes hours explaining them and I have a freewheel (the front wheelthingamybob) right great it's all on the system 👍 we get to the airport the day before drop bags and check they understand what I have 2 hours later and they finally say yep they got what it is now! Get to the gate! They think I'm on a mobility scooter! It is like banging my head against a airplane! How do usa airports/companies deal with wheelchair add ons?
ablist dont realize that they are one sneeze, one slip, one driver not paying attention and they could be in the same place. its willful ignorance.
I'm a wheelchair user and I took the plane with it two times. It was both planes without jet bridges, only stairs. BUT, they had some sort of "lift car", on which you board, then it goes up to the plane door, either the right front one or right rear one, so you can go to your seat with the aisle chair. And it goes the same way for unboarding, they even drive you to the gate if there's a bit of a distance !
I know exactly what you are referring to I have also used them. In England they're called ambulifts. But I am aware that positional factors can mean that the use of these is cancelled, as happened to me, outbound to Malaga years and years ago.
Thank you for being so understanding it's not that people are uncaring but if I watched this and others as I'd live alone it would not be good. As its just overwhelmed. But watching this with you I felt safe .also wanted to share with you that doing Lego sets has helped me with pain but using my hand of day to day things which keeps me going if you visit oban don't for get my key ring .I'm off to increase my spoon level. Love to you all x
Lovely Gem! 💎 You will definitely win! xx🌻
It's sad to see Tori been handled like that, I'm surprised they didn't use a lift to help take her off but it looks like they came up with a plan and just went ahead with it not thinking to ask Tori first whether it would be ok to do. If anything out of this they learn the first rule of moving someone, Ask First and listen to their wishes. That solves a lot of problems like this from not happening like they could of got a cargo lift to lift her down, ok not ideal but miles better than what happened.
Woah, am I the first to comment? The bracelets are such a lovely idea
Ah yes you are the first!! Yes we have lots of other letters and no E’s 🤔🤩
Yea it’s a secret video. I hope no one has to go though what Tori went though. 😔
Hello Gem. A brief glimpse of my hospital visit at Bournemouth General Hospital. With reference to my disability and being in a wheelchair.
I'd had an 'accident' and had to get to the toilet. The nurse wanted to remove my canula and stood behind my wheelchair; my wheelchair was sandwiched between the bed and the curtain. The nurse, planting herself behind me, blocked and trapped me. Although it did not take long to remove the canula, that nurse also kept me sitting in my own mess and briefly denied me any movement or the toilet.
Saw adaptive cycling in the title so had to watch. I race handcycles in marathons in the US. It is an excellent way to get into shape and be physically fit.
It is expensive and traveling with one is tricky. I've had the airline total my handcycle in the past.
There is a wide variety of handcycles out there from ones that attach to your every day chair to super expensive racing handcycles that cost tens of thousands of dollars.
I have a lot of videos on my channel about handcycles and how to things and I'm always adding stuff. I love reaching out to people to show them how to get past the excuses and get active. I am a not for profit channel, I do this because I want to empower other disabled folks
thanks for sharing , your channel sounds great ,keep doing what your doing👍
They should have used a lift truck they have trucks for cleaning the outside of the plane one man and the wheelchair could have lifted her down . what we need is less government not more and get people that can think to work the planes.
Yes I agree an ambi lift is what they need
I am so glad that Tori did not get hurt ❤ including the people that got her off the plane but it is definitely inexcusable to not have better care of anyone with disabilities.
I am wheelchair bound as well and have been having a problem with my gym not keeping the accessibility chairs working for me to get in and out of the pool.
I have also been trapped on them hovering over the pool waiting for them to charge the battery enough to get me out.
Do you have any advice on how to approach them with this?
I have talked to them several times but they always have an excuse.
Many blessings and thank you so much for your videos ❤
I haven't travelled as a wheelchair user yet. I'm both excited about travelling again (waiting for my first custom titanium wheelchair - Tilite ZRA), and anxious that the airlines will break it, lose it, or that I'll be forced to walk. I'm ambulatory but there's many, many reasons I'm getting an expensive custom wheelchair. hEDS and it's "friends".
[posted separate from my other comment on Air Canada stories because this is a slightly different topic]
That fair you went to is a whole lot better than the "festival" I went to a couple months ago. They played it up like it was going to be this huge thing, so I drove 4 hours to it. When I got there, I didn't see anything. I had to confirm they were having it. It was hidden in the back and I had to pay like $12 to get in, then walk a good distance. When I finally found the booths, I was disappointed. There were only 6 small booths, and nothing else. I was there about ten minutes. I recognized most of the vendors and was not interested in anything they were selling, though I still looked just in case. I ended up buying one thing just to make up for the cost of getting in and to make it somewhat worth it. Also, I was the only person there. No one else had shown up.
