u/MrCroaks

My mom wanted to see some of Europe so we’ve been traveling for some time. Compared to home, we have found most of Europe to be lacking in accessibility + convenient and safe transport for those with mobility restrictions. I’m not being ugly or meaning to be, and we did do our research beforehand and she decided the trip was still worth it, but gosh I never thought I’d have the give the US its flowers for anything lol. And of course we have significant issues with cities and states not fixing sidewalks and what not. I’m sure you all know we have our problems…infrastructure sometimes being the least of them. And in fairness, I suppose the infrastructure here was established in a time where accessibility wasn’t on the mind, but it’s been making me wonder how those in wheelchairs or with mobility aids fare in the UK, as that’s our next stop. The last time I visited (alone), I remember the public transit was accommodating but you had to share in advance if you needed a ramp (?). I remember once watching another traveler in a wheelchair waiting for a busy train, and the station attendant told them they’d have to take the other one as the train was full with everyone else pushing ahead. It saddened me. Anyway, I was wondering more so if we will need to book reservations with accessibility requests in advance for restaurants and activities. We have had a very difficult time a) finding restrooms and b) entering them successfully. The history and architecture of London’s older buildings is fabulous and enchanting until you’re trying to dine in a 5 story building with a bathroom on the 3rd floor and no elevator 😅😬. I know they can’t help it. I guess I’m just venting now, sorry.

I really appreciate your feedback, and I hope this doesn’t come across as judgmental or hateful. I love visiting Europe and there are a million things I prefer about the UK and other countries around here compared to home. You have a beautiful country and we are so excited to visit, I am just hoping to provide my mother with the dignity and comfort she & the rest of us deserve. A more accessible world benefits everyone :)

Hey all,
I’m just curious to know if anyone else has experienced this. For the past four months, I’ve had a strange chest pressure/heaviness. Never painful, and originally it was just a slight pressure with no shortness of breath/dyspnea. Well, my birth control was strangely making my endo symptoms worse (hello…?) so I stopped it a few months ago. The past two months, I have had significant dyspnea and a pressure in my chest that recently took me to urgent care (can’t afford ER, wee). I’d like to note that it peaked in severity during my period. My heart was beating quite irregularly and I could not sleep at all for two days. They did bloodwork including a d dimer and gave me an emergency inhaler.

I had complained about it to my PCP two weeks before and we did a stress test, several EKGs, and a breathing test. Heart was fine on the tests but breathing test was poor. He said it seemed like I was having an acute asthma attack. Everyday. For the entire day. Hm…

So the inhaler seems to have helped but sort of transmuted my symptoms. I’m breathing a bit better but suddenly developed pain/aches in my shoulders. I will randomly get tension/pressure in my chest, neck, and twice I had this sensation of like tension covering my entire face. I get fatigued going up the stairs and standing up, and i used to be quite athletic/active and a lifter (not serious but 3ish times a week). I’m so alarmed because this looks like textbook red flag heart problems…but all my tests seem fine. They’ve exhausted a lot of options so I’m wondering if it could be endo related—it’s not something they’ve considered although I’ve mentioned it and it’s on my files. I should also mention that I have (due to my birth control shooting my cholesterol up) developed gallstones and have had 3 gallbladder attacks. I was diagnosed with stage 2 endo via laparoscopy and they did ablation. (Sigh, we don’t have any qualified excision surgeons in Alabama…)

Sorry for the long message.