To the Beach We Go!

Summer is just around the corner! Actually it’s already here in Florida and I’m ready to go to the beach! I use to go to the beach almost every week since I’ve been born, it was second nature for us to get up and drive out to the beach for a couple hours to soak up the sun, and then head back home. During our summer break, we would book a week at our timeshare that was on Daytona Beach. But since I’ve been in a wheelchair, we haven’t step foot in our beautiful Florida beaches for years now. Yes, I drive out there to watch the sunsets or to just sit there and feel the breeze, but it’s not the same as actually getting into the water. I can’t even recall when the last time was, so I am determined to figure it out this year!

I was told that there are some beaches that have beach wheelchairs at lifeguard stations that we could sign out for the day and borrow for free. Someone also mentioned that there are places you can rent a beach wheelchair the amount of time you are willing to stay and they will deliver it to you. Either way, this mission is a go because I’m ready to go play in the water no matter what it takes!

I have used a beach wheelchair while we were on a cruise to the Bahamas. We stopped off in CocoCay and they had a few of the chairs lined up for people who were in a wheelchair. It was a regular metal-framed wheelchair with big air tires. It wasn’t able to go into the water though because the tires would float and it was only used for the sand.

I have also used a floating device while we were in Jamaica, but this chair was more like a lounger and did not have wheels. So I was dragged on the sand, but then I was able to float in the water. I was a bit more afraid of this one because I always felt like I was going to flip over, but I did manage to get into the water.

Both of those times I was not as motivated as I am right now. I was also on a horrendous amount of medications so it was harder for me to do the things I wanted too. Now that I am no longer on high dosage of steroids, I’m willing and ready to do anything to play with the waves.

I have located the few beaches in Florida where you can borrow the beach wheelchairs. They are located in Daytona Beach, New Smyrna Beach, Siesta Key Beach, Hollywood Beach, Rish Recreational Park, and Fernandina Beach. The rental companies that you can call and have them deliver it to you are Beach Mobility Rentals and Beach Powered Mobility. There are many other places that have beach wheelchairs that you can rent from and certain companies only deliver to certain locations so make sure you look out for that as well. I have not tried any of these out as of yet but I am defiantly going to this summer! So I will add my feedback for sure.

Some beaches also have a mat that the wheelchair is able to role almost all the way to the waterside. I know for a fact that Siesta Key Beach has this mat and its great, but it still doesn’t solve the issue of getting into the water.

I have been looking to buy one of the beach wheelchairs but they are extremely expensive. Also, each of the chairs only solves a singular purpose, one for the sand, one for the water. I need to find a multipurpose chair that can do it all! In addition, they do not look like they dismantle very well so it would be difficult to transport it unless you had a big vehicle. Maybe we can engineer a new kind of beach wheelchair that can work for all of the different tasks.

Once I go in search this summer for all of the cool features that they have for wheelchair users or come out with a new type of beach wheelchair, then I will reflect on all of them and come back with what’s best for the task you are trying to achieve.

Beach Here I Come!!!