7:04 watching Daisy’s eyes go cross eyes looking up at her Daisy hat cracked me up!!!
Sorry about this. This is such an old video. But check out this video. th-cam.com/video/bHouo2DJ5wg/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Vet3haAV-dY32s8i and this video th-cam.com/video/HcHyuXTqrgA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=jDJglH5IvbhjcPO4 these will definitely help. ☺️
Just wanted to say thankyou for all your videos and advice (found you from wheelstowalking). I recently have finally after 8 months had an nhs chair delivered which is to big, to heavy and i feel like im sat in it and not sat in it. Your other video from cyclone i think it was has helped a million. I now know what i need to save up for now. Roughly 1.5 to 3k for a custom chair. My question though is, i know obviously there is materials and labor to pay and stuff like rent, electric and gas, but why are they so expensive for us that have had to give up work to recover and deal with ourselves? Im in the uk like you and the nhs grant is not near enough. On the plus side having a nhs heavy chair that is to big is helping me build muscle again but its not ideal at all.
I can only agree with your discontent, Gem. This...in 2024?!
Tytgat adaptive cycle thing sounds so cool
I had an unscheduled stop in Tromso so there was no time for a bridge or an ambulift, I felt sorry for the staff having to carry me down the stairs in an aisle chair. Have to say Scandinavian airports are so much better than ours for assistance
You are a huge inspiration
I would have thought they could have brought a lift to get her on and lower to the ground. That’s what they did for me when we weren’t disembarking on a jetway. We got on, then lowered to the ground. This is not acceptable for anyone.
I have an experiences of the same nature, but on an ambulance, they tilted me back nearly to get me on the plane and I nearly fell backwards off the arch because they took him back so far when they got me with the step of the lift😂
I remember one kid i met once that was born in Germany, lived there all her life and didnt speak a word of German. Her parents said that she'll learn when she starts school. She will suffer so much. There have been initiatives trying to make daycare for the last year before first grade mandatory. Its already free. In my state daycare is free in general.
They didnt even have to teach their kid German. They just had to send her to daycare.
In school she will have to learn so many other things besides German. Maybe she'll be fine, but then she'll be fine DESPITE her parents, not because of them.
why do they not have a portable lift available? there should be a roll up lift for people that can't walk down stairs
Even though I can navigate steps, the plane stairs are VERY STEEP and I fear falling. I often use a rollator for fatigue and dizziness.
Because I fly with my nanny a lot and I've got a desert to myself, but when they did do this, my nanny went on the plane before me to put my bags and stuff in the lockers, but well he just continue to take me back. I nearly had to tell him to stop and the chemical woman nearly out to 2 because he just kept going and going and going.
I started watching your Channel because I have recently become a Ambulatory wheelchair user because I have FND. I just wanted to say you & your daughter are so cute together in this video . I hope that is not out of line & docent come across in the wrong way . Also just curious have you tried pumpkin scones yet ?
My first video n love it xx
Super amica Super like buona giornata
Was there only 1 aisle chair 8nbthe whole airport? Surely they could find one that wasn't broken? Also many airports use lifts for things like the food. That may have been a better option?
How animals are more respected by airlines than disabled ppl 😠😠
😔😔
I don't have a physical disability but I have severe allergies on a trip to France I went in to anaphylaxis - a severe allergic reaction and spent a night in the hospital not speaking the language
I happen to live in the state of Kansas it is a state that's in the middle of the United States that is known as the sunflower state.
haha you're French is pretty good actually 😁
While everyone is talking about the viral video. I want to talk about Gem being a Disney fan. And predicting the movie bythe intro. That means she watched all the classic music a million times. Gem gets the aword for the best Disney fan of 2024
And how Daisy got a Disney branded thing for 2 pounds. That's a steal.
ooh thank you for the award hahah❤
To the poor lady getting off the airplane that could be anyone there is a high risk that it could happen to many of you that will need a wheelchair one day, or someone you love, so should you also stop getting on the airplane in other words what you say about others should also apply to you, and your family, and if not than maybe just maybe you should not speak as the English would say that would be lovely! Peace to you and your family!
I will admit of being a complete coward when it comes to public transport of any kind. I have had bad experiences with taxis.
if there was bridge then were was the ambilift cause there is one at every airport and if im not 100% i think there is a abmileft for every airline, even if there is not y did they not use the food truck to bring her down off the airline yes that is not right also but it was be more saver to do this then do it the way they did, and if they didnt understand what she was saying y did the airline staff talk to the ground staff and i didnt see a cabin staff there at any time what are they playing at
I am utterly scared to flight as a wheelchair user as my condition has recently progressive as it is a progressive condition.
Are you both selling them? if not, that would be agreat business!
Have you ever watched Squirmy and Grubs channel?
The airplane clip makes me feel sick 🤢
It really is sickening 😦
You and your daughter are so sweet together! What a lovely relationship. Also love that you put your mental health first, before watching the video. It took me a long time to learn how to do that. Tori deserved better. The humiliation and distress on her face is palpable. I'm glad the airport took it seriously. As for the disgusting ableist bigots - they make me sick! Edited to add: she paid for a service which she did not receive.
thanks for your comment🙂
Oh yes, I can walk quickly but I am blind as a bat and that’s an insult to bass I mean 80s of education plus I’m off fall risk and last May well deep barking up the back my family took on vacation to the Dominican. I don’t know where the airport was those in the Dominican. They had the steers and I was good sugar honey ice tea les if you know what I’m trying to say, and I was going so slow, my hand was turning in the white over my cane. My hand on the railing was turning white. My dad had to go ahead of me with my back and his dog. my mom had to be right behind me with her own bag and that’s there’s a Chiron‘s pageant just 100 for getting mad at me for going slow and like excuse me but I’m a far as I can barely see what I’m doing this is a safety hazard for me so excuse me for taking my time in order not to severely injured myself and they were like pushing one and push so hard. They almost pushed me down the stairs because they couldn’t wait for the blind girl. Who was the phone was going upstairs to take her time going down needless to say I wasn’t happy at all and I said I don’t think it was on the way there. I think it was when we landed back in Boston, which use a regular gamer to get in, but it was on the way back that it happened and knowing that like it wasn’t until after when I was almost all the way down, and the same woman picture of hot again they fell flat on my face, tumbled a few times my glasses almost broke, and I immediately started getting bruises that any of the staff said or did anything or reacted and I told him how that woman had been saying that since I was at the top and that I am a forest contest begins and I was taking my time to prevent this, but that woman was constantly pushing me and McKenzie over the fact I can’t go fast due to my physical limitations, needless to say they made sure she was put on a separate shuttle to the then meet my parents and they also I’m 40 how to get security meet us there because this woman latest shoved a disabled person down the steps, causing them to hurt the south‘s luckily, I didn’t need to go to the hospital because I can’t go there if I did but needless to say she got taken away to be talked to by the security tree. They had somebody check me out by the clients to get to see you because I just wanted to get home. I had been a long day already, so I know how dangerous those steps to be for somebody who is even able to walk but still has a physical disability plus my niece act up and there was also a BARD Mobile data to my knees. Unfortunately, I suffer from long-term complications due to on treated undiagnosed Lyme disease, so my niece and 10 to lock up to and that was something is also dealing with, so yeah I have somebody who has some mobility issues and had to walk on. Don’t want those things before and I’m at least able to walk. Thank goodness for that it is still still know when I got to the shop I still had to go to customs go get longer go to cousins we still had to get out of here the bus tournament lake with us Jalisco yeah particular shuttle that too. It was inside the bus one that took us to be a bus terminal that took us or downtown. It was a Pizza pinball 300 wait for to get Zoe down to the Peter Pan bus stop in Providence Trail island before having to take an Uber down to Warwick West Warwick to my pass Place before going out to eat before I got home to my place in scratch Rhode Island through the Reed die didn’t get home until like 9 PM add an eastern standard time. We had a gun up at like 530 Eastern standard time in so that was a long day and being pushed down the stairs, I have a pretty crappy patient well, having a physical limitation and struggling to walk to the game is because of hours and having it be a bad mobility day and not have a death perception did not help the fact of I feel the pain this is most of the past who is always lucky enough to walk at all can I see if a plane has people with physical there it is who can’t do the stairs on their own or could be serious forest. Could they try should be a protest at the gates with the king ray and I was there anybody who cannot is on a plane that can’t use or says they shouldn’t have the stairs. It should be prioritized to a Gate with a gangway at least have the ramp versions at minimum, but unfortunately nobody ever thinks of us to say all people really and if they do, it’s only a afterthought and we’re supposed to be in the year 2024 and yet people don’t realize that those of us with disabilities have a right to live a life and go wherever we want in the world and shouldn’t have to worry about. Are we gonna be able to get off this plane? Are you gonna be able to get on this plane but you know that they don’t care the guy make the money any which way even if it’s we can’t fly because they don’t make it accessible for us, maybe in another 20 years maybe in 2044 maybe when I’m 51 things will improve there’s always hope in another training years that will get better, but yeah, those stairs it should be illegal to use aesthetic, offload passengers of physical limitations
£10 for half a t-shirt? 🤣
My husband somtimes takes my chair just as a joke it my freedom! No chair then stuck at home al the time. I dont think "thats a good "joke not funny at al!
Gem I don’t have Vinted but I’m definitely going to have a look at it now thanks 👨🏻🦽❤️
Awesome hope you can find some bargains!
@@Wheelsnoheels Gem my wife already has Vinted! Thanks for letting me know love!👨🏻🦽❤️